Wyndham win puts Snedeker in Ryder Cup frame

GREENSBORO: Brandt Snedeker saw off a challenge from Taiwan’s CT Pan to claim a three-stroke win at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday and raise his hand for Ryder Cup duty.

Snedeker finished well outside the eight automatic qualifiers for the American team after last week’s cut-off but his victory at Sedgefield Country Club thrusts him into the conversation for Jim Furyk’s four captain’s picks.

He knows, however, he will need to do much, much more over the next few weeks to have a realistic chance of earning a spot at next month’s tournament against Europe.

“Rightfully so, I was not even on the radar (until now),” said Snedeker, who played on the 2012 and 2016 teams.

“Of course I want to be on the team but I have to play some great golf the next three weeks, plain and simple.

“You’ve got to show sustained good play. I’m not going to get on the team by winning one week.”

With two of Furyk’s four captain’s picks almost certainly going to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Snedeker has a lot of competition for the other two berths.

Wyndham, however, proved an excellent stress test for Snedeker, who was reeled in by Pan with five holes to play.

“CT put a lot of pressure on me. I was feeling it for four or five holes,” he said after clinching his ninth Tour victory at the age of 37.

“It’s the most stressful week I’ve ever had in professional golf, even more than the Ryder Cup.”

Snedeker had a target on his back after opening with a 59, only the 10th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.

“Your expectations go through the roof,” he said.

“I’m so proud of the way I hung in there.”

He followed up with scores of 67, 68 and 65 to finish at 21-under-par 259, while Pan (66) and Webb Simpson (62) tied for second on 18-under.

Pan was tied for the lead heading into the par-four 18th but his drive went out-of-bounds to end his challenge with a double-bogey.

“It’s very unfortunate, but I think I can learn something from it,” said the 26-year-old.

“This is only my second year on tour and I’m still trying to learn from the best players.”

Pan’s mishap afforded Snedeker the luxury of needing only a bogey but he instead finished in style with a birdie to complete the second wire-to-wire victory on tour this year.