PGA: Snedeker's shocker

BY STEVE KEIPERT at RACV ROYAL PINES RESORT

TOURNAMENT drawcard Brandt Snedeker is unlikely to see weekend play after the World No.38 carded a disastrous round of 84 to sit ahead of just four players in the 156-man Australian PGA Championship field.

Snedeker bogeyed his first two holes, the 10th and 11th, playing in the second group of the day before encountering golf's version of a king hit: a double-bogey and triple-bogey at his next two holes. The horror start left the American at seven-over-par before most Gold Coasters were eating breakfast, with the carnage stemmed only slightly en route to a back-nine 45 and 12-over-par round.

Brandt Snedeker looks dejected after a wayward shot on the 9th hole.
PHOTO: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

"Just a horrible day, there’s nothing else to say," Snedeker said. "I wish I could put a positive spin on it but I got off to a bad start, compounded my errors and then didn’t do anything really, really well. Not one positive thing can I take out of a day like today, so it’s frustrating to say the least, to come down here and play like that.

"I didn’t see it coming, because I played great the last two days, so it’s kind of one of those head-scratcher kind of days and you kind of have to forget about it and move on. Hopefully I can go to the range this afternoon and try to work on a few things and tomorrow make sure I come out and shoot something stupid low and stick around for the weekend."

"I was just super disappointed in myself. I felt like I was playing better than this," Snedeker said.
PHOTO: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

To his credit, Snedeker didn't blame the tough conditions that made life difficult for the early starters perhaps more than the late players.

"It's just not firing on all cylinders," he said. "[When] the wind’s blowing the way it is out here, your mistakes are exacerbated and mine were and I just couldn’t seem to get anything going at all. I putted bad, chipped it bad, hit it bad off the tee and hit bad iron shots.

"I was just super disappointed in myself. I felt like I was playing better than this and then to come down here and play like this ... Any time you shoot a round of golf like that - that’s one of my highest ones I’ve ever shot as a professional - it’s not fun and you’ve got to look at it for what it is and make sure that you understand what’s going on, why you’re shooting it and try to fix it as quick as possible. Because it can affect your confidence, it can get you the wrong way."

With a projected cut of eight-over, Snedeker has work ahead of him on Friday afternoon.