Augusta, Ga. ? Brandt Snedeker isn’t as inexperienced as you might think. Sure he was a PGA Tour rookie last year, and yes this is his first Masters as a pro. But he knows his way around Augusta National. He figures he has played 40 practice rounds here.

After he qualified for the 2004 Masters as an amateur, he took advantage of the policy that allows Masters qualifiers to play as many rounds as they want. “I think they almost changed the rule the next year because of me,” he said.

Maybe that helped on Saturday. It didn’t hurt in turning his round around after bogeying all three holes of Amen Corner (11, 12, 13), making three birdies on the final five holes to pull within two strokes of Trevor Immelman.