Rookie shoots 61 at Buick

SAN DIEGO – Brandt Snedeker had trouble remembering a round he will never forget.

Snedeker, a 26-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour, flirted with golf’s magic number Thursday in the Buick Invitational until the birdies dried up on the easy North Course at Torrey Pines, then settled for a 61 to tie the course record and take a two-shot lead.

“The whole front nine was a blur,” said Snedeker, who couldn’t recall how he birdied some of the holes, much less what those holes looked like.

But he generated the biggest buzz at the Buick Invitational, where two-time defending champion Tiger Woods, firing a 66, was reduced to a supporting role.

“To see the crowd kind of work their way back to me from Tiger was kind of nice,” said Snedeker, who played two groups behind Woods. “Seeing them rooting me on the last nine holes – although I couldn’t bring it in the way they wanted – was still fun. I had a blast.”

Woods had just knocked down the flag with a 5-iron for a short eagle putt on the 18th hole when he noticed a scoreboard on his way to the first tee that showed Snedeker at 8 under through seven holes.

“We thought it was a misprint,” Woods said. “It came up again, so obviously it was not a misprint. That’s some great playing.”

His second thought must have been: “Who’s Brandt Snedeker?”

He’s the Tennessee kid with blond hair flowing under his visor, a former U.S. Amateur Public Links champion who turned pro after tying for 41st in the ‘04 Masters. He didn’t get his PGA Tour card until finishing ninth on the Nationwide Tour money list last year, despite missing a month when he tripped over a tree and broke his right collarbone.

Snedeker quickly became the star attraction on a spectacular day in San Diego.

“The crowd going into today probably didn’t have a clue who I was, and by the end of the day, I had people cheering my name and telling me to shoot 59 and stuff like that,” he said. “It was a great way to break onto the PGA Tour.”

Never mind that they couldn’t pronounce his name.

“I’ve had it butchered so many times that it’s no big deal,” he said. “I’ve gotten ‘Snotlicker’ before, so I don’t think it could get any worse than that.”