Story highlights
American Brandt Snedeker wins AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by two strokes
Snedeker finishes on 19-under-par to beat fellow countryman Chris Kirk by two shots
Ian Poulter says Snedeker is "officially the best golfer on the planet right now"
Snedeker won last season's FedEx playoffs and the Tour Championship
Europe’s Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter is in no doubt as to who rules the roost of golf at present: “Sneds is officially the best golfer on the planet right now.”
“Sneds” is short for Brandt Snedeker, and Poulter’s tribute on Twitter came soon after the native Tennessean had wrapped up a two-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
It means the 32-year-old has picked up in 2013 where he left off last season after triumphing in the FedEx playoffs and winning the season-ending Tour Championship to secure a cool $10 million bonus.
Only world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods have won more tournaments than him in the past year and he has targeted 2013 as his time to finally break through to win a major tournament.
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“It’s just hard to put into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months,” Snedeker was quoted as saying on the PGA Tour’s official website.
“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.
“I know that if I play the way I played the last three weeks that there’s very few people in the world that can beat me.
“And I will relish that challenge being there Sunday trying to beat the best player in the world or whoever it may be down the back nine at Augusta. That’s something I look forward to instead of dreading maybe four years ago.”
Snedeker fired a final round 65 – better than all his nearest competitors – as he ended on 19-under-par, two shots clear of fellow countryman Chris Kirk.
Despite not being able to match the likes of McIlroy or Woods in terms of hitting distance, Snedeker has studied his fellow pros who are similarly short strikers of the ball.
Taking his lead from the likes of Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and David Toms, Snedeker honed his game to ensure distance wasn’t preventing him challenging for big titles.
“The more time I spent watching those guys play golf, the more I realized what I need to do to compete on a worldwide level,” Snedeker added.
“I give those guys a lot of credit because I watched them do it day-in and day-out for like the last five years.
“You watch those guys pick their way around a golf course … and what their strengths are and what they need to focus on. So it really kind of inspired me.
“To win the golf tournaments I’ve won and in contention as much as I have, you know, probably with not very much fanfare and people thinking, ‘I don’t hit the ball very long, I’m not the best ball striker.’
“But somehow all my parts end up being pretty good at the end of the day.”
Snedeker’s latest victory means he has finished in the top three in six of his last nine tournaments and in his 19 rounds this season he has shot in the 60s all but three times.