Although he will make his Ryder Cup debut this week, a snub in 2003 for the U.S. team still hurts Brandt Snedeker.
Snedeker seemed a lock to represent the U.S. against Ireland and Britain in the Walker Cup of 2003.
He was dismayed when he was left off the team of 10 members that was captained by Bob Lewis, despite winning at the United States Amateur Public Links and the Southeastern Conference championship.
"It hurt a lot," Snedeker said. "I think everything that happens in your career happens for a reason.
"It definitely gave me a fire, because I felt like I had proven that I was one of the best players in the world or best amateurs in the world."
Meanwhile, Lewis in a telephonic interview said, "At the end of the day, you have a committee making the final decision. But I was very active in going out and seeing the players, and I was very high on Brandt because I knew what a great putter he was. He had had a very good summer that year. For some reason, he just couldn't get over the hump."
"When it gets down to the end, there are always three or four individuals that are right there, and it breaks your heart because a very good player is always going to be left out."
Snedeker, wanting to prove a point, waited till he was atop the amateur standings in 2004, before turning professional after the Masters. "Wound up being the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world right before I turned pro after August to try to prove a point to them that they should have put me on the team," he said. "But that's the way stuff happens sometimes. Still frustrated about it"
Snedeker proved his rise as a world-beating golfer Sunday when he finished the final 36 holes 8-under par, helping him clinch the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.
"I'm not under any illusion of being calm," Snedeker said of participating in his first Ryder cup, which begins Thursday. "I'm playing the best golf of my career. The last four weeks I've been playing a bunch, which has been great. And I look forward to getting up there next week and playing some even better golf."
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