Brandt Snedeker 2 shots back of 3rd-day leader Sungjae Im at Valspar
· Yahoo Sports
It has been almost 1,450 days since Brandt Snedeker played in the final group in the last round of a PGA tournament.
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The streak will end Sunday on Innisbrook Golf Resort’s Copperhead course.
At 1:50 p.m., the 45-year-old Nashville native will tee off with Valspar Championship third-day leader Sungjae Im, who stands at 11-under after 54 holes.
Snedeker is just two shots back with one of the best storylines of the PGA Tour’s 2026 season.
The last time Snedeker played in the final group was at the 2022 Valero Texas Open. He started the final day in a four-way tie for the lead but finished tied for 18th after shooting 3-over 75 in the final round.
For the past four years, Snedeker, probably was best known for undergoing an experimental surgery in which he essentially had his sternum purposefully broken. The injury, “manubrium joint instability” — often associated with someone in a car crash — presumably was caused by hitting too many golf balls.
The worst part for his golf game — which had led him to nine PGA tournament victories, most recently at the 2018 Wyndham Championship — was that he had to take eight months off, several during which he did absolutely nothing.
Fast forward to Saturday, where he finally was back to looking like his young self, shooting 4-under-par 67 to tie for the low round of the day.
“I had a great pairing (Saturday) with (Gary Woodland),” Snedeker said. “He’s a buddy of mine, and we were walking down (No. 14) together and we looked at each other and smiled knowing how fun it is to be playing these late Saturday rounds together.
“So I’m going to enjoy my late Sunday round tomorrow and go have some fun.”
Snedeker, who won the FedEx Cup championship in 2012 and reached No. 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2013, is playing on a sponsor’s exemption this week. But if he keeps putting the way he has been, anything is possible.
Through the first three rounds, Snedeker ranked first in strokes gained putting (8.608) and fourth in average total lengths of putts per round (102 feet, 6 inches). He was 7-for-7 in sand saves, thanks largely to his putting prowess.
“I switched putters about two weeks ago, and it really kind of kick-started my game,” said Snedeker, who after 23 years with the same Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II putter switched to the popular TaylorMade Spider Mallet.
“I really started putting the ball really, really well this week and giving myself chances, hitting my lines. And when you putt well, the rest of the game gets really easy. So it’s been a lot of fun to play stress-free golf, because I know if I get on the green somewhere I’ve got a chance of making a putt.”
Im has been just as good on the greens. Heading into the final round, he ranked second in strokes gained putting (7.199) and first in feet of putts made per round (108 feet, 9 inches). Im, however, might have been happiest about feeling healthy after coming back from a wrist injury suffered in early January.
“Because of it, I wasn’t able to practice for two months,” said Im, who shot 2-under 69 Saturday and has led after each of the first three rounds. “So I think a lot of my shots that I didn’t like from last year I was able to correct after I started practicing, and it’s just been consistently getting better.”
Though Im was the only player in the field to reached red double digits, plenty of others were within reasonable striking distance. They included David Lipsky (9-under), 2022 U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick (8-under) and Marco Penge (8-under).
Other players of note in the top 11 were Corey Conners (5-under), Brooks Koepka (4-under), Woodland (4-under), Tony Finau (4-under), FedEx Cup points leader Jacob Bridgeman (3-under), Jordan Spieth (3-under), Patrick Cantlay (3-under) and Matthieu Pavon (3-under).
“It would be so awesome to win here,” said Fitzpatrick, who finished second last week at The Players, one shot behind Cameron Young at TPC Sawgrass. “This is a big week after The Players, and it’s a great run in towards the Masters now. Obviously if I was lucky enough to win (Sunday), it would be a great start to my season.”
Girl struck by golf cart ‘OK’A spectator was struck by a golf cart and briefly pinned underneath it at the No. 15 hole but suffered no significant injuries, NBC and Golf Channel analyst Smylie Kaufman reported.
Koepka, who was nearby when the incident happened, ducked outside the ropes and comforted the girl, Kaufman reported. She was evaluated by medical staff, and no injuries were reported.
“I know she’s probably a little scared, and I just felt for her at the time,” Koepka said. “It’s unfortunate. It shouldn’t have happened. But as long as she’s OK and nothing crazy happened to her, then it will be OK.”