Brandt Snedeker goes into the weekend in Pebble Beach, Calif., with another chance to win, this time without golf’s biggest stars in his way.
Snedeker played bogey-free at tough Spyglass Hill on Friday for a 4-under 68, giving him a share of the lead with Ted Potter Jr. in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Potter three-putted his final hole at Monterey Peninsula for a 67.
Hunter Mahan was among those one shot behind. With one more round before everyone has played all three courses in the rotation, the leaderboard was a big traffic jam. Three dozen players were within five shots of the lead.
Snedeker, who was at 8-under 134, felt he was at an advantage because he goes to Pebble Beach for the final two rounds.
And there’s one other edge for his psyche — Tiger Woods isn’t playing, and defending champion Phil Mickelson is six shots behind.
Snedeker has played so well this year that he is leading the FedEx Cup standings without having won. He was runner-up the last two weeks — four shots behind Woods at Torrey Pines, and then four shots behind Mickelson in the Phoenix Open.
“Keep running into guys who are or who are going to be in the Hall of Fame,” Snedeker said at the start of the week.
Mickelson, going after a record-tying fifth win in the event, was easing his way into contention until he made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch along the ocean at Spyglass Hill for a 71.
Snedeker made it look easy at Spyglass, even though the day began in rugged conditions with a light rain and temperatures in the low 40s. He hit a towering 8-iron on the downhill, par-3 12th hole that plopped 3 feet next to the cup for his first birdie. He added a pair of simple up-and-down birdies on the par 5s, and then closed out a solid day with an 8-iron to 5 feet on the eighth hole.
Snedeker sees the upside of his two second-place finishes: At least he’s giving himself a chance.
His goal for the last two days?
“Not do anything stupid,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t do it very often.”
ELSEWHERE
Trevor Fisher Jr. shot a 9-under 62, and Richard Sterne had a 65 to share the lead after the second round of the Joburg Open in Johannesburg. Fisher had an eagle and seven birdies, including three straight in his back nine… Bernhard Langer and Tom Pernice Jr. each shot 6-under 66 to tie for the first-round lead at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla. Langer birdied three of the last four holes at Broken Sound.… Australians Tamara Johns, Nikki Campbell and Sarah Oh each shot 3-under 69 to lead the 54-hole New Zealand Women’s Open in Christchurch after the opening round.
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