PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — With one last birdie, Brandt Snedeker finally had a chance to catch his breath at one of the best places in golf.
He was on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach with a three shot lead Sunday as he gazed into the sun at an endless ocean and tried to grasp just how far he has come in the past few months.
There was that big victory at the Tour Championship to claim the $10 million prize as the FedEx Cup champion.
He played in his first Ryder Cup.
In his past nine tournaments, he has six finishes in the top three, including back-to-back weeks as the runner-up to Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
Snedeker wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
“Just hard to put into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months,” Snedeker said after his two-shot victory. “Something you dream about. Something you think that you can do, but you don’t really know until you actually put it together. And I have.
“I’m really enjoying this, and hopefully can parlay this into the best year of my career.”
He was the best all week at Pebble Beach, finishing at 19-under 267.
Snedeker built his lead in the final round by playing the opening seven holes in 5 under, fired at the flag on the par-3 17th to set up his last birdie and closed with a 7-under 65, his 10th consecutive round in the 60s.
A tap-in par on the 18th gave him a two-shot victory over Chris Kirk, who stayed in the hunt all day without ever putting too much pressure on Snedeker.
“The last two weeks, playing great but running into two Hall of Famers, really motivated me to go out and prove that I can handle the lead,” he said.
Snedeker improved to No. 4 in the world with his fifth career victory - his fourth over the past 22 months - making him the second-highest American in the world ranking behind Woods.
“Sneds is officially the best golfer on the planet right now,” Ian Poulter tweeted from home in Orlando, Fla. “Some serious golf he is playing.”
Snedeker, 32, from Nashville, Tenn., has a victory, two second-place finishes and a third in five starts this year, eclipsing $2.8 million in earnings. He never had much of a chance against Woods at Torrey Pines or Mickelson at the Phoenix Open, who each had big leads going into the final round.
Snedeker was tied with James Hahn, a 31-year-old rookie, and seized control with an eagle and three birdies on the opening seven holes. Snedeker responded to his only bogey, a three-putt at No. 9, by rolling in birdie putts on the next two holes.
Hahn said he was looking forward to learning something from his debut in the final group, and he saw Snedeker put on a clinic.
“I learned that he is a better guy than he is a golfer. The dude is world class,” Hahn said. “He’s obviously one of the best, if not the best golfer right now, and possibly for the last year. But how he conducts himself as a person on an off the golf course, that’s also world class. He deserved to win today. ... I’m sure if you ask him, it was never a doubt that he was going to win the golf tournament.”
Kirk never got closer than two shots of the lead, missing an 8-footer on the 16th that could have put some pressure on Snedeker. He closed with a 66 to finish at 269, a score that would been good enough to win all but four times at Pebble Beach since this event began in 1937.
“We’ve had a lot of tournaments like that on tour this year where somebody has really just kind of blitzed the field,” Kirk said. “I felt like I played well enough to win a golf tournament and came up a little bit short.”
Hahn wound up with a 2-under 70 and tied for third with Jimmy Walker (66) and Kevin Stadler (65). The day wasn’t a total loss for Hahn.He previously tied for fourth at the Humana Challenge, and his tie for third gets him into Riviera next week. He is already 11th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Mickelson, the defending champion, hit two more balls in the ocean on the 18th hole, but at least this time he didn’t slip on the rocks. He closed with a 72 and tied for 60th.
Conway’s Bryce Molder closed with a final-round 64 for a 10-under 276 and earned $131,625. Scott Gardiner of Farmington closed with a 68 to finish 2-under and earned $15,184, tying with Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State), who shot a 69.
CHAMPIONS
Mediate wins debut
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Rocco Mediate birdied the 18th hole and finished with a 1-under par 71 to win the Allianz Championship.
He finished the tournament at 17-under 199 and became the 16th player to have a winning debut on the Champions Tour.
