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 Snedeker recorded just one bogey in 72 holes to finish at
22-under 265 and win for the second time in three years the storied
event played on three courses on California's Monterey Peninsula.
It was his seventh victory on the PGA Tour and it earned the
34-year-old from Tennessee $1.224 million along with a spot in
April's U.S. Masters, an event he was not previously exempt for.
Fellow American Nick Watney (69) claimed second place on 19-under,
while overnight leader Jim Furyk (74) missed some early birdie
chances before fading to equal seventh in another final round
disappointment.
Furyk has failed to convert a 54-hole lead into victory nine
consecutive times since his 16th tour victory in 2010.
Snedeker shed tears after battling back from a winless 2014 season
and paid tribute to the role his wife Mandy had played in the lean
times.
 "It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this feeling. It’s really
special," he said in a greenside interview.
"Probably the only time I’ve cried walking off 18th green was this
week, because everything I’ve done the past year-and-a-half I’ve put
my wife through.
"When you’re not playing good, the home life is not always great
because you take it out somewhere and she’s been a huge supporter of
everything I’ve been doing."
The victory validated Snedeker for work he has done recently with
new coach Butch Harmon and he was particularly thrilled to qualify
for the Masters, where he tied for third in 2008.
"There was so much on the line today, so much stuff going on in my
mind I had to quiet down.
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"I got emotional on 18 green because I realized how important this
win is for me. It gets me back on track to where I feel I belong. I
want to be relevant again and I think I’m relevant again. I don’t
like playing golf not feeling like I can compete and win."
Snedeker’s joy contrasted with Furyk’s disappointment.
"I really couldn’t have played much better the first four holes but
I really struggled to get the putts to fall (and) then when I
bogeyed five the round started slipping away,” he said.
"I stood on 11th tee shaking my head thinking 'how did I get to
three-over?'."
At least Furyk escaped the course physically unscathed, unlike Matt
Bettencourt’s caddie Brian Rush, who fell on rocks looking for a
ball at the 18th hole and suffered a broken shoulder, a compound
break in his forearm and concussion.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Nick
Mulvenney)
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