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By Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Brandt Snedeker entered the Wyndham Championship with two goals in mind. He wanted to compete and he wanted to move up in the FedExCup standings.

Brandt Snedeker pumps his fist after nailing a 32-footer for birdie on the 71st hole. (WireImage)

Mission more than accomplished. On both counts.

Snedeker, who looks a little like Ron Howard's character Opie on the "Andy Griffith Show" with a dash of Huck Finn thrown in, fired a 63 on Sunday to make the Wyndham Championship his first PGA TOUR victory.

And just as Snedeker made up five strokes at Forest Oaks Sunday to earn the career-altering victory, the 26-year-old rookie from Tennessee vaulted 15 spots up the FedExCup ladder. He starts the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup seeded ninth, as a result.

"I looked at this week as a great week to come and play golf and compete," said Snedeker, who, at 26th, was the highest-ranking player in the FedExCup standings entered at Greensboro.

"More than anything, I was excited about being here. It's amazing when you get excited about being somewhere and playing golf, you start playing well, stay in a positive frame of mind. I was never going to take this week off. It worked out great."

Snedeker's jump in the FedExCup standings was particularly auspicious since all the models the PGA TOUR has run indicate the best chance to win the $10 million bonus goes to the players seeded in the top 15.

"You want to get as high as you can ... so you don't have to put a lot of pressure on yourself to play well," Snedeker said. "Three, four weeks, there's no guarantee you're going to make one cut. You really don't know what your game is going to be like.

"You want to try to get as high as you can so you have something to fall back. That's my thought process. I know my game can leave me tomorrow and I can have the shanks. I wanted to go as high as I could."

The way Snedeker played Sunday, though, his game was clearly in hitting on all cylinders. After opening with a 70 that left him in a tie for 80th, he got better with each round. Snedeker's 9-under 63 was the low finish by a winner on TOUR this year.

The $900,000 he earned Sunday moved Snedeker's season's earnings to more than $2.5 million, making him just the fifth rookie in TOUR history to top $2 million. The win thrust him squarely at the front of the race for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors, as well.

At one point, Snedeker was among four players tied for the lead on a muggy day at Forest Oaks Country Club. A bogey at the 12th hole dropped him a shot back, but Snedeker rallied with three straight birdies to regain control.

Tim Petrovic birdied the 16th hole to briefly tie Snedeker, but a spectacular 32-footer at the par-3 17th gave him the lead he would not relinquish. Snedeker grinned, pumped his fist repeatedly and talked to himself as walked to take the ball out of the cup there.

"I was very calm out there for me the last six or seven holes," recalled Snedeker, who is the 15th Nationwide Tour grad to win on TOUR in 2007. "It never really entered my mind what was going on. I kind of knew where I was. I guess the good thing about the way this tournament played out this week is you knew you were going to have to make birdies. There was no laying up involved.

"You knew you were going to have to go at every pin, try to make every putt. There was no way I could sit back and wait. You had to go out there and try to birdie every hole and give yourself a chance."

Snedeker had plenty of chances, too -- making 24 birdies and an eagle in his four rounds at Forest Oaks. For the week, he made 41 of 41 putts inside 3 feet and all but five of the 68 he attempted from 10 feet and in.

"This has been pretty overwhelming," said the 2004 Vanderbilt grad who was quick to point out that he started the year just hoping to keep his TOUR card.

"I was trying to go out there and win today, but more importantly, I was trying to shoot a good number. I knew it was going to be a low number to win. I can't believe I shot 63, to be honest with you.

"I didn't feel like I was hitting it all that great on the range this morning, but the putter was working great. I gave myself a lot of chances, and they went in.

"I'm pretty overwhelmed with right now. ... I'm certainly going to enjoy it and try to make sure my head doesn't get too big. Make sure people keep me in my place."