1942 PGA Championship Gold Medal Won by Sam Snead-His First Major Victory....

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Snead downs Hogan & Nelson en route to glory

1942 PGA Championship Gold Medal Won by Sam Snead-His First Major Victory. American golf historians consider this playing of the PGA Championship to be a true passing of the torch, as the venerable Walter Hagen made his last Major appearance, and a young Sam Snead, who celebrated his thirtieth birthday during the tournament, claimed his first. From a shark tank of a Quarterfinals that included Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Craig Wood and Jimmy Demaret, Snead would emerge as the last man standing at Atlantic City's Seaview Country Club, defeating Jim Turnesa in the final thirty-six holes by a score of two and one.

In golf as it is in love, there's nothing like the first time, and surely this elegant symbol of Snead's inaugural Major victory surely held a special place in both his heart and his trophy case. Though he had won twenty-seven regular PGA tournaments as he arrived at Seaview this year, Snead had been anxious to shed his distinction as "the best player without a Major." The final nail in Turnesa's coffin was slammed home in dramatic fashion on the thirty-fifth hole, as Snead dropped a sixty-foot chip shot for the birdie to claim the spectacular Gold Medal presented here.

The medal remains housed in the original hinged presentation case, and a gold embossed ribbon on the lid announces the details: "Winner, 1942 P.G.A. Championship, Absecon, N.J., May 25-31, 1942." The medal itself is stamped "14K" on the edge and pictures a golfer in full swing on obverse along with a winged victory figure holding a laurel wreath. A single .15 carat real diamond is inset at top of reverse above a gorgeous golf landscape, a bag of clubs, and the text, "The Professional Golfers' Association of America Championship, Winner 1942." The medal measures 1.75" in diameter and weighs 1.8 ounces. Fine condition. Letter of provenance from Jack Snead.