On a difficult day, Snedeker's 68 brings the field back to him
This week at the 108th U.S. Open, though, the affable young pro from Tennessee made the cut on the number at Torrey Pines.
Sure, the first two rounds at Torrey Pines didn't turn out quite as Snedeker wanted. But he's is a glass-half-full-kind of guy -- and he proved it on Saturday in shooting a 3-under 68 that was the low round of the chilly, gray day.
"When you barely make the cut and you're so far back, you've got to go for some pins, make some stuff happen early and get some momentum going," said Snedeker, who will start the final round 4 over. "I was able to do that on the first nine and make some putts."
Snedeker made four birdies and an eagle at the 13th hole Saturday. He had 235 yards to the front, which is about as far as the one-time TOUR winner can hit a hybrid. He hit a high cut and the ball landed on the front of the green, rolling 20 feet past the pin.
"I just tried to get good speed on the putt," Snedeker said. "It was a very fast putt, center cut the whole way. I thought it had a chance and it went right in the middle. I got pretty excited, got the juices flowing again and it was fun. I had some memories here."
Those memories are from 2007 when Snedeker shot an 11-under 61 on the North Course in just his third start as a PGA TOUR member. The Buick Invitational has a two-course rotation, but Torrey's South is the only one being used for the U.S. Open.
"Obviously, my course is a parking lot right now," Snedeker said with a smile as he gestured toward the hospitality tents.
After he made the eagle, Snedeker had visions of going really, really low at Torrey Pines. He had good looks at birdie at the 16th and 17th holes, but didn't convert, and an errant wedge on the par-5 18th resulted in a third straight par.
Still, Snedeker, who had opened with rounds of 76 and 73, was pleased with his performance.
"I drove it in play today," he said. "My coach Todd Anderson is here and we've worked on some stuff the last three days, and it finally clicked this morning. I hit a lot of good shots, and I didn't put myself in that heavy rough until the last hole but it's a par 5 so it wasn't too penal. And I made a couple 20-30 footers which you have to do around here if you want to shoot a low number."
The 27-year-old Snedeker teed off with another of the PGA TOUR's young guns, Jeff Quinney, at 9:20 a.m. PT. He said there was relatively little wind -- unlike as the afternoon progressed -- and the greens were, in a word, "perfect."
"The USGA did a great job varying the golf course up," Snedeker said. "They moved the fourth tee box up which was huge today because it was playing into the wind and it would have been a bear if they didn't.
"They did a lot of cool, fun things I wasn't expecting. It was really kind of fun to play a different golf course today."
Snedeker is just starting to regain his competitive footing after contending at the Masters, which was more draining that he had ever imagined. He played with the eventual champion, Trevor Immelman, that Sunday but couldn't keep pace with a 77.
"Trevor and I actually talked about it a couple of weeks ago how basically worn out we were after that week," Snedeker said. "We were kind of rookies at it. ... We didn't know what to expect.
"I'm just starting to get back in the comfort zone being in the middle of the summer and trying to get my game back together...probably last week in Memphis was the first time I got in contention and got the juices flowing again.
"Today is another stepping stone to get me back to try to go out and win again."
Snedeker, who capped a Rookie of the Year season with a victory at the Wyndham Championship, loves playing courses where pars "are a bear to make." He also relishes testing his game against the best players in the world.
"Those are two ingredients in every major so it gets me ready to go out there and compete," Snedeker said.
On Saturday afternoon, though, Snedeker was headed back to his room to settle down in front of a TV. He'd done his part, shooting 68, and now he could relax.
"Now I can go home and watch the carnage," he said with a grin.
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