Personal life Born in
Ashwood, Virginia, near
Hot Springs, Snead began caddying at age seven at
The Homestead's Old Course in Hot Springs. He worked as an assistant pro at The Homestead at 17 in 1929, then moved to the Cascades Course and turned professional in 1934. In 1944 he became resident playing professional at
The Greenbrier Resort in
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and maintained ties to Hot Springs and The Homestead all of his life. During the winter, he was a resident playing pro at the
Boca Raton Resort from 1956 to 1969. Each spring he returned to the Mid-Atlantic, stopping at The
Masters Tournament on his way back to The Greenbrier. Snead served in the
U.S. Navy during
World War II from 1942 to 1944. He was an athletic specialist in Cmdr.
Gene Tunney's program in
San Diego, and was given a medical
discharge for a back injury in September 1944. Snead appeared as himself in an episode of
The Phil Silvers Show, "The Colonel Breaks Par", in 1957. His nephew,
J. C. Snead, was also a successful professional golfer, winning tournaments on both the
PGA Tour and the
Champions Tour.
Career In July 1936, Snead won his first tournament, the West Virginia Closed Pro, contested at
The Greenbrier's Championship Course and Old White Course. He shot rounds of 70–61 to rout
Logan, West Virginia professional, Clem Wiechman by 16 strokes (74-73). The following month, he won the first of 17
West Virginia Open championships by beating Art Clark by five strokes at Guyan Country Club in
Huntington, West Virginia. In 1937, Snead's first full year on the PGA Tour, Snead shared the first round lead shooting 69 with fellow West Virginian
Denny Shute (
1936 and
1937 PGA Champion). In Snead's first of two attempts in
The Open Championship, he finished tied for 11th. In 1938, Snead first won the
Greater Greensboro Open, the first of eight times, the Tour record for victories in a single tournament event. Snead's last win at Greensboro was in 1965, at the age of , making him the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event. Snead introduced his first book, ''Sam Snead's quick way to better golf''. In 1939, Snead won three times. 1939 was the first of four times (although Snead had already come close in 1937, losing to the eventual champion who had 19 clubs in his bag) where Snead failed at crucial moments of the
U.S. Open, the only major event he never won. Needing a par to win at the Philadelphia C.C., but not knowing that, since on-course scoreboards did not exist at that time, Snead posted a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 72nd hole, taking a risky shot from a difficult lie in the fairway. Snead had been told on the 18th tee by a spectator that he needed a birdie to win. Snead tied for sixth in the Open in 1962. Snead introduced the book, ''Sam Snead's How to play golf, and professional tips on improving your score. Also, rules of the game of golf, as approved by the United States Golf Association, and by the Royal and ancient golf club of St. Andrews''. At the U.S. Open in
1947, Snead missed a putt on the final playoff hole to finish runner-up to
Lew Worsham. Snead won three times in 1948, including his first
Texas Open and fourth
West Virginia Open. In 1949, Snead won nine PGA events including two majors including the Masters and the PGA Championship and was awarded Golfer of the Year. For Snead, it was the third of four second-place finishes at the
U.S. Open. Needing two pars to finish in a tie for the lead, Snead took three shots to hole out his ball from the fringe of the green on the 17th hole. In 1950, Snead won 11 events, placing him third in that category behind
Byron Nelson (18, in 1945) and
Ben Hogan (13, in 1946). In 1952, Snead won ten events including the
Masters. At the
Jacksonville Open, Snead forfeited rather than play an 18-hole playoff against
Doug Ford after the two golfers finished in a tie at the end of regulation play. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out-of-bounds stake. While
Chick Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out of bounds, a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved after the previous day's play had ended. Afterward, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling." Snead set the record for most PGA wins after reaching age 40, with 17. In 1953, Snead won three events. He finished runner-up to Ben Hogan at the
U.S. Open (the fourth time he would finish runner-up at the U.S. Open). In 1954, Snead won two events, one of which was the
Masters in an 18-hole playoff over Ben Hogan. In December 1959, Snead took part in a controversial match against
Mason Rudolph, at the
Mid Ocean Club in
Bermuda. The match played under the
NBC's "
World Championship Golf" series, was a match-play event that was tied after 11 holes. On the 12th hole, Snead discovered that he had a 15th club in the bag, a violation of the
