Snedeker, Flesch double miseries on devilish 12th
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The calendar said Sunday's final round of the Masters Tournament was in April, but as far as Brandt Snedeker and Steve Flesch are concerned, it just as well could have been March.
Both opened their final round like lions, applying pressure to eventual champion Trevor Immelman, before a series of mistakes and lost opportunities left them to exit Augusta National Golf Club like lambs.
Snedeker's up-and-down round Saturday carried over to Sunday as the 2007 PGA Rookie of the Year eagled No. 2, temporarily tying Immelman atop the leaderboard. His share of the lead was short-lived as Snedeker bogeyed No. 3 and could get no closer for the rest of the tournament.
He had the eagle and two birdies against nine bogeys -- four more than he had in the first three rounds combined.
"I about put myself in a psychiatric ward. ... I went from extreme highs to extreme lows, and that's what you don't want to do around here," Snedeker said after shooting 77 -- by far his worst round of the tournament -- and finishing tied for third with Stewart Cink at 4-under-par 284. "But man, just a lot of emotion."
In spite of bogeys on Nos. 6, 7, 9 and 11, Snedeker had an opportunity to make one last run at Immelman and the green jacket. After his birdie on the 12th hole, and Immelman's bogey, Snedeker had an opening. But as it was in the third round, Amen Corner was Snedeker's undoing.
After Immelman laid up to avoid Rae's Creek, Snedeker had a chance to go for the 13th green and move even closer to the lead. Snedeker's 4-iron approach was short, though, finding the water. As his ball sank in almost the same spot where he had found the water Saturday, Snedeker's chances went up the creek.
"I wish somebody would tell me how to hit that shot," he said. "That's two days in a row I hit right in the middle of the damn water.
"I had a chance on 13 and could've put a little pressure on Trevor right there and hope things might have been a little different."
Like Snedeker, Flesch's quest for the green jacket unraveled on Amen Corner. Shooting even par through 11 holes, Flesch looked like the steady veteran who might win his first major should the players on the top of the leaderboard falter. He never got the chance, shooting over par on five of the last seven holes, including a devastating double bogey on No. 12.
"I was playing all right," Flesch said. "Wind just got really tricky on the back nine, and we just pulled the wrong club in the 12th hole, and it went straight up and went in the water."
The wheels completely fell off when Flesch bogeyed four consecutive holes, starting on No. 14. By the end of his day, Flesch suffered his worst round of the tournament, shooting 78 to finish 2-under-par 286 and tied for fifth place.
"I was just kind of trying to make some putts, trying to make some birdies, trying to be aggressive, and got a little too aggressive in a couple shots and made a couple more bogeys," Flesch added.
Though Snedeker and Flesch are relative novices when it comes to closing out majors on Sunday, both downplayed nerves as a cause for their rough finishes, instead citing another source -- the wind.
"Had to be the swirling wind," Snedeker said. "You just never really felt comfortable no matter how good you're playing or how well you thought you were striking the golf ball. The wind could come up or come down and affect your golf ball so dramatically, and it was the same way on the greens. It was just a day you never really felt comfortable."