U.S. Open was always closed to Snead

There were some heartbreaking losses in quest for the crown

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By Chris Gay
The Augusta Chronicle

The career Grand Slam was not in the works for Sam Snead.

Despite winning the Masters, British Open and PGA Championship, Snead failed to capture a U.S. Open title. That's the only flaw on a remarkable record.

``I should have won the Open,'' Snead told ESPN. ``If I shoot one 69 in the last round, I'd have won nine of them.''

Between 1937 and '55, Snead had eight top-10 finishes in the Open. Three times in that span he finished second. Nine times, Snead led the U.S. Open after either 18, 36 or 54 holes. In the 1939 U.S. Open, Snead lost to Byron Nelson at the Philadelphia Country Club in Philadelphia. All he needed was a simple par on the par-5 18th hole to win. But after a bogey on No. 17, Snead thought he needed a birdie. He was wrong, and his aggressiveness cost him.

Snead carded a triple-bogey eight to finish in fifth place, while Nelson went on to win in a three-way playoff with Craig Wood and Denny Shute.

But his most heartbreaking U.S. Open was in 1947 at the St. Louis Country Club in St. Louis. Snead shot 72-70-70-70 and tied Lew Worsham at 282. In the 18-hole playoff, he led Worsham by two strokes with three holes remaining.

Worsham, though, got back in the mix, forcing Snead to make a 30-inch putt on No. 18 to extend the playoff. He missed.

The loss didn't kill Snead's career. Instead, he rebounded to win five of his seven major titles after the '47 U.S. Open. But in 1953, Snead was 3-under through 54 holes at Oakmont Country Club. He shot a final-round 76 and finished second to rival Ben Hogan by six shots.

Despite never winning the U.S. Open, Snead is among the leaders in several Open categories. He is tied with Bobby Jones for most runner-up finishes with four. He is second to Jack Nicklaus with most Opens completed (27). He is sixth all-time with 12 top-10 finishes.

More impressively, though, Snead is the oldest player to make the cut at the U.S. Open, accomplishing that at age 61 in 1973. He finished tied for 29th place.

A year-by-year look at how Snead fared in the U.S. Open
Year	Place	Score	Earnings	Site
1937	2nd	69-70-73-71_283	$800	Oakland Hills, Birmingham, Mich.
1938	T38	77-76-76-80_309	$0	Cherry Hills, Denver
1939	5th	68-71-73-74_286	$600	Philadelphia, CC
1940	T16	67-74-73-81_295	$50	Canterbury GC, Cleveland
1941	T13	76-70-77-73_296	$100	Colonial CC, Ft. Worth, Texas
1946	T19	69-75-74-74_292	$100	Canterbury CC, Cleveland
1947	P2	72-70-70-70_282	$1,500	St. Louis CC
(Playoff with Lew Worsham, lost 69-70)
1948	5th	69-69-73-72_283	$600	Riviera CC, Los Angeles
1949	T2	73-73-71-70_287	$1,250	Medinah (Ill.) CC
1950	T12	73-75-72-74_294	$133	Merion GC, Ardmore, Pa.
1951	T10	71-78-72-74_295	$187	Oakland Hills, Birmingham, Mich.
1952	T10	70-75-76-72_293	$200	Northwood CC, Dallas
1953	2nd	72-69-72-76_289	$3,000	Oakmont (PA) CC
1954	T11	72-73-72-73_290	$300	Baltusrol GC, Springfield, N.J.
1955	T3	79-69-70-74_292	$1,500	Olympic Club, San Francisco
1956	T24	75-71-77-73_296	$200	Oak Hill CC, Rochester, N.Y.
1957	T8	74-74-69-73_290	$465	Inverness GC, Toledo, Ohio
1958	DNP
1959	T8	73-72-67-75_287	$1,350	Winged Foot GC, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
1960	T19	72-69-73-75_289	$472	Cherry Hills CC, Denver
1961	T17	73-70-74-73_290	$625	Oakland Hills CC, Birmingham, Mich.
1962	T38	76-74-78-74_302	$350	Oakmont (PA) CC
1963	T42	74-75-79-83_311	$325	The Country Club
1964	T34	77-72-75-75_299	$368	Congressional CC
1965	T24	75-71-77-74_297	$732	Bellerive CC
1966	DNP
1967	DNP
1968	T9	73-71-74-68_286	$2,516	Oak Hill CC, Rochester, N.Y.
1969	T38	71-77-70-74_292	$1,030	Champions GC, Houston
1970	CUT	158	$0	Hazeltine GC, Chaska, Minn.
1971	DNP
1972	DNP
1973	T29	75-74-73-73_295	$1,212	Oakmont (Pa.) CC
DNP - Did not play MC - Missed cut Source: PGA tour

 

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