Greenbrier welcomes Watson

White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. – Tom Watson, winner of 39 events on the PGA Tour and current player on the Champions Tour, is the new golf professional emeritus for The Greenbrier.

The only other golfer to have had that role was the legendary Sam Snead.
“Sam Snead was one of the four or five greatest players in the history of golf, and Tom Watson is in the same group,” says Ted Kleisner, president and managing director of The Greenbrier. “Tom will carry on the tradition of Sam Snead, promoting the golfing heritage of The Greenbrier that’s now almost 100 years old.”

Watson’s first appearance with his relationship with The Greenbrier will be at this year’s Masters, an event he won in 1977 and 1981.

Among Watson’s other PGA Tour victories are the 1982 U.S. Open and a remarkable five at the British Open (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983). He won the 2001 Senior PGA Championship and the 2003 Senior British Open. Beginning in 1977, he won six PGA Tour Player of the Year awards and led the money list five times.

“I was privileged to know Sam Snead and to have played golf with him at The Greenbrier,” Watson says. “It’s an honor to represent The Greenbrier in the fashion he did as golf professional emeritus. The Greenbrier is a truly wonderful and diverse resort, and I encourage golfers to see for themselves why that is so."

Watson has a long history with The Greenbrier. His first visit was in 1979 when The Greenbrier hosted the Ryder Cup.

The birth of Watson’s first child pulled him away just as competition was to begin. The next year, however, he was back as a resort guest, having chosen The Greenbrier for a meeting with his sponsors and business associates.

“Tom’s now been with us for 25 years with that meeting,” Kleisner says. “We’re very pleased that The Greenbrier’s golf, relaxed atmosphere and meeting facilities have helped build such an enduring relationship.”

Both Snead and Watson are in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Snead was inducted in the first class of members in 1974. Watson was a 1988 inductee.
Snead’s affiliation with The Greenbrier began in 1935 when he became the resort’s playing professional. He returned later in his career as professional emeritus, a position he held until his death in 2002.

Through more than 50 years as an active competitor, Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events and 140 events worldwide.

Information about The Greenbrier is available at www.greenbrier.com.