"Sports Illustrated called Snead's 59 'the greatest competitive round in the history of the game.'"

Nice note from Bob Harig this week on a forgotten 59 by Sam Snead at, you guessed it, the Greenbrier in 1959.

It doesn't count in the PGA Tour record book because the event was not a tour-sanctioned tournament. But it got plenty of attention nonetheless.

According to West Virginia's Register-Herald, Snead shot 59 on May 16, 1959 at the Greenbrier Open, a pro-am event staged at the annual Spring Festival at the Greenbrier.

Snead played alongside three amateurs and Robert Harris, the director of golf and recreation at the Greenbrier. Harris noted that at the time that Snead "did what no one thought was possible. He shot a 59 in a competitive event on a championship golf course during the Greenbrier's annual Spring Festival pro-am.

"Although the PGA Tour does not recognize the feat in their record books, the world recognizes that Sam was the first golfer, either professional or amateur, to achieve that goal."

Sports Illustrated called Snead's 59 "the greatest competitive round in the history of the game."

Snead did shoot 60 in an official PGA Tour event, one of 24 recorded overall. He became the seventh player to do so, accomplishing the feat at the 1957 Dallas Open at Glen Lakes Country Club.