May 23, 2002(2002-05-23) (aged 89) Hot Springs, Virginia, U.S.
Height
5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight
185 lb (84 kg)
Sporting nationality
United States
Spouse
Audrey Karnes
(m. 1940; died 1990)
Children
2
Career
Turned professional
1934
Former tour(s)
PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins
142
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour
82 (Tied 1st all time)
LPGA Tour
1
Other
45 (regular)
14 (senior)
Best results in major championships (wins: 7)
Masters Tournament
Won: 1949, 1952, 1954
PGA Championship
Won: 1942, 1949, 1951
U.S. Open
2nd/T2: 1937, 1947, 1949, 1953
The Open Championship
Won: 1946
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame
1974 (member page)
PGA Tour leading money winner
1938, 1949, 1950
PGA Golfer of the Year
1949
Vardon Trophy
1938, 1949, 1950, 1955
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award
1998
Samuel Jackson Snead (/sniːd/; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades)[1] and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Snead was awarded a record 94 gold medallions, for wins in PGA of America (referred to by most as the PGA) Tour[2][3] events[4] and later credited with winning a record 82 PGA Tour events[5][6] tied with Tiger Woods, including seven majors. He never won the U.S. Open, though he was runner-up four times. Snead was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Snead's nicknames included "The Slammer", "Slammin' Sammy Snead", and "The Long Ball Hitter from West Virginia", and he was admired by many for having a "perfect swing", which generated many imitators. Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat, and making such statements as "Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt."[7] and "There are no short hitters on the tour anymore, just long and unbelievably long."[8] Fellow West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Campbell has said of Snead, "He was the best natural player ever. He had the eye of an eagle, the grace of a leopard and the strength of a lion." Gary Player once said that, "I don't think there's any question in my mind that Sam Snead had the greatest golf swing of any human being that ever lived." Jack Nicklaus said that Snead's swing was "so perfect."
^Sam Snead, Golf Legend. Global Sportsline Toronto. November 11, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021 – via YouTube.
^"Snead inducted onto the Middle Atlantic PGA Hall of Fame". PGA Middle Atlantic Section. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
^Gabriel, Mike (2001). The Professional Golfers' Association Tour: a history. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0844-8. LCCN 00068720. OCLC 1069744188.
^"Sam Snead's son keeps his father's memory alive by telling stories". PGA of America. January 31, 2016.
^"Wins and Finishes". PGA Tour Media Guide. January 20, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
^Livsey, Laury (April 16, 2019). "How we got to 82". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
^Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0. LCCN 2007005352.
mind that SamSnead had the greatest golf swing of any human being that ever lived." Jack Nicklaus said that Snead's swing was "so perfect." Snead was the...
The SamSnead Festival was an unofficial money golf tournament, played from 1948 to 1961, at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It...
change in 2003 moved it toward the end of the season. At the age of 52, SamSnead set PGA Tour records in 1965 for his eighth win at an event and as the...
champion also receives the "Green Jacket", the first one being won by SamSnead in 1949. The champion takes the jacket home for a year and returns it...
Snead may refer to: Doak Snead, American musician Esix Snead, former American baseball player J. C. Snead, American golfer, nephew of SamSnead John Snead...
play. These have included Fred McLeod, Jock Hutchinson, Gene Sarazen, SamSnead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Elder, and...
Samuel Lester Snead (born January 19, 1971) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football...
days) Greatest winning margin in the match play era: Paul Runyan beat SamSnead 8 & 7 in 1938 Greatest winning margin in the stroke play era: 8 strokes...
who leads with 18) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied for first all time with SamSnead). Woods leads all active golfers in career major wins and career PGA Tour...
course records. He has total 55 professional wins in his golf career. SamSnead claimed Norman was the game's "greatest striker of the ball", and Tiger...
any other player, and finished with 73 PGA Tour victories, third behind SamSnead (82) and Woods (82). Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and...
Henry Picard 1939 Jimmy Demaret 1940 Ben Hogan 1940 Byron Nelson 1944 SamSnead 1945 Ben Hogan 1946 (twice) Bobby Locke 1947 Jim Ferrier 1951 Billy Casper...
but with a "but" Archived 2007-05-04 at the Wayback Machine SamSnead Golf Legends -SamSnead Bio Archived 2006-05-16 at the Wayback Machine SI.com - Writers...
won the Senior PGA Championship more than once, through 2021: 6 wins: SamSnead (1964, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973) 4 wins: Hale Irwin (1996, 1997, 1998...
than once through 2023. 4 wins Tom Watson: 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 3 wins SamSnead: 1945, 1957, 1958 2 wins Jack Nicklaus: 1970, 1971 Bruce Lietzke: 1981...
to start the 1950 season at the Los Angeles Open, where he tied with SamSnead over 72 holes, but lost the 18-hole playoff, held over a week later (due...
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