Experience, imagination pay off for Snedeker

2008-04-11

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By John Nestor PA SportsTicker Golf Editor

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Ticker) - For a player making just his secondstart in The Masters, Brandt Snedeker has quite a bit ofexperience at Augusta National.

Snedeker used that insight, and some imaginative shot making toput his name near the top of the leaderboard on Friday in thesecond round of the season''s first major.

Winning the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links championship gotSnedeker a spot in the field here in 2004. He made the cut andfinished tied for 41st. It was just the beginning of Snedeker''srelationship with Augusta National.

Over the years, Snedeker estimated he has played at Augusta 40to 50 times. He never really got the best of the place, but hedid pick up a few pointers along the way.

"I''ve never really played that great," Snedeker said of hisvisits here. "When I''m here, I don''t know why, I''m always justso enthralled with the place every time I come. But I''ve hit itpretty much everywhere you don''t want to hit it, I know exactlywhere you don''t want to hit it, so I''m trying to avoid that thisweek."

For the most part Snedeker has avoided the trouble spots. Hehas just two bogeys through his first two rounds and he firedfive birdies on Friday.

Snedeker three-putted for bogey at No. 16, his lone miscue ofthe day. He responded with a pair of birdies to close out theround, including a 40-foot bomb at 17. An 8-iron from 170 yardsto 15 feet at 18 led to his final birdie and put Snedeker justa shot off the lead.

When he did get into a tough spot, Snedeker relied on someimaginative shot making to get out of it.

The hole location on the par-3 sixth was back left and Snedekerhit his tee shot to the back right. On top of a knob and facedwith a putt that would have gone through the rough and over thefringe to get to the cup, Snedeker went to his bag of tricks.

He pulled out a lob wedge and chipped his second shot despitebeing on the green. The ball tracked the cup the whole way anddropped for an unlikely birdie, drawing one of the biggest roarsof the day.

"I had no choice," Snedeker said. "I felt like if I putted it,it would end up on the front edge and the only chance I had waschipping it. I was trying to spin it a little and getting it to10 or 12 feet was going to be a great shot. It came offabsolutely perfect, tracking the whole way.

"It was just one of those shots you''re trying to hit and it cameoff just how I was trying to hit it."

It came off that way because Snedeker has spent plenty of timepracticing how to get the most out of his game around thegreens.

"I grew up on municipal courses around Nashville as a kid and Ikind of hit it everywhere and scraped it around," Snedeker said."I always had fun getting up-and-down and making putts when youhad to and chipping, doing crazy stuff. Kind of just having funout there on the golf course.

"If you''re not imaginative here, you''re not going to be able to hit a lot of shots up-and-down."

Imaginative is one thing, but being just a shot off the leadwill mean that Snedeker will have to be smart on Saturday aswell.

"Around this place it''s about staying patient, which isextremely hard to do, because this course is waiting for you tomake a mistake," Snedeker said. "And realizing you''re going tomake some mistakes, you''re going to make a couple bogeys.There''s no way you can play this course perfectly."

But with experience and a little imagination, Snedeker camepretty close on Friday.