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By Brandt Snedeker
Special to PGATOUR.com

Editor's note: Brandt Snedeker is one of the top candidates for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors. The former Vanderbilt All-American has earned more than $1.6 million and posted five top-10 finishes, including four of his last six starts. He's back in Nashville this week, and Snedeker took time to file his first blog for PGATOUR.com.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- I've been at home this week practicing and working out in order to get ready for the stretch run to the FedExCup. I've been playing well, so I'm not making any major changes. I just want to maintain the competitive edge I have right now. It's mostly just practice. I don't play that much when I am home. You play so much when you're on the road, you don't want to wear yourself out. So I go out to the range around 11 each morning and I stick around until 4 or 5 that afternoon. Plus, Nashville's pretty hot this time of year, so I'm getting my body accustomed to those 96-, 97-, 100-degree temperatures we'll get in Tulsa next week at the PGA Championship. So that's kind of a bonus.

Brandt Snedeker has earned more than $1.6 million in his rookie season on TOUR. (Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

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I've been playing a lot this year. I've already played in 23 events and I'll play the next six straight. I'll probably end up playing 32 events by the end of the year. But I was used to that on the Nationwide Tour. You hardly ever take a week off there because if you did, someone might jump you on the money list. Every dollar you make out there is important toward getting your PGA TOUR card. Besides, I'm playing well right now so I want to take advantage of it.

My season has been kind of a mixed bag. I started off pretty hot and then for six or seven weeks there, I didn't play well. I practiced a lot, but I just didn't get the results. It's kind of weird. A lot of times, you don't know what triggers something and makes you start playing better. I wish I could point to one particular part of my game that's better, but it's just one of those things. Hopefully, I can parlay it into results the rest of the year. I have a great stretch coming up.

Overall, this year has been something of a surprise. I expected to do well, but obviously, not quite as early as I did. You have to keep everything in perspective, but you have to give yourself credit, too. For some reason, I've always had a pretty good mind and a good temperament for golf. One thing all golfers do is beat themselves down. But one thing I did well in that middle stretch of the year when I wasn't playing as well as I would have liked is talk myself up. That made a big difference. You have to pat yourself on the back sometimes. You start playing better when you treat yourself better.

My main goal for the year was to keep my card. Doing that so early in the year shocked me a little. I didn't think I would get that comfortable that quickly. That one stretch was frustrating, but I turned things back around at THE PLAYERS Championship. I had a bad second round there, but I played great in the other three and tied for 12th. That really gave me some confidence and momentum. That was one of the best fields in golf and to have things turn out the way they did made me realize I did have the game to compete.

The whole year has definitely been kind of surreal. I can't believe that my bank account got that big that quick. Last year on the Nationwide Tour, anytime you made a check over $10,000 you knew you'd had a great week and you felt like you had all the money you need. This year, you kind of add a zero to that. But my family and my girlfriend are there to keep me grounded. I've been a good boy, though. I haven't splurged on a single thing. I guess I'm like my dad. I keep saving for the rainy day that you hope will never come. But you know how fleeting professional golf careers can be.

Someone asked me if I am ready to win. I think so. I have put in a ton of work. I won on the Nationwide Tour twice last year. I have kept putting myself in position, especially in Flint, where I ended up tying for 10th, and Canada last week where I made the turn a couple of shots back. I hit it great in Canada, but I didn't make the putts. At Flint, it was just the opposite. What I've realized is that you don't necessarily have to have a perfect week to win out here. But you need a few putts to lip in instead of lip out, you need to find the first cut instead of the deep stuff sometimes and you need to think correctly all week. That's one of the hardest things to do out here. I'm probably at three rounds, 65 holes maybe, and the one week when I get 72 -- that's when it will happen. I like my chances one of these Sundays. Each time I get in contention, I get more comfortable and I learn more about my game. I look forward to the next time it happens. And the next.

I'm excited about the next six weeks. The PGA is obviously a big week, and then I'm going to play the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro. I've heard good things about the golf course and the town. I talked with Davis Love III and he redid the golf course about two years ago. He says it's a great test, and it's one of the oldest events on TOUR. I want to give myself every chance to get more FedExCup points. I'm currently 25th in the standings. So playing Greensboro, which is the final place to earn points to get into the Playoffs, would kind of give me an extra bonus and another leg up. Besides, I play my best golf when I play my way into a stretch of big tournaments, and six in a row is nothing new to me. I've been off two of the last three weeks so I'm well-rested. And the Playoffs are going to be exciting -- almost like playing four majors in a row. So I don't think it will be a problem to get up for them mentally. At this time of year, some people might physically get run down. But I'm 26 and if I get tired, well, I'll just have to address my fitness level. So don't worry -- I'll be ready to play.