For the Record, Sam Snead Had No Fear of Hogan : Golf: He says he was misquoted about his three fears and claims to have been the best in his prime.

Much has been written and said about the Ben Hogan-Sam Snead rivalry through the years.

“A lot of the things that were written in those days just weren’t true,” Snead said recently. “Freddie Corcoran used to be a writer who quoted me and a lot of other guys in those days, and sometimes he would get the right quote with the wrong guy.

“For instance, one thing he wrote that I said was that there were only three things I feared on a golf course--lightning, a downhill putt and Ben Hogan.

“That was a great quote, but it wasn’t me who said it. Freddie should have known better than to say it was me. Anybody who knows me knows I wouldn’t ever say something like that. When my game was on, I feared no man.”

Snead acknowledges that his competitive juices flowed more freely whenever he had a chance to go head to head against Hogan, and proudly points to his record against him.

“I played him three times and beat him every time,” Snead said. “The first was in a match-play tournament in San Francisco, then in the L.A. Open, and then in the 1954 Masters. Oh, he did beat me on TV in ‘Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf,’ but I took that on short notice and didn’t have time to prepare.”

Snead said newspapers liked to build up their rivalry and tried to make it seem as if the players didn’t like each other, but he says that wasn’t the case.

“We had tremendous respect for one another,” Snead said. “We still do. I think it was just the fact that we were so different.

“I mean, when Ben played, he never liked to talk much, to nobody. He wasn’t one to go out there and say, ‘How’s the family?’ and, ‘Gee, it’s a nice day.’ Ben was out there to beat you. The only thing he might say all day was, ‘You’re away.’ ”

Chuck Pollock, who caddied for Hogan on the West Coast, said Hogan never even talked to him much on the course.

“He was very prepared and didn’t need much from me except to check for pin placements,” Pollock said. “We didn’t have books with the pin placements in those days. We didn’t even have accurate yardage. Once in a while, if he was a little unsure, he might turn to me and ask if I had any ideas about a particular shot, but that was rare.

“He was like a computer out there. Every shot had been planned before the round, and he knew exactly when to go after birdies.

“I must say that he was also a demanding player, but a fair one. He made me a better caddie because I had to prepare more with him. Like I said, he never asked much from me, but when he did have a question, you better have the right answer.”

Pollock said he believes the Snead-Hogan rivalry ran deeper than a mutual respect on the course, that Snead really didn’t like Hogan.

Pollock thought it was unsporting of Snead to walk off the green at the 13th hole during his playoff round in the 1950 Los Angeles Open while Hogan was still putting.

Snead said he did it because he thought Hogan was trying to slow Snead’s momentum.

There is also the resentment factor.

Snead makes it clear he believed that the wrong golfer was chosen player of the year in 1950.

Snead had come off player-of-the-year honors in 1949, when he won six tournaments, finished second four times, third four times and in the top 10 20 times.

In 1950, Snead had what he has always considered his finest year, although he regrets it was one in which he did not win a major championship.

Still, he won 11 tournaments, finished second five times, placed third twice and was among the top 10 in 27 tournaments. He also won the Vardon Trophy with a scoring average of 69.25, setting a record that stood until Greg Norman broke it last year with a 69.10 average.

Hogan was chosen player of the year in 1950 because he won the U.S. Open after his comeback from a nearly fatal automobile accident. And that was a remarkable achievement.

But Snead pointed out that it was the only tournament Hogan won that year, adding: “I still don’t think it was right. That couldn’t happen today, because they just go by your record.”

Snead’s official record lists 81 tour victories and 13 senior titles, but he places the total at more than 130 internationally.

His only regret is never having won the U.S. Open.

“I could never putt those slick greens,” he said. “I probably lost 15 U.S. Opens because of my putting. I was a good long putter, but I had all sorts of trouble on the short ones because I was a wristy putter and my nerves started jumping on those little putts.”

Not winning the U.S. Open kept Snead out of another exclusive club: the Grand Slam champions.

Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Gary Player are the only players to win the U.S. and British Opens, the Masters and the PGA Championship during their careers.

“It’s too late to worry about that now,” Snead said.

Even at 78, Snead still plays in an occasional Senior PGA Tour event and enjoys watching today’s players on the regular tour.

“Everything is better today,” Snead said. “Although the courses are longer, the fairways and greens are in much better shape than what we had. We played on greens that had crabgrass and were rougher than a cob.

“And the equipment they have now. There is no comparison.”

But he doesn’t necessarily think the players are any better today--there simply are more of them.

How would Snead and Hogan in their prime have fared against today’s crop?

“Nobody would have been better prepared than Ben, I can tell you that,” Snead said. “He was a superb player who knew how to get the most from himself.”

As for himself, Snead deferred to a previous comment: When he was on his game, he would take himself over anybody.