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SPORTS Friday 17 august 2018
'Really cool feeling': Brandt

Snedeker shoots 59 at Wyndham

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Snedeker, the 2012 Fe- the day on No. 6. But he
Brandt Snedeker predicted dEx Cup champion, won missed a 3-foot birdie putt
low scores at the Wynd- the Wyndham in 2007. He on No. 8 that would have
ham Championship — but broke Si Woo Kim's 2-year- made a 58 possible.
not this low. old Wyndham record of 60 "Could have been even
Snedeker shot an 11-under and had the best opening more special," he said, "but
59 on Thursday, falling one round in this event's histo- happy with the way every-
shot shy of matching the ry. Arjun Atwal had a 61 in thing turned out."
PGA Tour record. 2010. Moore, who won here in
He made a 20-foot putt on "The trick for him is, he's 2009, made a move up
his final hole to become playing great. Now he's the leaderboard in the af-
the 10th player in tour histo- just got to rest, relax and ternoon with five birdies in
ry to break 60. Jim Furyk set start over tomorrow from a six-hole span on the front
the record with a 58 in the scratch and go play three nine. Oda, a second-year
final round of the Travelers more good rounds," said pro coming off a tie for third
Championship in 2016. Furyk, who also shot a 59 at earlier this month in the Bar-
"I better be smiling," Snede- the BMW Championship in racuda Championship,
ker said. "I don't do this ev- 2013. "It's awesome to see." had three consecutive
ery day." It's been a somewhat frus- birdies on the back nine to
This is the third consecutive trating, turbulent year for pull even with Moore.
year the PGA Tour has had Snedeker. He has three "You see a round like (Sne-
a sub-60 round. Snedeker top-10 finishes and two deker's) and maybe kind
is the first to shoot 59 since missed cuts in his last seven of encourage you there's
Adam Hadwin in the third events and has not won on birdies out there, that the
round of the 2017 Career- tour since 2016. course is playing scorable
builder Challenge. During his first 16 tourna- and there's rounds to be
It gave him a four-stroke ments of the season, he had," Moore said.
lead after one round. finished in the top 10 just "I kind of took that mind-
Ryan Moore and John Oda once. set of, well, better get out
shot 63s, and Martin Flores, "Nobody could see this there and make some bird-
D.A. Points, Brett Stegmai- coming — trust me," Snede- ies if you don't want to be
er, David Hearn, Abraham ker said. "As much as I tried 10, 11 shots behind by the Brandt Snedeker lines up a birdie putt on the ninth hole during
the first round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament
Ancer, Ollie Schniederjans to positive self-talk myself end of this day. Like, let's try in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. Sneaker shot a 59
and Jonathan Byrd had into playing good, I didn't and close that gap a little in the first round.
64s. see 59 coming today, to bit."q Associated Press
Snedeker — who said a be honest with you. ... Luck-
day earlier that the tour- ily, it kind of clicked all day
nament would turn into a today, and hopefully it will
"birdie-fest" — began the keep clicking for the next
round at par-70 Sedgefield three days."
Country Club with a bogey At No. 80 on the points list
at No. 10, and took off from entering the final event of
there. the tour's regular season,
He played the front nine in he's nowhere near the
27, including an eagle 2 on playoff bubble and his spot
the par-4 sixth hole when at The Northern Trust next
he holed out from 176 week in New Jersey seems
yards. safe. But that ranking is his
After that shot, Snedeker lowest since the tour's post-
said a 59 felt like a real pos- season format debuted in
sibility. He remembered a 2007.
non-tour event he played During his tie for 42nd at
in China in which he was the PGA Championship last
one putt from that score, week in St. Louis, Snede-
but those thoughts "got in ker says he "kind of found
the way." something" when he sim-
"To know what you're try- plified some swing funda-
ing to do and step up and mentals and began to feel
have a 20-footer (on the fi- better about that part of his
nal hole) and know what it game.
means, I was very aware of Then, he spent the first
what was going on, and to round showing it off.
knock that putt in was really Snedeker, who began his
special," Snedeker said. "To round on the back nine,
know I'm a part of a small reeled off four consecutive
club on tour and not very birdies on Nos. 13-16. He
many people have done then got even hotter on his
this, really cool feeling right final nine holes, with six bird-
now." ies in addition to the shot of