By JUSTIN JARRETT
jjarrett@islandpacket.com
843-706-8120
When Brandt Snedeker came to Harbour Town Golf Links last spring, his third-place showing and tearful outpouring on Sunday at the Masters Tournament fresh in golf fans’ minds, it seemed a star had been born.
His charge to the top of the leaderboard at Augusta National Golf Club last April — and his subsequent fall from that perch, as well as the emotional press conference that followed — made him one of the sport’s most recognizable young players.
Snedeker hasn’t been able to recapture that magic so far this season, missing the cut in six of his first nine events, including last week’s Masters. His struggles began last fall, when he didn’t post a top-10 finish in his last nine PGA Tour events after posting five top-10s earlier in the season, including a tie for third at the Masters and a tie for eighth at the U.S. Open.
“I think the biggest thing is probably consistency,” Snedeker said at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in November. “I had days and weeks where I feel like I can be a top-25 player in the world, top-30 player in the world, and I have days where I feel like I need a new job. So I need to find a little bit in between.”
Perhaps he can find that happy place at Harbour Town, a place with which he has felt a special bond since first playing at the Heritage on a sponsor’s exemption in 2005. He has made the cut in all three starts here, including a tie for 16th in 2007.
An affable Southerner — he was born in Nashville and was an all-American at Vanderbilt — Snedeker is a crowd favorite here, on and off the course. In the days leading up to last year’s Heritage, he was approached by several diners at Red Fish restaurant on Hilton Head Island, each of them offering kind words in the wake of his Masters meltdown.
“I just feel so relaxed being here,” Snedeker said at last year’s Heritage. “The people here are great.”
After enjoying tremendous success in the amateur and college ranks, Snedeker was the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2007 and he got off to a fast start in 2008. So his recent struggles are a new challenge he’s still learning to handle.
“I’ve kind of got to realize that once I leave the golf course, there’s nothing else I can do about it that day,” Snedeker said at Verizon Heritage Sponsor Day in December. “I have to realize I’m working as hard as I can, and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, but eventually it will.”
