Sam Snead

Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced [sni:d]; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Snead was awarded a record 94 gold medallions, for wins in PGA of America (referred to by most as the PGA) Tour events and later credited with winning a record 82 PGA Tour events, including seven majors. He never won the U.S. Open, though he was runner-up four times. Snead was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Snead's nicknames included "The Slammer", "Slammin' Sammy Snead", and "The Long Ball Hitter from West Virginia", and he was admired by many for having a "perfect swing", which generated many imitators. Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat, and making such statements as "Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt." and "There are no short hitters on the tour anymore, just long and unbelievably long." Fellow West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Campbell has said of Snead, "He was the best natural player ever. He had the eye of an eagle, the grace of a leopard and the strength of a lion." Gary Player once said that, "I don't think there's any question in my mind that Sam Snead had the greatest golf swing of any human being that ever lived". Jack Nicklaus said that Snead's swing was, "so perfect".
Awards.
Snead was the PGA leading money winner in 1938, 1949 and 1950. He won the Vardon Trophy, for lowest scoring average, four times: 1938, 1949, 1950, and 1955. In 1949, he was PGA Golfer of the Year.
Snead was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. In 1986, Snead was inducted into the Middle Atlantic PGA Hall of Fame. Snead was also inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame and the Helms Hall of Fame. Snead received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. In 2009, Snead was inducted into the inaugural class of the West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame and in 2016, Snead was the unanimous top choice for inclusion in the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame's inaugural class.
Personal life.
Born in Ashwood, Virginia, near Hot Springs, Snead began caddying at age seven at The Homestead's Old Course in Hot Springs. He worked as an assistant pro at The Homestead at 17 in 1929, then moved to the Cascades Course and turned professional in 1934. During the depression, Snead self taught himself the game of golf from a set of clubs carved from tree limbs. Snead joined the PGA Tour in 1936, and achieved immediate success by winning the West Virginia Closed Pro tournament.
In 1936 he won two matches at the Meadow Brook Club, earning a $10,000 prize. This gave him the money he needed to start playing professionally full-time. In 1944 he became resident playing professional at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and maintained ties to Hot Springs and The Homestead all of his life. During the winter, he was resident playing pro at the Boca Raton Resort from 1956 to 1969. Each spring he returned to the Mid-Atlantic, stopping at The Masters Tournament on his way back to The Greenbrier.
Snead served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1944. He was an athletic specialist in Cmdr. Gene Tunney's program in San Diego, and was given a medical discharge for a back injury in September 1944.
Snead appeared as himself in an episode of "The Phil Silvers Show", "The Colonel Breaks Par", in 1957.
His nephew, J. C. Snead, was also a successful professional golfer, winning tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Career.
In July 1936, Snead won his first tournament, the West Virginia Closed Pro, contested at The Greenbrier's Championship Course and Old White Course. He shot rounds of 70–61 to rout Logan, West Virginia professional, Clem Wiechman by 16 strokes (74-73). The following month, he won the first of 17 West Virginia Open championships by beating Art Clark by five strokes at Guyan Country Club in Huntington, West Virginia.
In 1937, Snead's first full year on the PGA Tour, he won six events, including the Oakland Open at Claremont Country Club in California and his second West Virginia Open. In Snead's debut in the U.S. Open hosted at Oakland Hills, he finishes runner-up to Ralph Guldahl (who won with 19 clubs in his bag). Snead shared the first round lead shooting 69 with fellow West Virginian Denny Shute (1936 and 1937 PGA Champion). In Snead's first of two attempts in The Open Championship, he finished tied for 11th. While working at The Greenbrier, Snead played in the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships. In the first round, he faced eventual winner Karel Kozeluh, losing to Kozeluh by scores of 6–1, 6–1, and 6–1.
In 1938, Snead first won the Greater Greensboro Open, the first of eight times, the Tour record for victories of a single tournament event. Snead's last win at Greensboro was in 1965, at the age of , making him the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event. Snead introduced his first book, "Sam Snead's quick way to better golf".
In 1939, Snead won three times. 1939 was the first of four times (although Snead had already come close in 1937, losing to the eventual champion who had 19 clubs in his bag) where Snead failed at crucial moments of the U.S. Open, the only major event he never won. Needing par to win at the Philadelphia C.C., but not knowing that, since on-course scoreboards did not exist at that time, Snead posted a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 72nd hole, taking a risky shot from a difficult lie in the fairway. Snead had been told on the 18th tee by a spectator that he needed a birdie to win. Snead ended up in fifth place, two shots behind three players who went into a playoff.
During World War II, Snead was prevented in participating in 14 major championships (1940–1945 Open Championship, 1942–1945 U.S. Open, 1943–1945 Masters, 1943 PGA Championship), due to their cancellation. Snead served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1944.
In 1946, Snead won six times including the Open Championship at St Andrews. His expenses for playing there were more than three times his winning purse. Snead tied for sixth in the Open in 1962. Snead introduced the book, "Sam Snead's How to play golf, and professional tips on improving your score. Also, rules of the game of golf, as approved by the United States Golf Association, and by the Royal and ancient golf club of St. Andrews".
At the U.S. Open in 1947, Snead missed a putt on the final playoff hole to finish runner-up to Lew Worsham.
Snead won three times in 1948, including his first Texas Open and fourth West Virginia Open.
In 1949, Snead won nine PGA events including two majors including the Masters and the PGA Championship and was awarded Golfer of the Year. For Snead, it was the third of four second-place finishes at the U.S. Open, the only major championship he never won. Needing two pars to finish in a tie for the lead, Snead took three shots to hole out his ball from the fringe of the green on the 17th hole.
In 1950, Snead won 11 events, placing him third in that category behind Byron Nelson (18, in 1945) and Ben Hogan (13, in 1946). Snead claimed that 1950 was his "greatest year" winning "eleven tournaments" including a playoff victory over Hogan in the L.A. Open yet lost the "Golfer of the Year" to Hogan, who won one "tournament". His scoring average of 69.23 was a Vardon Trophy record that stood for 50 years.
In 1952, Snead won ten events including the Masters. At the Jacksonville Open, Snead forfeited rather than play an 18-hole playoff against Doug Ford after the two golfers finished in a tie at the end of regulation play. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out of bounds stake. While Chick Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out of bounds, a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved after the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling." Snead set the record for most PGA wins after reaching age 40, with 17.
In 1953, Snead won three events. He finished runner-up to Ben Hogan at the U.S. Open (the fourth time he would finish runner-up at the U.S. Open).
In 1954, Snead won two events, one of which was the Masters in an 18-hole playoff over Ben Hogan.
In December 1959, Snead took part in a controversial match against Mason Rudolph, at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda. Snead decided to deliberately lose the televised match, played under the "World Championship Golf" series, during its final holes, after he discovered on the 12th hole that he had too many golf clubs in his bag. (A player is limited to 14 clubs during competitive rounds.) The match was tied at that stage. The extra club in his bag, a fairway wood Snead had been experimenting with in practice, would have caused him to be immediately disqualified according to the Rules of Golf, even though he did not use it during the round. After the match was over, Snead explained the matter, and said he did not disqualify himself in order not to spoil the show. The problem did not become known outside a small circle until the show was televised four months later. After the incident came to light, the sponsor cancelled further participation in the series.
Beginning in 1960, Snead hosted television's "Celebrity Golf" program, emceed by Harry von Zell, competing for charity in nine-hole contests against Hollywood celebrities like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope. Snead had appeared with Martin and Lewis in their 1953 comedy film, "The Caddy".