Mediate’s 4-foot birdie putt came after Tom Pernice Jr. missed a 5-footer at No. 18 that could have forced a playoff.
Mediate started the day with a three-shot lead, lost it by the 14th hole, but regained it when Pernice bogeyed the par-4 17th from a green side bunker. Mediate protected that lead with a birdie on the par-5 closing hole.
“I’m ecstatic,” Mediate said. “I have been saying all week it’s never easy. It shouldn’t be easy. I was prepared to make that putt [at No. 18], but I didn’t have to.”
Pernice, who had a final round 70, finished tied with Bernhard Langer (68) for second place.
Pernice was the last player to win his Champions Tour debut three years ago, but is still trying for a second title.
Langer was within a shot of Mediate on the back nine, but also couldn’t make any key putts. It marked Langer’s fourth top-three finish in this event in the past five years. Langer won here in 2010.
Mark O’Meara (69) and defending champion Corey Pavin (69) were both six shots off the lead.
PGA EUROPEAN
Sterne cruises to title
JOHANNESBURG - Richard Sterne cruised to his first European Tour title in more than four years, winning the Joburg Open by seven shots.
Sterne shot a bogey-free 64 to finish with a tournament record total of 27 under at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington golf course and win by the largest margin in tournament history.
Fellow overnight leader Trevor Fisher Jr. faltered on the final day, allowing Sterne to finish well clear of Charl Schwartzel (66) in second. Fisher eagled the first but sank to a 1-over 73 that dropped him to joint sixth, despite sitting five shots clear of the field with Sterne at the start of the final round.
Sunday’s results
PGA Tour PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM Pebble Beach, Calif.
Purse: $6.5 million p-Pebble Beach GL; 6,816 yards; par 72; m-Monterey Peninsula CC, sore Course; 6,838 yards; par 70; s-Spyglass Hill GC; 6,953 yards; par 72 Final round played on Pebble Beach 267 (-19) (500) $1,170,000 Brandt Snedeker ..................66m-68s-68p-65 269 (-17) (300), $702,000 Chris Kirk .............................71s-68p-64m-66 272 (-14) (145), $338,000 Kevin Stadler ........................69p-69m-69s-65 Jimmy Walker ......................68m-71s-67p-66 James Hahn .........................71p-65m-66s-70 273 (-13) (100), $234,000 Jason Day ............................68m-68s-70p-67 274 (-12) (88), $209,625 Fredrik Jacobson .................71s-66p-70m-67 Patrick Reed .........................68s-69p-67m-70 275 (-11) (75), $175,500 Patrick Cantlay .....................66m-70s-72p-67 James Driscoll .....................72m-67s-67p-69 Retief Goosen ......................71s-68p-67m-69 276 (-10) (60), $131,625 Bryce Molder .................71m-72s-69p-64 Justin Hicks ..........................71s-68p-70m-67 Aaron Baddeley ....................69s-71p-69m-67 Richard H. Lee .....................68m-71s-66p-71 277 (-9) (53), $94,250 John Merrick ........................68p-67m-74s-68 William McGirt .....................72s-69p-67m-69 Charlie Wi .............................70m-70s-68p-69 Hunter Mahan ......................66p-69m-73s-69 Ted Potter Jr. ........................67p-67m-73s-70 Sean O’Hair ..........................70p-67m-70s-70 278 (-8) (48), $65,000 Cameron Tringale .................71s-71p-70m-66 Jordan Spieth .......................70m-70s-68p-70 Kevin Na ...............................68s-72p-68m-70 Robert Garrigus ...................71m-69s-66p-72 279 (-7) (45), $51,025 Luke Guthrie .........................68p-70m-69s-72 Webb Simpson ....................71m-71s-65p-72 280 (-6) (43), $47,125 Russell Knox ........................64m-73s-71p-72 Billy Horschel .......................70s-71p-67m-72 281 (-5) (37), $36,205 Heath Slocum ......................69p-71m-71s-70 281 (-5) (37), $36,205 Scott Brown .........................72p-68m-69s-72 Bob Estes .............................69s-71p-72m-69 281 (-5) (37), $36,205 Jim Furyk .............................75s-69p-68m-69 Matt Every ............................67p-70m-71s-73 