Brandt Snedeker's rookie year wasn't quite enough to persuade him of his talent even though it did the trick in persuading everyone else. (Squire/Getty Images)

Playing in his second Masters Tournament but first as a professional, Snedeker birdied his final two holes Friday for a 4-under-par 68 and found himself tucked one stroke behind leader Trevor Immelman of South Africa midway through the year's first major championship.

Snedeker, who competed in the 2004 Masters as the reigning U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, completed 36 holes in 7-under 137, which is 11 strokes better than his '04 pace when he went on to finish joint 41st. The performance included a birdie at the par-3 sixth when he used his wedge to chip even though the ball was on the green. He didn't take a divot. He didn't take another shot, either.

Brandt Snedeker enjoyed a solid opening round Thursday and followed it up with another Friday. (Redington/Getty Images)

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"The pin was back left today on 6, and I hit it exactly where you don't want to hit it, which is back right on top of that knob," said Snedeker, 27, of Nashville, Tenn. "I had no choice; the only chance I had was chipping it and trying to spin it a little bit, and 10 or 12 feet was going to be a great shot, and it came off absolutely perfect, tracking the whole way."

Snedeker submitted a stellar season in 2007, finishing 17th in earnings and 20th in the FedExCup standings to earn a Masters invitation, but he struggled to accept that he belonged in the elite company in which he found himself at year's end when he qualified for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola.

But he was starting to get it.

"Last year it was ... I kind of backed my way into playing a great year," he said. "I never really believed that I was as good as I ended up playing last year, and when you finally get back and take a full scope over my whole year last year, I realized I played some great golf, and I need to kind of pat myself on the back a little bit more and realize that I am a good player and I do belong out here.

"I didn't really know how good I was until Greensboro last year, until I won," he added. "I got to see myself and realized I can hold up under some pressure. I'm going to pull on my experience a whole lot over the weekend because I'm going to need it."

If Snedeker still isn't entirely sold on his skills, two-time Masters champion Tom Watson can set him straight. Watson and Snedeker were paired together for the Par-3 Contest and for the first two tournament rounds.

"He played very well. But what most impressed me was his chip shot on the green at No. 6. He was dead and it was with a putter in his hand, and he knew it, and he took a chip shot and -- lo and behold -- he chipped it in the hole for two. The best he's going to make is four, maybe five, and he chips it in the hole for two. It shows some imagination, that's very impressive. Very impressive. He's got a lot of tools."

Interestingly, Snedeker, who has been a long-time fan of Watson's, said his imagination doesn't carry beyond the white stakes, or in this week's instance, the green shrubs and trees behind which Augusta National is ensconced.

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"I'm not an artist; I don't sing; I don't do anything like that," he said, laughing. "I don't know why, on the golf course, I somehow have some imagination and find shots. I am pretty much as plain Jane as you can get off the golf course."

He was plain good Friday. After making his only bogey of the day by three-putting the 16th, he jarred a 40-foot putt for birdie at the 17th hole to regain the stroke. On the home hole, he whistled an 8-iron from 170 yards to within 15 feet just below the hole and converted to get closer to Immelman, who, coincidentally, also is a former U.S. Public Links champion.

Snedeker, like Watson, is the type of player who likes to play fast. But he understands that patience pays dividends at Augusta. That requires maturity. That's a part of himself he does believe in.

"I've changed a little bit, hopefully all for the better," he said. "I've grown up a lot. My life has changed a lot, and it's been a good kind of maturation process.

"Around this place, it's about staying patient, which is extremely hard to do, because this course is waiting for you to make a mistake," he added. "And realizing you're going to make some mistakes, you're going to make a couples bogeys, there's no way you can play this course perfectly, and to have fun with it.

"Now, at the end of the day you're playing a sport, playing a game for a living. There are about 200 million people that would trade positions with me in a heartbeat, so I'm going to enjoy it while I'm doing it."

And maybe he'll enjoy knowing that he's fairly good at it, too.