Rules of Golf that limits a player to 14 clubs. The extra club in his bag, a
fairway wood Snead had been experimenting with in practice, meant Rudolph had won on the 12th hole immediately, 11 and 7, after applying the penalty of a loss of hole for each hole the club was in the bag, even though he did not use it during the round. With the match legally concluded, Snead deliberately missed puts later in the program to create the legitimate result, a Rudolph win. Snead explained the match had ended up on the 11 loss of hole penalties, and said he did not disqualify himself in order not to spoil the show. This occurred shortly after the investigations into the
quiz show scandals where players were given answers to questions in fixed matches. The match was broadcast in April 1960, and the sponsor canceled further participation in the series after Snead's admission he recreated the result after the match officially ended as a Rudolph win. The rule was changed for the 1964 Rules of Golf, where the penalty is capped at two holes (
match play) or two strokes per hole capped at four strokes (
stroke play). of Snead for his
ABC television program
The Sam Snead Golf Show in 1967. Beginning in 1960, Snead hosted television's
Celebrity Golf program, emceed by
Harry von Zell, competing for charity in nine-hole contests against Hollywood celebrities like
Dean Martin,
Jerry Lewis and
Bob Hope. Snead had appeared with
Martin and Lewis in their 1953 comedy film,
The Caddy. On February 7, 1962, at age 49, Snead won the
Royal Poinciana Plaza Invitational, an
LPGA Tour "Battle of the Sexes" tournament where he faced off against 14 LPGA pros. The low woman was
Mickey Wright, herself Snead's equivalent in women's golf, with the most wins on that tour. His 1962 autobiography was titled
The Education of a Golfer. Snead later wrote several golf instructional books, and frequently wrote instructional columns in golf magazines. In 1965, Snead became the oldest player (52 years, 10 months, and 8 days) to win on the PGA Tour (the Greater Greensboro Open). Snead played on seven
Ryder Cup teams: 1937, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1959. Snead was selected to the 1939 Ryder Cup team however the event was never played due to World War II. He captained the team in 1951, 1959, and 1969. In 1971, he won the
PGA Club Professional Championship at
Pinehurst Resort. In
1973, Snead became the oldest player to make a cut in a U.S. Open at age 61. In 1974, at age 61, he shot a third-round 66 at the
Los Angeles Open at Riviera Country Club to move into contention. A birdie at #17 in the last round moved him to within one stroke of the lead. Dave Stockton hit a miraculous fairway wood on the final hole. Snead was joint runner-up. He shot a final-round 68 at the
1974 PGA Championship to finish tied for third, three strokes behind winner
Lee Trevino. At age 62, it was Snead's third consecutive top-10 finish at the
PGA Championship, but his last time in contention at a major. In 1978, he won the first
Legends of Golf event, which was the impetus for the creation,
two years later, of the Senior PGA Tour, now the
Champions Tour. In
1979, he was the youngest PGA Tour golfer to shoot his age (67) in the second round of the 1979
Quad Cities Open. He shot under his age (66) in the final round. In 1982, he teamed with
Don January to shoot 27-under-par to win the rain-shortened 54-hole
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf event at
Onion Creek Club "The Birthplace of the Senior PGA Tour" in
Austin, Texas. This victory would mark victories for Snead that spanned over six decades (1930s–1980s) winning tour and senior tour events. In 1983, at age 71, he shot a round of 60 (12-under-par) at
The Homestead in
Hot Springs, Virginia. In 1986, Snead wrote the book,
Pigeons, Marks, Hustlers and Other Golf Bettors You Can Beat. In 1997, at age 85, he shot a round of 78 at the Old White course of
The Greenbrier in
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. In 1998, he received the
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, the fourth person to be so honored. From 1984 to 2002, he hit the honorary starting tee shot at the
Masters Tournament. Until 1999, he was joined by
Gene Sarazen, and until 2001, by
Byron Nelson. In 2000, Snead was ranked the third greatest golfer of all time, in
Golf Digest magazine's rankings, behind only
Jack Nicklaus and
Ben Hogan.
Death Snead died in
Hot Springs, Virginia in 2002 following complications from a stroke, four days before his 90th birthday. He was survived by two sons: Sam Jr. of Hot Springs, and Terry, of Mountain Grove, Virginia, and a brother, Pete, of Pittsburgh, as well as two grandchildren. His wife Audrey died in 1990. His nephew
J. C. Snead was also a PGA Tour golfer. ==In popular culture==