Leroy Oudinot was a 13-year-old caddy when the 1949 Reading Open was played at the Reading Country Club.
Oudinot’s memories of that weekend remain vivid. He can recall carrying the bag of Henry Poe, the longtime pro at the Reading who missed the cut, and watching Sam Snead and Cary Middlecoff, who had combined to win the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA titles earlier that year.
Oudinot was standing near the 18th green during the first round 70 years ago today when Snead, then 37 and in the prime of his career, sank a 10-foot birdie putt that gave him a 7-under 63, which set a course record that has been tied but still stands.
“There were no ropes,” said Oudinot, an Exeter Township resident who turns 84 later this month. “You stayed back out of respect for the golfers. There was no shouting and hollering that you see today. Snead had the biggest crowds, the biggest galleries. They were there to see him. He knocked it right in the middle of the cup.”
The Reading Country Club will mark the 70th anniversary of Snead’s record round today by offering hot dogs for 63 cents to golfers.
Snead, who died in 2002 at the age of 89, won PGA events over six decades and was credited with winning a record 82 PGA Tour titles, one more than Tiger Woods. He won seven major championships: three Masters, three PGA and one British Open.
When he played in the ’49 Reading Open, Snead was regarded as one of the top golfers in the world, along with Middlecoff, Ben Hogan and Jimmy Demaret.
Hogan, who was seriously injured in a February 1949 car accident, was unable to play after he won the 1948 Reading Open at the Berkshire Country Club. Demaret did not play in the event in ’49 for an undisclosed reason.
Snead and Middlecoff, who was then 28, were the top two money winners in professional golf entering the ’49 Reading Open – played the same week as the British Open – and considered the co-favorites. Earlier that year, Snead won the Masters and the PGA Championship before tying for second at the U.S. Open, one stroke behind Middlecoff. He also had two other victories.
“Snead was probably the finest swinger of a golf club that I’ve ever seen,” said Oudinot, who also caddied in the ’48 and ’51 Reading Open. “He was just so motionless. It looked like he was breaking a Ritz cracker every time he hit it. His swing was just so pure.
“He was a beautiful wedge and short-iron player. He was a tremendous driver, long and straight.”
During a practice round, Oudinot followed Snead for a while and recalled a conversation Snead had with his caddy, Ray Kulp of Birdsboro, who drew the assignment, according to the Reading Eagle, after his name was drawn from a hat. They were standing on the tee at No. 7, now a 426-yard hole from the blue tees.
“Snead asked his caddy how far it was to the creek on No. 7,” Oudinot said. “It was one of the longer 4-pars then. It has a creek that runs through the fairway and that was about 250 to 260 yards from the tee.
“The caddy made the mistake of answering, ‘Well, nobody can hit it over the creek.’ Snead said, ‘I didn’t ask you if I can do it. I just asked you for the yardage.’ He took a driver and hit three balls over that creek. I couldn’t believe it.”
Snead was paired in the first round with Jack Grout and Henry Ransom. He birdied 3, 5, 8 and 9 to finish with a 30 on the front nine and birdied 10 and 14.
He sank a 10-footer for birdie on 18 for a 33 on the back nine and a round of 63, two strokes better than the old record of 65 set by former Reading Country Club pro and golfing legend Byron Nelson. Snead needed only 27 putts
According to club historian Tom Walker, Scott Orr tied Snead’s record by shooting a 63 in the 1990 Reading Country Club Member-Member tournament.
Walker said the course is slightly different today than it was in 1949. No. 10 was a 260-yard par-4 and is now a 169-yard par-3 from the blue tees; No. 12, formerly somewhere between 440 and 460 yards, is 360 yards today; and No. 17, which was a 400-yard par-4, is now a 510-yard par-5.
For the 1949 Reading Open, the course played to 6,001 yards. Today, from the blue tees, it’s 6,162 yards.
Snead followed his opening round by shooting a 1-over 71, prompting a Reading Eagle staffer to write: “Slammin’ Sammy Snead, first-day leader in the $15,000 Reading Open at the Reading Country Club yesterday with a record-breaking 63, lived up to his erratic reputation today when he slipped to a one-over-par 71.”
After 36 holes, Snead was tied for the lead with former PGA champion Vic Ghezzi at 6-under 134. Middlecoff was tied for third, one shot back.
Snead and Middlecoff played very well in the third round, Snead shooting a 66 and Middlecoff a 65. They were tied at 10-under 200, four shots ahead of the rest of the field, entering the final round. Oddly, Middlecoff teed off about 25 minutes before Snead, who was in the final group.
After the third round, Snead was prescient when he said a 72-hole score of 266 would win the tournament and that he’d settle for a 66. Middlecoff finished with a 66 by making a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 18 and then waited to see what Snead would do.
According to Oudinot, Snead reached the par-5 14th green in two and three-putted. When he arrived at No. 18, he needed a birdie to tie Middlecoff and force an 18-hole playoff the next day.
“I followed him every step of the way,” Oudinot said. “The 18th green was completely surrounded like a horseshoe. There was great enthusiasm for Snead.”
The gallery, which was estimated at 3,500, watched as Snead knocked his approach shot to within 4 feet of the hole. But his sidehill putt “skirted the rim of the cup,” according to the Eagle, enabling Middlecoff to win.
“He missed two great chances on 14 and 18,” Oudinot said. “If he would have made them, he would have won.”
Snead finished with a final-round 67 and a 72-hole total of 267, one shot behind Middlecoff’s 266, the score that Snead predicted would win. Middlecoff won $2,600, which pales in comparison to today’s prize money but what he called the biggest payday of his career.
Several golfers with Berks County connections competed in the event. Henry Williams Jr., the longtime pro at the Berkleigh Country Club and the Moselem Springs Golf Club, was then the pro at a Delaware County club. He tied for 17th at even-par 280.
Buddy Heckman, then the assistant pro at the Berkleigh, finished at 287, ahead of local amateurs Johnny Markel (292), Jack Weitzel (300), Buddy Lutz (301) and Julian Frankel (305).
Former or future major champions such as Ed Furgol, Jim Turnesa, Lawson Little, Chick Harbert, Lloyd Mangrum, Jack Burke Jr. and Craig Wood also made the cut.
Snead redeemed himself the following year by winning the Reading Open at the Berkshire. Turnesa took the 1951 title with a victory at the Berkleigh, the event’s final year in a memorable five-year run.
Snead returned to the Reading in 1953 when the Ryder Cup challenge matches were held there and lost his singles match to Claude Harmon.
Photos of several golfers hang in the Reading pro shop, named after Nelson, but there are none of Snead to be found or any artifacts from his record round.
Just faded memories.
Contact Rich Scarcella: 610-371-5070 or rscarcella@readingeagle.com.
