Still, in the minds of those closest to him, Snedeker accorded himself well. "The opportunity knocking at his door could have changed his life," Wilt said. "But when somebody's going through adversity and they handle it with maturity and as a gentleman, they kind of rise above it all -- and I thought he did that today. He didn't pout and carry it forward. He did all the things we hope we'd do whether it was for a $5 bet or the Masters."
Wilt, a halfback at Vanderbilt in the 1960s and now the first-tee starter at Augusta, saw potential in Snedeker as a high school sophomore, when he qualified by himself for the Tennessee Fourball because Haymes, his partner and an All-SEC golfer for Ole Miss, couldn't get home. When Wilt heard Snedeker was medalist on his own ball against some of the best golfers in the state, he pushed for the Commodores to sign him.
Sunday night, after attending Immelman's Champions Dinner, Wilt added an anecdote: During the recent PODS Championship in Florida, Brandt was in the lead two-thirds of the way into the third round when he tried to ram in a birdie putt, three-putted, fell behind and never contended again. He noted how Snedeker three-putted for bogey at 16 Friday but birdied 17 and 18 coming in, showing he had learned from his PODS experience. He believes Snedeker will learn from this Masters as well.
So does Andy North, the two-time U.S. Open champion and ESPN analyst. "He's a terrific kid," North said. "He gets it, which isn't true of a lot of guys out here. Sure this hurts, and you can listen to all the psychobabble about this being a learning experience, but it still hurts. But there's a lot of old school in him. He impressed a lot of people this week. It's cool what he did and the way he did it. He'll be back to win one of these things."
On the ride home to Sea Island, Anderson's cell phone rang. It was Snedeker, and he had a message for his coach: It was time to move forward and drive to Hilton Head Island for the Verizon Heritage.
"He told me he's done crying for today," Anderson said.
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