Golf legend Sam Snead dies, aged 89

Sam Snead, the golfing great known as "Slammin' Sam" who used the sweetest swing in the game to win seven major championships and a record 81 PGA Tour events, has died at the age of 89.

Snead died at his home at Hot Springs, Virginia last night. He had been suffering from a series of strokes.

Snead was raised during the Depression in the backwoods of western Virginia and blessed with as much raw talent as anyone who played golf. He grew up playing in bare feet with clubs made from tree limbs, but his swing was a combination of grace and power.

"I don't think there's ever been a golf swing as aesthetically pleasing as Sam Snead's," Phil Mickelson said.

The late Gene Sarazen once said of a young Snead, "I've just watched a kid who doesn't know anything about playing golf, and I don't want to be around when he learns how."

Snead was ageless, the only player who won tournaments in six decades, from the 1936 West Virginia Closed Pro to the 1982 Legends of Golf.

He was famous for his straw hat, cocky grin and homespun humor. A three-time Masters champion, Snead had been an honorary starter since 1983. He would jaunt to the first tee, show off that flowing, flawless swing and then tell stories outside the clubhouse.

This year was different.

Snead's son said he was recovering from stroke-like symptoms, and for the first time, he needed someone else to tee up the ball at the Masters. The ceremonial shot flew into the gallery and struck a fan in the face, breaking the man's glasses.

Snead wrote two books on golf. "How to Play Golf" came out in 1946, and one of his swing tips was to "take it easily and lazily, because the golf ball isn't going to run away from you while you're swinging."

He also wrote "The Education of a Golfer" in 1962.

"Some of the things I didn't have to be taught as a rookie traveling pro were to keep close count of my nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey and never concede a putt," he wrote.

For all his victories — independent record keepers place his total at 160 — Snead never won the U.S. Open, which haunted him the rest of his career.

He was a runner-up four times, but his most infamous U.S. Open occurred in 1939 at Philadelphia Country Club.

There were no scoreboards on the course, and Snead thought he needed a birdie on the final hole to win, when all he needed was a par. Playing aggressively, he hit his drive into the left rough and never recovered, making a triple bogey.

"That night, I was ready to go out with a gun and pay somebody to shoot me," Snead said later. "It weighed on my mind so much that I dropped 10 pounds (4.5 kilos), lost more hair and began to choke even in practice rounds."