PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Jimmy Walker, Chris Kirk, James Hahn, et al, now know how Brandt Snedeker felt the last two weeks.

Snedeker is taking a page from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson -- the men who relegated him to second at the last two PGA TOUR events -- and pulling away from the competition early on the back nine at Pebble Beach.

Snedeker just has poured in birdie putts of 27 and 17 feet on Nos. 10 and 11 to open a four-stroke advantage on the field at 18 under. Jimmy Walker, who has birdied six of his last eight holes, and Chris Kirk, who is 3 under through 12, are tied for second.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Brandt Snedeker has just made back-to-back birdies to open a three-stroke advantage during Sunday's final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Snedeker said Saturday evening that playing the par 5s well was key to mastering Pebble Beach -- and that's exactly what he's done so far. The Tennessean just two-putted for birdie from 20 feet at the sixth hole after making eagle on the second.

Snedeker then made a 16-footer for birdie at No. 7 to move to 17 under. Chris Kirk, playing in the penultimate group, is his nearest competitor after making an 8-footer at the fifth hole, his third birdie of the day.

Rookie James Hahn is hanging tough, as well, at 13 under. He's made two birdies and a bogey at the par-3 fifth and is 13 under.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Brandt Snedeker and James Hahn are waging quite a battle in the day's final group.

Snedeker reached the par-5 second hole from 230 yards out and made a 4-footer for eagle after Hahn two-putted for birdie from 8. That moved the reigning FedExCup champ to 14 under while Hahn was 13 under.

Snedeker answered another Hahn birdie with one of his own at the fourth hole. The rookie converted from 10 feet to get to 14 under and Snedeker then made his from 9 to remain one stroke ahead.

Chris Kirk birdied his second and third holes to briefly pull into a tie for the lead. He remains at 13 under, though, and is two off the pace. Kirk's playing partner, Patrick Reed, is also 2 under for the day and 12 under for the tournament.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Birdie putts eluded Brandt Snedeker and James Hahn Sunday on the first hole of the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Hahn actually came the closest, leaving his 15-footer a mere 5 inches short. Snedeker's 13-footer ended up 21 inches away for the tap-in par.

Should Snedeker go on to win, it would be his fifth PGA TOUR victory and extend his exempt status through 2018. The reigning FedExCup champion would also add to his current points lead with his second win in six starts dating back to last year's TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

Snedeker would also be the first player since 1990 to follow two consecutive runner-up finishes with a victory.

Hahn, on the other hand, would win for the first time in just his sixth career start on the PGA TOUR -- earning a spot in the Masters and PGA Championship in the process. The rookie would have job security, too, with exempt status through the end of the 2015 season.

Hahn would be the second 2012 Web.com Tour grad to win on TOUR this year -- Russell Henley at the Sony Open in Hawaii is the other -- and the seventh pro since 1970 to pick up his first win at Pebble Beach. He would also join K.J. Choi, Y.E. Yang, Kevin Na and John Huh as TOUR champions of Korean descent.
 

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Brandt Snedeker has just posted his ninth straight round in the 60s to open a three-stroke lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Snedeker is 12 under after shooting a 68 on the famous host course. It was his 17th sub-par round in 18 attempts this season and moved him to a cumulative 75 under for the year.

Snedeker has finished second at the last two PGA TOUR events and also was third in the season opener. Small wonder then that Snedeker sits atop the FedExCup standings after winning the $10 million bonus last year.

Richard Lee, who tied for fourth at q-school to get his PGA TOUR card back, is finished at 9 under after shooting a 66 at Pebble Beach. He's tied with James Hahn, Patrick Reed, Chris Kirk and Patrick Cantlay.

Hahn is through 15 holes at Spyglass Hills while Reed has played 13 at Monterey Peninsula and Kirk is through 10 on the same course. Cantlay, the UCLA product who is making the most of his sponsor's exemption, is 2 under through 13 holes at Pebble Beach.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Patrick Cantlay has cut Brandt Snedeker's lead to one shot with a 5-foot birdie putt at the seventh hole at Pebble Beach.

