J.C. Snead joined the PGA TOUR in 1968 at a time when the TOUR already featured another Snead, a player of some renown, someone who happened to be J.C.’s uncle.
Throughout his life, Sam Snead, the winner of 82 PGA TOUR titles, always referred to his nephew as Carlyle, not using his first name—Jesse—or his initials. Instead, Sam went with his nephew’s middle name.
Once they were both on the PGA TOUR, Sam saw no need to change. Meanwhile, whenever J.C. saw his father’s younger brother, he always used “Uncle Sam” when talking to the TOUR’s all-time winningest player.