born May 27, 1912, Hot Springs, Va., U.S.
died May 23, 2002, Hot Springs
U.S. golfer.
Snead reportedly never took a golf lesson. Known for his straw hat and his flowing, powerful swing, "Slammin' Sam" won the PGA Championship (1942, 1949, 1951), the British Open (1946), and the Masters (1949, 1952, 1954) and was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team (eight times
including 1969, when he captained the squad but did not play). Snead won more PGA tournaments (81) than any other player in history, and his total number of world tournament wins is estimated at 135.