Doug LaBelle II .....................69s-75p-69m-68 Alistair Presnell ....................68 s-72p-68m-73Brian Stuard .........................69p-72m-72s-68 Matt Jones ...........................69s-72p-72m-68 Greg Owen ...........................65m-75s-73p-68 282 (-4) (29), $24,700 Ryuji Imada ..........................65m-73s-73p-71 Jason Bohn ..........................71p-70m-71s-70 Bill Lunde .............................71s-70p-68m-73 Kelly Kraft .............................69m-71s-72p-70 Brad Fritsch ..........................69m-73s-71p-69 Kevin Streelman ...................69p-69m-75s-69 283 (-3) (24), $18,428 Lee Westwood .....................68p-70m-73s-72 Brendon de Jonge ................67m-71s-73p-72 Tim Clark ..............................76s-67p-70m-70 Jeff Maggert .........................67m-73s-73p-70 284 (-2) (17), $15,184 Scott Gardiner ................73s-69p-68m-74 Ken Duke ......................71s-72p-69m-72 Brian Harman .......................68m-73s-70p-73 Mike Weir .............................75p-65m-71s-73 Josh Teater ...........................70m-72s-68p-74 Vijay Singh ...........................72p-72m-66s-74 Peter Tomasulo ....................71m-75s-66p-72 Pat Perez ..............................69m-69s-74p-72 J.B. Holmes ..........................72s-70p-71m-71 Sam Saunders .....................76s-71p-66m-71 285 (-1) (11), $14,235 Rod Pampling ......................71m-70s-72p-72 Phil Mickelson ......................69m-71s-73p-72 286 (E) (7), $13,715 Chez Reavie ..........................70p-72m-68s-76 Scott Langley .......................65m-77s-69p-75 John Mallinger .....................68m-75s-69p-74 Stuart Appleby .....................70p-71m-71s-74 Troy Kelly ..............................73p-68m-72s-73 Cameron Percy ....................74p-68m-71s-73 287 (+1) (3), $13,260 Nick O’Hern ..........................70p-66m-76s-75 288 (+2) (2), $13,065 Seung-Yul Noh .....................67s-73p-72m-76 J.J. Henry .............................72 s-71p-70m-75
Champions
ALLIANZ CHAMPIONSHIP At The Old Course at Broken Sound, Boca Raton, Fla.
Purse: $1.8 million Par 72, 6,807 yards Final round 199 (-17), $270,000 Rocco Mediate ..................................67-61-71 201 (-15), $144,000 Bernhard Langer ...............................66-67-68 Tom Pernice Jr. .................................66-65-70 205 (-11), $96,300 Mark O’Meara ...................................69-67-69 Corey Pavin .......................................67-69-69 207 (-9), $64,800 Fred Funk (65) ..................................67-69-71 Tom Lehman .....................................68-73-66 Duffy Waldorf ....................................74-66-67208 (-8), $45,000 John Cook .........................................68-70-70 David Frost ........................................70-65-73 John Huston .....................................68-69-71 Larry Mize .........................................69-67-72 209 (-7), $31,500 Jay Don Blake ...................................72-66-71 Andrew Magee ..................................70-71-68 Mark McNulty ...................................70-70-69 Peter Senior ......................................69-69-71 Esteban Toledo ..................................70-70-69 Kirk Triplett ........................................69-70-70 210 (-6), $20,700 Michael Allen .....................................68-70-72 Olin Browne ......................................71-69-70 Brad Faxon ........................................69-72-69 Jay Haas ............................................73-68-69 Mark Mouland ...................................68-73-69 Kenny Perry ......................................70-71-69 Scott Simpson ..................................67-73-70 Jim Thorpe ........................................71-69-70 211 (-5), $14,610 Roger Chapman ................................67-75-69 Russ Cochran ...................................70-70-71 Jim Gallagher, Jr. ..............................68-71-72 Steve Jones .......................................70-69-72 Lee Rinker .........................................75-67-69 Bob Tway ...........................................71-67-73 212 (-4), $11,610 Bart Bryant ........................................67-70-75 Morris Hatalsky .................................72-70-70 Steve Pate .........................................72-69-71 Jeff Sluman, $11,610 .......................71-70-71 213 (-3), $9,720 John Harris .......................................70-73-70 Gene Jones .......................................73-72-68 Larry Nelson ......................................69-70-74 Willie Wood .......................................71-68-74 214 (-2), $8,280 Joel Edwards .....................................73-68-73 Bill Glasson .......................................71-71-72 Mike Goodes .....................................74-71-69 Hale Irwin ..........................................72-69-73 215 (-1), $7,200 Peter Jacobsen .................................71-70-74 Wayne Levi ........................................72-72-71 216 (E), $5,940 Steve Elkington .................................71-74-71 Mike Hulbert ......................................72-73-71 Chien Soon Lu, $5,940 .....................71-74-71 Dick Mast, $5,940 .............................68-76-72 Jim Rutledge, $5,940 .......................76-67-73 217 (+1), $4,356 Brad Bryant .......................................70-72-75 Joe Daley ...........................................69-72-76 Dan Forsman .....................................68-77-72 Blaine McCallister .............................69-73-75 Mark Wiebe .......................................78-69-70 218 (+2), $3,600 Gil Morgan ........................................72-73-73 Hal Sutton .........................................74-69-75 Bruce Vaughan ..................................72-72-74219 (+3), $2,880 David Eger .........................................68-75-76 Tom Kite ............................................70-76-73 Sandy Lyle .........................................73-73-73 Joey Sindelar ....................................71-76-72 D.A. Weibring ....................................73-75-71 221 (+5), $2,250 Mark Brooks .....................................74-73-74 Bobby Wadkins .................................78-71-72 222 (+6), $1,890 Bob Gilder .........................................72-74-76 Steve Lowery ....................................71-75-76 223 (+7), $1,638 Tom Purtzer .......................................75-69-79 Craig Stadler .....................................73-75-75 224 (+8), $1,368 Gary Hallberg ....................................71-72-81 Dana Quigley .....................................71-73-80 Sonny Skinner ...................................75-74-75 226 (+10), $1,188 Ben Crenshaw ...................................74-78-74 227 (+11), $1,044 Tommy Armour III ............................76-72-79 Mark Calcavecchia ............................75-76-76 Chie-Hsiang Lin .................................75-77-75 228 (+12), $900 Andy Bean .........................................77-77-74 229 (+13), $801 Allen Doyle ........................................77-76-76 Warren Jurkowitz ..............................75-81-73 236 (+20), $738 Fuzzy Zoeller .....................................76-76-84
PGA European
JOBURG OPEN At Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg Purse: $1.75 million e-East Course: 7,592 yards, par 72; w-West Course: 7,237 yards, par 71 Final two rounds played on the East Course Final round 260 (-27) Richard Sterne ........................63w-65e-68-64 267 (-20) Charl Schwartzel .....................68e-65w-68-66 268 (-19) Felipe Aguilar ...........................67w-66e-68-67 George Coetzee .......................67w-64e-70-67 Ricardo Santos .......................70e-65w-69-64 269 (-18) Trevor Fisher Jr. .......................66e-62w-6873 Thomas Aiken .........................67e-70w-66-66 Keith Horne .............................67w-66e-71-65 270 (-17) Lorenzo Gagli ..........................67w-68e-68-67 Garth Mulroy ...........................70 e-68w-65-67
Sports, Pages 13 on 02/11/2013