Farmers Insurance Open Power Rankings: Top ten at Torrey Pines

When it looked like he had no chance to win, Brandt Snedeker came back. When scoring conditions were abysmal, Snedeker posted red figures.

No matter the odds, Snedeker has found his way to the Farmers Insurance Open winner’s circle twice. The first came in 2012 after Kyle Stanley surrendered a seven-stroke lead on Sunday, and four-shot lead at the 18th tee, to allow Snedeker to win in a playoff.

In 2016, Snedeker only had to erase one shot going into the final round, but he made up the ground and then some. He posted a hard-earned three-under-par 69 in the wind, rain and cold to edge KJ Choi.

For the trifecta, maybe Snedeker can win while leading after 54 holes for a change?

Win, lose or draw, Snedeker is bound to at least pick up a sizable check while in La Jolla. Along with his wins he owns a co-runner-up finish and three other top-10s (and a top-20) while missing the cut just once 11 starts.

A cool, yet benign, forecast would seem against a shorter hitter with a solid short game and putter like Snedeker, but he’s a player who can thrive in any weather.

This will be Snedeker’s fourth start since returning from months away with a rib injury. He tied for 29th at the RSM Classic and then withdrew four weeks later from the Indonesian Masters due to heat exhaustion. Last week, he missed the cut at the CareerBuilder Challenge.

It looks like Snedeker doesn’t have much of a chance to succeed this week, but we should learn our lesson to not count the gritty Tennessean out.