Monday 16 February 2015 13:36, UK
Brandt Snedeker ended an 18-month winless drought on the PGA Tour by cruising to a three-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
The American, who also lifted the title on the Monterrey Peninsula in 2013, carded a final-round 67 to finish on 22 under and earn a comfortable victory over Nick Watney.
Dustin Johnson and Jason Day finished strongly to claim a share of third.
Overnight leader Jim Furyk failed to recover from a poor front nine and he and Matt Jones tumbled out of contention, while Watney was also unable to sustain his challenge after making birdies on the opening four holes.
Watney’s blistering start got him to 20 under, but he dropped shots at the fifth, sixth and ninth and had only one par in an entertaining, outward 34, while consecutive bogeys at 13 and 14 effectively left playing-partner Snedeker with a clear run to the finish.
Snedeker was a model of consistency from the start and birdied the third and fifth before converting a delightful tee shot to two feet at the picturesque, par-three seventh to cruise to the turn in 33.
The 34-year-old rattled in another birdie putt at the 11th and did well to grind out pars at the next three holes before breaking the sequence with a sublime approach to 10 feet at the 15th, followed by the putt to match.
Snedeker negotiated the final three without alarm to keep the field a safe distance behind him, and he managed to complete 72 holes with just a single bogey on his card – the third at Pebble Beach in round three.
Tournament record
His winning score of 22 under was also a record for the tournament, beating the previous best he set in 2013 by one stroke, and he was barely under threat over the inward stretch as he cantered to his seventh PGA Tour title.
Watney belatedly got back on track, converting a fine approach to 17 for birdie, and he then snatched outright second ahead of Charlie Beljan when he got a superb, big-breaking putt to drop for a closing four and a round of 69.
Journeyman Beljan had earlier stormed through the field to set the clubhouse target at 18 under par with an excellent 66, which included four birdies in the first seven holes and three-in-a-row to finish with.
Johnson also staged an impressive finish with a closing 66 – his fourth sub-70 round of the week – in just his second tournament back since returning from a six-month absence dealing with personal issues.
He picked up three shots in four holes on the front nine and then birdied four of the last six, including a stunning six-iron to three feet at the tough 17th, to claim the clubhouse lead on 17 under until he was surpassed by Beljan.
Last week’s Farmers Insurance Open winner Jason Day started the day six off the lead, and he vaulted into contention when he birdied the fifth and then hit a stunning long-iron to 12 feet at the sixth to set up and eagle which he followed with another birdie at the next.
The Australian picked up another shot at the 10th, but he then struggled to maintain his form on the greens and bogeyed the 15th and 17th before hitting back with a four at the last to return a 67 and join Johnson on 17 under.
Pat Perez was the hottest player on the course when he birdied six of the first eight holes, but he then bogeyed three of the next four as he closed with a 68 to share fourth with Johnson and Day.
Jordan Spieth was a further shot adrift after a 68, but playing-partner Shane Lowry failed to make an impression on the final day as he struggled to a 71 to finish just outside the top-20 on 13 under par.
