|
Snead owned the GGO
Posted: Tuesday April 03, 2001 7:02 PM
Updated: Wednesday April 04, 2001 12:03 AM
By Scott Michaux
The Augusta Chronicle
Golf writer Dan Jenkins once dubbed Sam Snead ``the greatest golfer who never died,'' illustrating that Snead's most enduring legacy may have been his endurance.
Snead won a record 17 tournaments after he turned 40 years old, four of those came in Greensboro, N.C. - the closest thing Snead had to a hometown event. Nowhere was his endurance ever demonstrated better than in the Greater Greensboro Open where Snead won a record eight times.
On the eve of the 1965 GGO, Snead was being honored at a dinner emceed by television personality Ed Sullivan.
``Wouldn't it be wonderful if Sam could win this for the eighth time?'' Sullivan said by way of introduction.
Snead was invigorated by the comment: ``You know, I came right up about six notches and thought, `By golly, I'm going to give this an extra special try.' ''
Snead was also prodded by the doubts of one of the younger touring pros, Raymond Floyd, who playfully questioned the elder Snead's presence in the field.
``Floyd said, `What's Snead doing here? He can't beat nobody. He can't win anything any more,' '' Snead tells.
Snead went out and shot rounds of 68-69-68-68, his 11-under total standing five shots clear of Billy Casper, Phil Rodgers and Jack McGowan. His final PGA Tour victory earned him $11,000.
Snead became the oldest golfer - 52 years, 10 months, 8 days - to ever win a PGA Tour event. It came 27 years after the first of his record eight victories at Greensboro in the inaugural GGO.
Eight years later when he was just a month shy of 61, Snead challenged again in Greensboro. Only four shots off the lead through 54 holes, Snead faded to a tied for 12th.
Ironically, Snead's record of years between his first career victory and his last (28 years, 8 months, 25 days) was broken by another enduring golfer who edged Snead's mark by less than three months in 1992. Who topped him? Ray Floyd.
Snead's longevity extended well beyond the PGA Tour. He won 14 Senior Tour events in a span of 18 years, stretching his winnings ways into a sixth decade.
In 1979, he became the youngest player to ever shoot his age in a PGA Tour event, with rounds of 67 and 66 at the Quad Cities Open.
| 
