Trump gifted $400mn Boeing: Who is Sam Snead, golfer quoted by the US President?

Indian Express

13-05-2025

Donald Trump said on Monday (May 12) that it would have been 'stupid' to say no to the gift of a $400-million Boeing 747 from the Qatari royal family for use as Air Force One, the aircraft of the President of the United States.
'I think it's a great gesture from Qatar. Appreciate it very much,' a report by ABC News quoted Trump as having said. 'I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.' But it was, I thought it was a great gesture.'
The President, who has been criticised for giving established norms of propriety in public office the go-by in accepting the expensive Qatari gift, went on to draw an analogy between his thinking and what he claimed was the philosophy of the former American professional golfer Samuel Jackson Snead.
'There was an old golfer named Sam Snead. Did you ever hear of him?' The New York Times quoted the President as saying. Snead, according to Trump, 'had a motto', which was: 'When they give you a putt, you say, 'Thank you very much.' You pick up your ball, and you walk to the next hole. A lot of people are stupid. They say, 'No, no, I insist on putting it.' Then they putt it, they miss it, and their partner gets angry at them.'
'Remember that,' Trump said, according to The NYT report. 'Sam Snead.'
Sam Snead is considered one of the legends of golf, and is tied for the most wins on the PGA Tour (82) with Tiger Woods, including seven Majors. He was one of the leading players in the sport in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He is said to have said: ''Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt.'
Conceding a putt is a practice in Match Play golf, in prestigious events such as the Ryder Cup, when a player allows an opponent to pick up the ball when it is considered close enough to the hole for the next shot to be a formality.
Snead was considered one of the Big Three of the Game in his time, along with Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. He was known for his straw hat and folksy humour, and often used unorthodox methods to be effective in golf. He was said to be particular about his finances, probably one of the reasons why he didn't play the Open Championship across the Atlantic until 1946, when he was forced to tee up at St Andrews course (called the Home of Golf) due to contractual ties with a sponsor. He won the tournament but the winner's purse of $600 was pittance compared to what he spent on his four caddies and $2,000 in expenses. He was also sceptical about professional golf's financial viability in those days.