Skip to main content
Part of complete coverage on

Poulter: Snedeker is the best golfer on the planet right now

updated 7:14 AM EST, Mon February 11, 2013
Brandt Snedeker won 2012's FedEx Cup and secured a cool $10 million in the process
Brandt Snedeker won 2012's FedEx Cup and secured a cool $10 million in the process
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • American Brandt Snedeker wins AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by two strokes
  • Snedeker finishes on 19-under-par to beat fellow countryman Chris Kirk by two shots
  • Ian Poulter says Snedeker is "officially the best golfer on the planet right now"
  • Snedeker won last season's FedEx playoffs and the Tour Championship

(CNN) -- Europe's Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter is in no doubt as to who rules the roost of golf at present: "Sneds is officially the best golfer on the planet right now."

"Sneds" is short for Brandt Snedeker, and Poulter's tribute on Twitter came soon after the native Tennessean had wrapped up a two-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

It means the 32-year-old has picked up in 2013 where he left off last season after triumphing in the FedEx playoffs and winning the season-ending Tour Championship to secure a cool $10 million bonus.

Only world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods have won more tournaments than him in the past year and he has targeted 2013 as his time to finally break through to win a major tournament.

Read: Sterne emulates Tiger with Joburg win

"It's just hard to put into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months," Snedeker was quoted as saying on the PGA Tour's official website.

'Lefty' to enter golf's Hall of Fame
McGinley: Ryder Cup role is an honor
Can Italy shed elitist golf image?

"Something you dream about. Something you think that you can do, but you don't really know until you actually put it together. And I have. I'm really enjoying this, and hopefully can parlay this into the best year of my career.

"I know that if I play the way I played the last three weeks that there's very few people in the world that can beat me.

"And I will relish that challenge being there Sunday trying to beat the best player in the world or whoever it may be down the back nine at Augusta. That's something I look forward to instead of dreading maybe four years ago."

Snedeker fired a final round 65 -- better than all his nearest competitors -- as he ended on 19-under-par, two shots clear of fellow countryman Chris Kirk.

Despite not being able to match the likes of McIlroy or Woods in terms of hitting distance, Snedeker has studied his fellow pros who are similarly short strikers of the ball.

Taking his lead from the likes of Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and David Toms, Snedeker honed his game to ensure distance wasn't preventing him challenging for big titles.

"The more time I spent watching those guys play golf, the more I realized what I need to do to compete on a worldwide level," Snedeker added.

"I give those guys a lot of credit because I watched them do it day-in and day-out for like the last five years.

"You watch those guys pick their way around a golf course ... and what their strengths are and what they need to focus on. So it really kind of inspired me.

"To win the golf tournaments I've won and in contention as much as I have, you know, probably with not very much fanfare and people thinking, 'I don't hit the ball very long, I'm not the best ball striker.'

"But somehow all my parts end up being pretty good at the end of the day."

Snedeker's latest victory means he has finished in the top three in six of his last nine tournaments and in his 19 rounds this season he has shot in the 60s all but three times.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
updated 12:15 PM EDT, Tue April 16, 2013
Masters champion Adam Scott not only has to contend with national hero status at home but also the role of golf's latest sex symbol.
updated 7:18 AM EDT, Fri April 12, 2013
Discover why golf's old school establishment fears a new breed of players creating new popularity with their online antics.
updated 2:54 PM EDT, Thu April 11, 2013
Following the web's reaction to Adam Scott's dramtic triumph at the 2013 Masters.
updated 10:08 AM EDT, Fri April 12, 2013
It's not just golf that makes Augusta so special -- there's also James Brown, cheese pimiento sandwiches, turkeys and ghosts.
updated 9:00 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2013
As a swimmer, his countless hours of training paid off handsomely. As a golfer, Michael Phelps is wondering what he got himself into.
updated 9:06 AM EDT, Mon April 1, 2013
D.A. Points strikes a 'Dufnering' pose with the trophy on the 18th green after winning the Shell Houston Open at the Redstone Golf Club on March 31, 2013 in Humble, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
American D.A. Points celebrates his win at the Houston Open by joining in the "Dufnering" craze that has gripped golf recently.
updated 8:40 AM EST, Thu March 7, 2013
Ernie Els' coach Claude Harmon and former world No.1 Martin Kaymer tell Living Golf that anchored putting is dividing the sport.
updated 8:49 AM EST, Thu March 7, 2013
Matteo Manassero, the youngest player to qualify for the Masters, reflects on his career and the boy who will break one of his records.
updated 8:34 AM EST, Thu March 7, 2013
Living Golf meets Thorbjorn Olesen as the rising star of European golf prepares for the most important tournaments of his career.
updated 3:25 PM EDT, Wed March 13, 2013
Martin Kaymer reflects on his performance at the 39th Ryder Cup, when he sunk the winning putt against the United States.
updated 10:01 AM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
CNN's Shane O'Donoghue asks how much Rory McIlroy's new multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal is really worth.
updated 12:48 PM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
Living Golf meets Paul McGinley, who talks about becoming Europe's new Ryder Cup captain.
updated 6:49 AM EST, Mon February 18, 2013
Paul McGinley's former captain, Sam Torrance, shares some advice for the pro golfer turned new Ryder Cup captain.
updated 10:16 AM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
Don Riddell explores whether Tuscany can follow up on Italy's successes on the European Tour and develop golf tourism.
updated 10:12 AM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
2010 PGA Champion Martin Kaymer shares his favorite shots with CNN's Shane O'Donoghue.
updated 1:40 PM EST, Tue February 5, 2013
Two men with lofty ambitions in a midwestern town of the United States have finally realized their dream after months of endeavor.
updated 7:13 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013
Living Golf's Shane O'Donoghue explores the changing role of black players in South African golf.
updated 8:07 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013
Shane O'Donoghue meets South Africa's Branden Grace, the outstanding breakout player from the 2012 European season.
updated 7:14 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013
Shane O'Donoghue meets Dr. Sherylle Calder, the woman who taught reigning British Open champion Ernie Els how to putt again.
updated 9:39 AM EST, Sat December 22, 2012
It's crazy golf on an insane scale -- a putting green swimming in a giant bowl of noodles and the Great Wall of China for a hazard.
ADVERTISEMENT