Ed Sneed (born August 6, 1944) is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and course design consultant, who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Sneed was born in Roanoke, Virginia. He attended Ohio State University and was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1967. He worked briefly at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, the same golf course where Jack Nicklaus learned to play golf.
Sneed won four PGA Tour events during his career. His first win came in 1973 at the Kaiser International Open Invitational. A year later he was a wire-to-wire winner at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Sneed was the only golfer in the history of the tournament to win wire-to-wire until Ben Crane did it in 2005. Sneed was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1977. He had more than 45 career top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events.
Sneed is best known for his meltdown in The Masters in 1979. He began Sunday's round with a 5-stroke lead. He had a 3-stroke lead with three holes to play but bogied them all. He went into a sudden-death playoff with Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller, but lost to Zoeller on the second hole. This was the first time The Masters used a sudden-death format to decide the Championship.
Sneed made his debut on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour) in 1994 upon reaching the age of 50. His best finish in this venue is a T-5 at the 1995 Bell Atlantic Classic.
Sneed worked for eight years as a golf broadcaster for ABC television and was with CNBC in 2001. He has also done some course design consulting. He lives in Palm Harbor, Florida. He plans on providing golf instruction with director of golf, Larry Dornisch, at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Amateur wins
- 1965 Ohio Intercollegiate
Professional wins
PGA Tour wins
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oct 21, 1973 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | -13 (68-66-69-72=275) | Playoff | John Schlee |
2 | Jul 6, 1974 | Greater Milwaukee Open | -12 (66-67-71-72=276) | 4 strokes | Grier Jones |
3 | Apr 17, 1977 | Tallahassee Open | -12 (68-70-68-70=276) | Playoff | Lon Hinkle |
4 | May 9, 1982 | Michelob-Houston Open | -9 (64-70-71-70=275) | Playoff | Bob Shearer |
PGA Tour playoff record (3-1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1973 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | John Schlee | Won with par on first extra hole |
2 | 1977 | Tallahassee Open | Lon Hinkle | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
3 | 1979 | Masters Tournament | Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller | Zoeller won with birdie on second extra hole |
4 | 1982 | Michelob-Houston Open | Bob Shearer | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other wins
- 1973 New South Wales Open
- 1978 Jerry Ford Invitational (co-champion)
- 1980 Morocco Grand Prix
Results in major championships
Tournament | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | 43 | CUT | DNP | DNP | T18 | T2 | T44 | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | DNP | T29 | DNP | DNP | T46 | T11 | T8 | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | T26 | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
PGA Championship | DNP | T35 | CUT | T54 | T57 | T36 | T64 | T28 | T55 | T70 | T61 | T80 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
Summary
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 10 |
Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 19 |
- Most consecutive cuts made - 8 (1978 PGA - 1980 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (twice)
Team appearances
- Ryder Cup: 1977 (winners)