Appoorva Muralinath

Appoorva Muralinath (born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu) is an Indian basketball player and coach. She was an active athlete from 2005-2017. She played on the India women's national basketball team from 2010-2015. She is a power forward/Center. She is the daughter of K. Muralinath who played for the Indian National Men's Basketball Team in the 1982 Asian Games.
Muralinath is currently the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Dean College Massachusetts United States.
Personal details.
Muralinath's father K. Muralinath played for the Indian National Basketball Team.
Professional-playing experience.
2015: Professional Basketball Athlete Representing Country India
•Represented the Indian Senior Women Basketball team at the 26th FIBA Asian Championship for Women held at Wuhan, China.
•16 International teams participated.
2012: Professional Basketball Athlete Representing Country India
•Represented the Indian Senior Women Basketball Team at the William Jones Cup for Women held at Taipei, Taiwan.
•10 International teams participated.
2011: National Games of India
•Represented her state team (Tamil Nadu) in National Games Championship organized by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) at Ranchi, India
•More than 30 state teams participated.
•Secured Gold medal in the championship.
2006 – 2015: Played for National Championships
•Played 10 Senior National Championships organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).
•All (30) state teams participated.
•Has been awarded with 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.
•Has represented her state (Tamil Nadu) team as well the (Indian Railways)
2012 – 2016: Professional All India Inter-Railway Championships
•Played 5 Inter-Railway Championships organized by Indian Railways.
•4 state zones/16 teams participated.
•Has been awarded with 4 Gold, 1 Silver medals.
•Has captained the team (Southern Railway), and have received various awards.
2008-2012: All India Inter-University National Championships
•Played 5 Inter-University National Championships.
•More than 50 university teams participated.
•Has been awarded with 2 Gold and 3 Silver medals.
•Has represented two different teams in 5 years.
•Has captained SRM University and Madras University team,and have received various awards including the most valuable player (MVP) award and the best re-bounder award.
2006 – 2008: Junior, Youth and School National Championships
•Represented and captained her state as well as the school teams in various national championships.in the championships.
•Has captained the teams in the championships, and received various awards including the most valuable player (MVP) award and the best re-bounder award.
Professional-coaching experience.
2019-2020
•Assistant coach for women’s basketball team – Dean College, Franklin - MA