BY STEVE KEIPERT AT RACV ROYAL PINES RESORT

BRANDT Snedeker took 756 days to make his debut at the Australian PGA Championship. No, he wasn't travelling to Queensland from Saturn or the far reaches of the universe, rather he is here to make amends for his macabre absence from the tournament two years ago.

The affable American was a last-minute withdrawal in 2013 after injuring his knee by falling off a Segway in China just days before his scheduled arrival on the Gold Coast. Snedeker also bruised his tibia in the incident, cruelling his chances of a first appearance here since he almost won the Australian Open in 2007.

That 2013 PGA suffered little in the end as tournament drawcards Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler fought a magnificent duel over the closing holes, but Snedeker is yet to live down the reason behind his no-show that year.

Brandt Snedeker is looking forward to starting his season with a win in the Australian PGA on the Gold Coast. PHOTO: Jamie Squire/Getty Images. Brandt Snedeker is looking forward to starting his season with a win in the Australian PGA on the Gold Coast.
PHOTO: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

"Re-living old stories here, but I was in China doing an outing the day after HSBC in 2013 and I had a Segway taking me to and from a hole all day," he said. "Got through the whole day no problems and I was taking it back in and being an idiot that I am, I decided to see how fast these things can go and hit a sprinkler head that I did not see and it threw me off. I landed on my knee funny and heard 'pop' and it started swelling up instantly and I knew something was wrong. I couldn't put any weight on it.

"I flew back home and I had a slight tear in my ACL, cracked bone, bone bruise and all kinds of bad stuff. So it was disappointing as I was looking forward to coming down here and I was playing some pretty good golf at the time, so I was excited about it. But it's great to be back now filling this commitment, making sure I wanted to get back. So it's all worked out in the end."

Suffice to say, the 34-year-old's relationship with Segways today is minimal.

"Yeah, definitely given up Segway for the past month. Staying away from those things!"