DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Brandt Snedeker believes he is playing well enough to contribute in the Ryder Cup. He can only wait to see if U.S. captain Tom Watson agrees.
Snedeker had four three-putts Saturday and shot a 5-over 76 in the Deutsche Bank Championship, missing the cut in his second straight FedEx Cup playoff event that effectively served as an audition to see which three players Watson will pick to fill out the American team.
“Certainly didn’t help my cause the last two days,” Snedeker said. “I don’t know. I know I’m playing good. I know if my name is called, I’m up to it. I didn’t do anything the last two weeks to justify or to solidify a spot on the team.”
Snedeker finished at No. 20 in the Ryder Cup standings in what has been a tough year. He decided a few months ago to retool his swing under Butch Harmon, and it appeared as though he were turning the corner when he tied for 13th in the PGA Championship and then tied for fifth at the Wyndham Championship.
But he missed the cut by one shot at The Barclays, and never gave himself much a chance at the TPC Boston. He ran out of chances to impress by missing the cut, and working against him is that Snedeker will not advance to the third FedEx Cup playoff event next week. He was at No. 72 in the standings, and only the top 70 play next week in the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills.
That means Snedeker, even if he is picked, will have three weeks off before the Ryder Cup.
Andy North, an assistant captain, walked nine holes with Snedeker this week. Snedeker played an 18-hole practice round with Watson at the PGA Championship. But in competition, he hasn’t shown much.
“I don’t know what happened,” Snedeker said. “I had a great session with Butch on the range. I went to Vegas on Monday and felt great. I wish I could start over this week because I know I’m playing great. It’s frustrating on my part. Because when you’re making changes, going through all that stuff, you do it on the range and in practice, and sometimes it doesn’t show up on Friday and Saturday.”
Snedeker made his Ryder Cup debut at Medinah in 2012. He played in the Presidents Cup last year at Muirfield Village.
Hurting his chances is that so many other Americans are making a reasonable argument to be picked. Ryan Palmer opened with a 63 at the TPC Boston and was in the hunt going into the final two rounds. Bill Haas was among the leaders, and so was Keegan Bradley.
“I could easily have shot 63 when I teed it up this morning,” Snedeker said. “I think he (Watson) realizes golf is what it is. Sometimes you don’t get out of what you put into it. And hopefully, he sees that part of it. There’s other guys playing great. So it would be really hard for me to sit there and make my case when other guys at the top of the leaderboard have a chance to win this week.”
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