Snedeker, meanwhile, has cooled off after that birdie barrage to end the front nine. He bogeyed the 10th hole, missing the green and a 7-footer to save par; answered with a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 11 and has parred the next four holes.

Snedeker, who was runner-up in the last two PGA TOUR events, remains at 12 under. Cantlay turned pro last summer after his sophomore year at UCLA.

PGA TOUR rookies James Hahn and Patrick Reed are tied with Chris Kirk at 9 under. Hahn has played 12 holes at Spyglass Hills while Reed is through 10 and Kirk through eight at Monterey Peninsula.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Brandt Snedeker, the runner-up each of the last two weeks on the PGA TOUR, has taken sole possession of the lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday.

Snedeker reeled off four straight birdies to get to 12 under, three strokes clear of rookie Patrick Reed and four ahead of James Hahn and Fredrik Jacobson. Snedeker is playing at Pebble Beach.

The reigning FedExCup champion and current points leader two-putted from 32 feet at the par-5 sixth hole for the first birdie of the streak, which came in response to his first bogey in 24 holes. He then added a 10-footer at No. 7, a 5-footer at the eighth and a 4-footer at No. 9 to make the turn in 32.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson is also playing at Pebble Beach, where he closed with a 64 a year ago to make up a six-stroke deficit. He hasn't gotten untracked on Saturday, though, making bogey on the first hole and adding a pair of birdies to turn in 35.

Mickelson is 3 under for the tournament.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

PEBBLE BEACH Calif. -- Brandt Snedeker has done just about everything right this year. Everything except win, that is.

And the way Snedeker is playing at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, this just might be the week he gets over that hump after runner-up finishes each of the last two tournaments.

Snedeker, who won the FedExCup last year and currently leads the standings again, fired a bogey-free 68 at Spyglass Hills that pulled him into a tie for the lead at 8 under with Ted Potter, Jr. The Vandy grad made a trio of 3-footers for birdies on Friday and added another from 5 feet.

"I didn't make a lot of putts today but look forward to going into the weekend, confidence is very high, and after last week, feel like my game is where I want it to be and two good days to go, should be a lot of fun," Snedeker said.

The men who have beaten Snedeker the last two weeks are a current and future World Golf Hall of Famer in Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing at their absolute best. Snedeker certainly hasn't laid down, either -- shooting a pair of 69s in the final two rounds at the Farmers Insurance Open and consecutive 65s last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

"I take nothing but positives away from the way I've played the weekend the last couple events," Snedeker said. "I know I'll have a lot of fun this weekend, so just try to recreate that. That's how you win out here; you keep putting yourself in position, and the more times you do, that the more success you're going to have." 

Friday's round of 4 under on what is traditionally the toughest course in the rotation was Snedeker's 16th under par in 17 attempts this season. He's a cumulative 71 under for the year.

Snedeker is headed for Pebble Beach on Saturday and barring a catastrophe that would have him miss the 54-hole cut, the affable 32-year-old will be playing there in Sunday's finale, as well. He thinks seeing the course two days in a row is a plus for those like him in the celebrity rotation.

"The greens, we'll know how they are bouncing," Snedeker said. "Every day it's been different, because Monterey Peninsula, you play it early in the week and it was different yesterday than I remember playing it; Spyglass I played earlier in the week and it was super firm and today it was softer.
 
"So I think playing Pebble back to back days is definitely an advantage."

Snedeker also thinks he's done a good job on staying focused and conserving energy -- mentally and physically -- after contending each of the last two weeks.
 
"I realize I'm playing really well and not try to do anything too stupid this week and not wear myself out early in the week, and be patient and keep doing the small stuff I did last week really well," Snedeker said. "I'm doing a better job this week of making my way around the golf courses and not putting myself in bad spots and getting out of tough situations very quickly. 

"It's been real promising this week the way I've taken that momentum from last week into this one.