Masters notebook: Brandt Snedeker emotional after coming up short at Augusta National

In this big-money era of professional golf, where fans are sometimes turned off by robot-like players mailing it in on Sundays and still collecting nice paychecks, Brandt Snedeker's reaction to coming up short in the Masters was likely viewed by many as a breath of fresh air.
Playing in the final pairing with eventual champion Trevor Immelman at Augusta National Golf Club, Snedeker shot a disappointing 5-over-par 77 Sunday and finished tied for third place with Stewart Cink. Afterwards, Snedeker simply couldn't keep his emotions in check as tears streamed down his face while he spoke to reporters, eventually burying his face in a towel to sob.

"It was a tough day. Trevor played fantastic," Snedeker told reporters. "I obviously couldn't get anything going [and] couldn't make any putts when I needed to. I'm still a little emotional, as you can tell, but it's one of those things: You've got to kind of pick yourself up, realize what you did wrong and go fix it."
Snedeker began the day two shots back of Immelman and certainly had his chances to be the one winning his first major title. Immelman shot 3-over 75 - the highest final round by a Masters champion since Arnold Palmer in 1962 - but the 2007 PGA Tour rookie of the year couldn't take advantage.

With a swirling wind that contributed to only four players breaking par in the final round, Snedeker's day was an absolute roller coaster. The 27 year old opened bogey, eagle, bogey in a round that included nine bogeys in all.

"You just never really felt comfortable, no matter how good you're playing or how well you thought you were striking the golf ball," Snedeker said. "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."

Snedeker said his only hope is that he'll learn and grow from the experience of playing in his first Masters as a professional.

"Obviously, being in the final pairing two days is something I'm very proud of - to be coming back here next year, hopefully we won't end up here in tears all over again," said Snedeker, who earned an invitational to play in the 2009 Masters with his top-16 finish. "I found out a lot about myself today."