Final-round putting woes do in Snedeker

Brandt Snedeker said one club was the reason he didn’t win the 2013 Masters Tournament. And it wasn’t the one he appeared to try to break.

“I’m frustrated and disappointed,” Snedeker said. “I putted terrible. Period.”

Snedeker entered Sunday sharing the lead with Angel Cabrera. He departed the 18th green owning a sixth-place tie after shooting 3-over 75, finishing at 4-under.

His major gaffes putting – normally a strength of his game – came at holes No. 10 and No. 11. He lipped out a three-foot downhiller for par at No. 10, then missed another par putt from about seven feet on No. 11.

“That was pretty tough at 10,” Snedeker said. “I fought my way back there and hit a great pitch shot, three feet above the hole. That was just me being tentative. If the greens were the same speed as Saturday that putt goes in and doesn’t lip out.”

Those two bogeys dropped Snedeker three strokes off the lead and he never recovered, failing to make up ground with pars on the par-5 Nos. 13 and 15.

At No. 13, he was in-between a 4-iron and hybrid and decided to try and cut a hybrid into the green. The ball found Rae’s Creek.

Snedeker stood and bent the club a bit in frustration.

“No. I didn’t try to break it,” Snedeker said, offering up a smile. “I needed that club on No. 15.”

Snedeker said he didn’t put too much pressure on himself Sunday to win his first major, and took the blame for not making a change with his approach to putting.

“I didn’t want it too much at all,” Snedeker said. “If I had wanted it too much I would have played horrible. I would have got off to a horrible start and done a bunch of stupid stuff. I didn’t do that.”

Snedeker opened his day with a birdie at No. 1. He said the drizzling rain throughout the back nine didn’t phase him, but the slow greens sure confounded him.

“I didn’t make the adjustments when the greens got slow,” Snedeker said. “I was surprised how slow the greens were especially after the putting green. The first green was really fast, The second green started to slow down a little bit and after that they were really slow. I didn’t make the adjustments you had to make.”

This marked the second top 10 for Snedeker in six Masters Tournaments. In 2008 he entered Sunday in second place and shot 77 to finish tied for third.

“This year is different,” Snedeker said. “I’m not as crushed as I was in 2008 because I know I’m going to be there again. Now, it’s going to be more difficult (later tonight) because I knew I had a really good chance to win it today.”

When Snedeker looks back on 2013 it will be at one club in his bag.

“I’m pretty excited the way I played,” Snedeker said. “I know if I do the exact same thing and putt the way I normally do, I have a chance.”