Motivated Snedeker scores another trip to Masters

Life is good for Brandt Snedeker now that he's back in the Masters Tournament.

The former Vanderbilt University golfer, who made a spirited run at the 2008 green jacket before tying for third place, played again in 2009 but didn't qualify for the 2010 Masters.

Missing a Masters is "awfully disappointing," said Snedeker, whose other Masters appearance came in 2004 as an amateur. "You end up watching and wishing you were there and reliving the times you have been there and played well."

He's back this year thanks to a tie for eighth place in the 2010 U.S. Open, where he shot 75-74-69-71.

"Any week you have there is a special week," Snedeker said of Augusta National Golf Club. "I just love that place and everything it stands for and think it's the best of the best and would love nothing more than winning it. I'm excited to get back and to feel all those good memories again."

Snedeker grew up in Nashville, Tenn., which made Augusta National "the mecca of golf" to him, he said. That's why missing the Masters is so tough.

When he doesn't qualify, "it gets you motivated," Snedeker said. "I spent a lot of that week (of the 2010 Masters) practicing and trying to figure out why I wasn't there and getting it fixed.

"It's weird in scheduling, too," he said. "You like to schedule your year around those four big tournaments. When you're not in the Masters, which is the first one, when you don't have that one there, you kind of feel like you're starting off the year in a weird place. It's something you put on your calendar every year."

A disappointing final two holes at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach almost cost Snedeker his Masters invitation. He was easily within the top eight -- all of whom qualify for the Masters -- going to the 71st hole. But he finished bogey-bogey and was afraid it would knock him out of the top eight.

"We were watching; there was a lot of head shaking and head banging for a little while because we thought we were going to miss out by a shot," Snedeker said. "To sneak in there at the end and get that exemption into the Masters was huge. It was a big weight off my shoulders. It got me excited about this year and starting the year off the right way."

Indeed, Snedeker notched three top-10 finishes in his first seven starts this season, including a solo fourth at the Transitions Championship, which ended March 20.

"I feel like it's the best I've hit it my whole career, to be honest with you," Snedeker said of his play this season. "I feel like every part of my game is a lot better than it was at any point in my career.

"I just can't quite seem to put it together for four rounds," he said. "That's the easy part. Now it's about playing golf, which is kind of nice when you don't have to go out there and work on your golf swing and worry about what's going on. Just go out there and score."

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 ordavid.westin@augustachronicle.com.