What happened when Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead went head to head in 1963

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Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead are two of golf’s most recognisable names but when it came to them going head to head, it would only happen a single time.

Nicklaus, as we know, has 18 major wins and sits alone at the top of that mountain, while Snead very much paved the way for Nicklaus, winning seven majors, with his final one coming at the 1954 Masters.

Still, while Snead was the old master and Nicklaus the young upstart ready to take the world by storm, the pair still found time to go head to head and set tongues wagging in the golf world.

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Back in 1963 at Pebble Beach, Nicklaus and Snead would square off at Shell’s ‘Wonderful World of Golf’ event, an 18-hole stroke play competition.

Needless to say, it very much lived up to the hype as the baton was seemingly passed on.

When Jack Nicklaus took on Sam Snead over 18 holes stroke play

More often than not, these sorts of matches will be in the match-play format as players look to win each hole.

However, this event in 1963 saw Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead face off in a pure stroke play competition, as both golfers pitted their wits against each other to get round the course in the fewest shots.

With Nicklaus only 23 and Snead at 50, this was a match for the ages and in the end, over a tense 18 holes, it went down to the very last hole.

With Snead home and hosed for a one over par round of 73, Nicklaus had a ten-footer for the win and to go round in 72. And in typical Nicklaus fashion, it was no problem for the ‘Golden Bear’.

Nicklaus’ win over Snead by a single stroke proved just how exceptionally talented both players were, despite the age difference.

’63 proved a fruitful year for Nicklaus too, as he won The Masters and The PGA Championship to add to his US Open victory in 1962.

However, beating a legend of the game like Sam Snead will have gone down just as nicely for Nicklaus as those major wins.

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Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead’s PGA Tour records

Quite remarkably, both Snead and Nicklaus played a near identical number of events on the PGA Tour.

Snead finished up with 585 while Nicklaus was just one short on 584.

Indeed, when you look at the stats around both players, it’s quite remarkable just how good they were.

Of course, the money element on the above is all down to the time they both played.

Fast forward the success Snead and Nicklaus had into the modern game and the purses on offer, and we’d have two of the richest sportspeople around.