Snedeker Comes Up Short After Shooting A Final Round 61
Shooting 59 is the holy grail of golf. The ability to break 60 is a magical line that all golfers would love to cross, but only the very best ever have the chance.
Brandt Snedeker has had two great chances on the PGA Tour in his career to break the magical barrier, the first coming in the first round of the 2007 Buick Invitational on Torrey Pines North Course.
Starting on the 10th hole, Snedeker turned in 27 with seven birdies and one eagle. It wasn't until the 17th hole that the Vanderbilt grad made a par. Unfortunately for him the second nine only yielded two birdies and a 61 that could have been so much more.
Snedeker would go on to lose to Tiger Woods that year and finish third behind Woods and Charles Howell III.
Just about four and halve years later, Snedeker was at it again, but this time on a bigger stage and with a chance to win a FedEx Cup playoff event.
"I thought my best opportunity would be if I got to 18‑under par which would have been 59," Snedeker said. "I thought then on the outside, if some rain and some wind came in that didn't blow, that I might have an outside chance at it."
Snedeker started the final round eight shots behind leader Matt Kuchar, he immediately cut into that lead with six birdies in the first seven holes, putting him self not only on the first page of the leaderboard, but with a chance to determined the outcome of the tournament.
Two more birdies on the back nine before a costly bogey on the 13th hole derailed his chances to catch the leaders, but also to break the 60 barrier.
Three more birdies over the last five holes, produced another 61 for Snedeker, he also recorded his best finish since winning The Heritage this year with a tie for third with Vijay Singh and more importantly moved to sixth on the Fed Ex Cup points list going into the Deutsche Bank Championship next week.
"I had a pretty good idea that I had a chance of shooting something pretty good as long as I didn't mess it up," Snedeker said after his round. "I was swinging great at it and rolling it great, and just knew if I kept giving myself chances, that I would have a good chance out there. And I did that coming down the stretch and I'm really happy the way I finished it out,"
Stuart Hall is editor of the Golf Press Association.
