By Peter Owen
A DECADE in the past Brandt Snedeker was on prime of {the golfing} world. He’d received the 2012 FedEx Cup, and the US$10 million cheque that went with it, reached No 4 within the Official World Golf Rankings and twice represented the US within the Ryder Cup.
He burst onto the PGA Tour in 2007 like a comet, making the lower in 23 of 29 occasions, ending prime 10 six instances, and successful the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina. He earned $2.8 million in prizemoney and was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Yr.
In his first dozen years on tour Snedeker received 9 occasions, the final one in 2018 when he claimed his second Wyndham Championship, taking pictures 59 within the first spherical – the tenth time any participant had scored a sub-60 spherical in competitors.
After which … nothing. From a world rating excessive of No 4, the Tennessee-born 43-year-old dropped to 789 on the official rankings listing. In 2019 he had only one prime 10 end, the next yr two, after which none in every of the subsequent two seasons. He’d seemingly misplaced his sport.
However what most individuals didn’t know was that Brandt Snedeker was enjoying injured.
A winner of the FedEx Cup on the US PGA Tour, Brandt Snedeker is seeking to return to his successful methods after overcoming severe harm points.
The primary signal of bother got here in 2009 when he missed seven straight tournaments mid-year with what was described as a rib harm. Two years later he underwent surgical procedure on his proper hip to right a degenerative concern, and in 2012 needed to pull out of the US Open with one other rib harm.
The harm flared once more in 2013 when Snedeker missed the WGC Matchplay Championship with additional rib bother, later identified as ‘low bone turnover’ for which he was required to take day by day injections to extend his bone mass.
Ultimately Snedeker was identified with a sternum concern and for six years travelled to South America for stem cell remedy. However he was in fixed ache, and it took a combination of Tylenol, Advil and steroids to offer sufficient reduction for him to play golf. The harm took over his life.
Docs, by then, had recognized the issue as ‘manubrium joint stabilisation’, a illness affecting solely a couple of dozen folks on the earth, and with restricted surgical choices.
A Nashville sports activities drugs surgeon, Dr Burton Elrod, had carried out a process on an NFL quarterback in 2004 to strengthen his chest, however had vowed by no means to do it once more due to the excessive danger of an infection. Snedeker talked him into it.
Throughout surgical procedure in late 2022, Dr Elrod took a bone the scale of a thumb from Snedeker’s proper hip and inserted it into his sternum. Snedeker describes it like this: “They take a bone out of your hip and form of lower your sternum straight throughout, put half the bone within the decrease half and half the bone within the higher half, and form of pop it again into place. Sort of like a Lego snapping again into place.”
Snedeker spent the subsequent 4 weeks in a recliner, declaring he felt like ‘somebody hit me with a Mack truck.’ However he mentioned with out the operation he would have had to surrender golf.
Brandt Snedeker, a nine-time winner on the USPGA Tour.
After resting for 4 months, Snedeker started hitting golf balls – ache free – and ramped up his follow final Might. He returned to competitors on the Memorial Event in early June, taking pictures rounds of 73, 72, 73 and 74 to complete tied forty first.
Missed cuts and no finishes higher than forty fifth adopted in his subsequent eight begins, although a first-round 64 within the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in July confirmed he nonetheless has the power to compete on the highest stage.
This yr hasn’t been a lot better, Snedker lacking the lower in eight of his first 11 appearances.
Snedeker entered the 2024 season on a Main Medical Extension, with 21 begins accessible to earn 394.222 FedEx Cup factors and match No 125 from the 2022-23 FedEx Cup autumn and eligibility factors listing – one thing that now appears unlikely.
At No 21 on the profession cash listing, he might use a one-time exemption subsequent yr for the highest 25 all-time cash winners. Or he might use sponsor exemptions and his standing as a a number of tour winner to get into occasions.
However Snedeker’s again enjoying a sport he loves, with little or no ache, and is seeking to the longer term with confidence.
“I nonetheless know how one can do it,” he mentioned. “I’m not an fool. I did this one time, I can do it once more.”
