Brandt Snedeker has obvious star quality, if you’re casting the lead in a community theatre production of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
With his flyaway blond hair, freckles and dimpled smile, Snedeker does not look as if he could scare a deer grazing. He has emerged as the most intimidating player down a tournament’s stretch without baring his teeth, unless it’s to smile; without hitting it a country mile; and while being as careful with his language as he is with his money. Especially now, because as Snedeker noted over the weekend: “I know they are pretty close with those microphones.”
With his two-stroke victory on Sunday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he climbed two places, to fourth. He is the second-ranked American, behind Tiger Woods.
Snedeker’s closing seven-under-par 65 at Pebble Beach Golf Links was his 16th sub-70 score in 19 rounds in 2013. In 10 official PGA Tour events since his last missed cut, at the PGA Championship in August, Snedeker has scored in the 60s in 29 of 39 rounds, with only two rounds above par.
He has six top-three finishes, including two victories, in that span. In five starts this year, Snedeker, the reigning FedEx Cup champion, is 82 under par.
“It seems like over the last three months, I’ve been waking up in a dream world, and it’s been pretty unbelievable,” said Snedeker, who finished at 19-under 267.
“To win the golf tournaments I’ve won and be in contention as much as I have, you know, probably with not very much fanfare and people thinking I don’t hit the ball very long, I’m not the best ball striker; somehow the sum of all my parts end up being pretty good at the end of the day.”
Chris Kirk, who began the final round one shot behind joint leaders Snedeker and James Hahn, was second at 17 under after closing with a 66. Hahn, the 31-year-old rookie, posted a 70 and finished tied for third with Kevin Stadler (65) and Jimmy Walker (66) at minus-14.
New York Times
