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Snead tops Hogan, captures Masters
Becomes three-time champ
By Randy Russell
Chronicle Sports Editor
Augusta, Ga., Tuesday, April 13, 1954 -- Sam Snead got the jump on Ben Hogan at the Augusta National's famous 13th hole yesterday and won his third Masters championship by shooting a 70 in the playoff round to Hogan's 71. In what master golfer Bob Jones called an ``absolutely beautiful exhibition of precision golf,'' the West Virginia slammer outscored Hogan by one stroke on the back nine, after each had recorded 35s on the front side. A crowd estimated at 6,000 engaged in a cross-country race on each hole to reach the choice vantage points.
Record prize
Snead, who will be 42 years old next month, gained $1,250 - the difference between first and second money in the Masters Tournament - by beating Hogan in the playoff. The first prize money of $5,000 is the most ever paid to a Masters champion. In addition, the championship carries with it an imponderable amount of prestige, a commodity of which Snead already had a vast supply. Winner at one time or another of practically everything, with the glaring exception of the National Open, Snead is now, like Hogan, a semi-retired tournament golfer. He is a sure starter only for the big ones, his only previous 1954 victory being in the Panama Open, in Central America.
Snead had previous won Masters championships in 1949, when he shot 67s back-to-back in the third and fourth rounds to pass the early leaders, and in 1952, when he proved to be the best bad-weather golfer in the field and whipped Hogan by seven strokes, amassing all of that healthy margin on the last day of the tournament.
Back nine decisive
Yesterday, as he graciously conceded on the putting green where Jones presided at the final ceremonies, he did not trounce Hogan nearly as soundly. The breaks decided the outcome, and the biggest breaks were a chip shot Snead holed out from the edge of the green for a birdie on No. 10 and a short putt that Hogan flubbed on the 16th green.
As far as golfing strategy is concerned, the tide turned on No. 13, where Snead got out in front to stay. This is the renowned dogleg to the left, with the creek in front of the green that leaves the golfer the choice of gambling for a birdie or an eagle or of playing short of the creek and being more certain of matching the par of 5. Hogan, hitting his second shot ahead of Snead, chose the cautious course, virtually daring the slammer to go for the green. Snead took the dare, hitting a fine fairway wood to within 25 feet of the pin to set the stage for his birdie. Hogan's pitch to the green was short, and he had to be satisfied with a par.
One stroke ahead and with five holes to play, Snead was firmly in the driver's seat, and the pressure was all on the little man from Fort Worth. Hogan had what proved to be his last real chance to catch up on the 16th green, where his tee shot lay 14 feet from the pin, about six feet inside of Snead's shot. Hogan three-putted from this short distance, while Snead matched par. That put the slammer two strokes ahead with two holes to play, and the $5,000 was practically in the bank. There remained a bit of dramatics on the 18th green for Snead hit his second shot into the trap and could, conceivable, have taken a 5 on the par 4 hole, while Hogan had a 20-foot putt for a birdie 3. Hogan missed his putt, however, and that was the ballgame. Snead, indeed, did take his 5 on the final hole, but he was putting with extreme caution, making certain that he did not make a 6 that would have forced another overtime round.
Hogan had taken the lead on the fourth hole, where Snead three-putted, and had lost it again on the next par three, where Snead got a birdie from close range. Except for these two holes and the No. 2, where both made birdies, both players matched par on the front side and were deadlocked going into the back nine. Snead's putter let him down again on No. 12 to cancel out the advantage he had picked up with his extraordinary chip on No. 10, to send the pair to the 13th tee all even again. Snead used his putter 33 times, Hogan 34. Neither player had much luck on the greens, their low scores being due almost entirely to sound fairway play. Snead was in traps on only the 12th and 18th holes, and his only other trouble shot was an iron to the seventh gree after his drive had sliced off to the right behind some pines.
Hogan was favored
Snead had quite a shot to make there, but he looped the ball over and around the pines and placed it just in front of the green. Hogan hit the greens with his customary regularity. He was trapped on No. 2, but smacked the ball up stony to the pin and had an easy bird.
The victory was the second in a row for Snead in his personal rivalry with Hogan. He won, 72-76, when the two played off for the Los Angeles Open championship in 1950. According to unofficial reports, Hogan was held an 8-5 favorite by the wagering clan in yesterday's match. Snead becomes the second three-time winner of the Masters, Jimmy Demaret being the other triple victor. Snead, Hogan and Demaret have now accounted for seven of the last nine Masters championships. Snead winning three and Hogan and Demaret two each in the years since the war.
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