AKRON, Ohio: Brandt Snedeker has yet to win one of the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) titles but the in-form American goes into this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational firmly installed among the favourites.
Snedeker joined Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar as the only players with multiple PGA Tour wins this season with his victory at the Canadian Open on Sunday, and he is close to the spectacular form he displayed at the start of this year.
In his first five tournaments of 2013, Snedeker recorded four top-threes, including a two-shot triumph at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, before he was sidelined for five weeks because of a sore rib cage.
“It feels like two completely different years for me,” the fast-talking, ever-smiling American told reporters while preparing for today’s opening round at the lush, tree-lined Firestone Country Club.
“First part of the year, I couldn’t do anything wrong. I was playing fantastic, and I got injured.
“I’ve been fighting to get myself back to the way I was at the beginning of the year. I’m not saying I’m there, but I’m close.”
Long regarded as one of the best putters in the game, Snedeker sealed victory by three strokes at the Canadian Open to earn his sixth career title on the circuit.
“It feels great to get a win, to validate all the hard work I’ve put in over the past three months where I haven’t played my best and know that I’m working on the right stuff,” the 32-year-old said.
“Now I get to try and do it all over again (this week).”
Snedeker faces several other in-form players in the 73-man field at Firestone, among them British Open champion Mickelson and Woods, who has won a season-high four times on the 2013 PGA Tour.
Left-hander Mickelson, who has not competed since clinching his fifth major title in the British Open at Muirfield nine days ago, believes he is playing some of the best golf of his life.
“Right now I’m playing as well as I ever have and want to make sure I stay focused this week and next week,” the American world number two said yesterday, referring also to next week’s PGA Championship, the season’s final major.
“I want to make sure I give myself every chance to play well because I’ve been playing some of my best golf the last few months, as you’ve seen and as the results have shown.”
Woods is always among the pre-tournament favourites heading into the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, having won the elite WGC event a record seven times.
“This is one of my favourite courses,” said the world number one and 14-times major champion, who has recorded a staggering 11 top-10s finishes in 13 appearances at the tournament.
“There is nothing tricky about it; everything is right in front of you. And the fans do a great job of supporting the event. It’s a golf course I like, and I’ve had a little bit of success on it.”
Fellow American Keegan Bradley will be defending the title he claimed by one shot last year after closing with a superb six-under-par 64.
Meanwhile, four-time Major winner Ernie Els has confirmed he will take part in the $800,000 Venetian Macau Open for the first time in October.
Els will be seeking to continue a run of recent good form following a June win at the BMW International Open in Munich.
The 43-year-old South African is a regular on the Asian circuit and will be hoping to add the Macau trophy to two previous Tour wins.
"I am excited to be playing in Macau. I have never been there before but have heard many good things about the tournament as well as the city itself," he was quoted as saying in an Asian Tour press release. AGENCIES
