Wyndham Championship 2018: Brandt Snedeker Collects 1st Win of 2018

Brandt Snedeker already made history at the 2018 Wyndham Championship when he shot an 11-under 59 in the first round, and he capped his weekend with a tournament victory Sunday.

Snedeker shot a five-under 65 in the final round at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, to bring his score to under-21. He eclipsed C.T. Pan and Webb Simpson by three strokes, although Pan was tied with the victor while playing the last hole before collapsing with a double bogey after hitting it out of bounds.

This was the final PGA Tour tournament of the year before the FedEx Cup playoffs, and Snedeker was able to fend off challengers from Pan, Simpson and the rest of the field.

Here is a look at the top finishers, per PGATour.com:

1. Brandt Snedeker, -21

T2. C.T. Pan, -18

T2. Webb Simpson, -18

T4. Jim Furyk, -17

T4. D.A. Points, -17

T6. Ryan Moore, -16

T6. Brian Gay, -16

T8. Nick Taylor, -15

T8. Ryan Armour, -15

T8. David Hearn, -15

Sunday was a busy day at Sedgefield, as a number of players—including Snedeker—had to finish their third rounds before teeing off in the last round after rain suspended play Saturday.

Snedeker was the primary storyline of the tournament from wire to wire after he turned heads Thursday by becoming just the ninth player to break the 60 barrier. It put him in position to win his first tournament of the year, but his early lead was put to the test.

The cushion was down to one stroke at the start of his final round, but it was Brian Gay—who shot up the leaderboard with an eight-under 62 in the third round—and David Hearn—who did the same with a six-under 64 in his third round—who were challenging.

"It's going to be a shootout," Snedeker said before teeing off for the last round, per Mike McAllister of PGATour.com. "Somebody's going to shoot low. Somebody's going to come out here and probably post 20 (under), so I know I've got to do that. I've got to make some birdies."

He did better than post a 20-under thanks to a long birdie putt on the last hole, and Guy and Hearn quickly fell behind the list of other challengers when they failed to rack up enough birdies to keep up on the front nine. Gay couldn't match Pan or Simpson at just one-under in the front, while Hearn bogeyed his first two holes and never recovered even with an eagle on No. 15.

It was largely a battle between Snedeker and Pan down the stretch, especially after Pan birdied Nos. 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11 to bring himself even before the winner answered with a clutch birdie of his own on No. 11.

Simpson was lurking, though, and caught fire on the back nine with birdies on Nos. 10, 13, 15, 16 and 17 to pull within one and put himself in position where he was simply waiting for a mistake from the other two players.

That is exactly what happened when Snedeker bogeyed the 13th and Pan struggled on the last hole, but a bogey on No. 18 was a crippling blow to Simpson's chances.

Snedeker ultimately finished in style with his birdie putt on the last hole, but Pan took the pressure completely off by hitting it out of bounds on the 18th and falling into a tie for second.

There were a number of other notable names on the course, including the 48-year-old Jim Furyk. Furyk was never a serious threat to win down the stretch but posted four sub-70 scores in the tournament, finishing with a seven-under 63 to place in the top five.

Elsewhere, Sergio Garcia missed an opportunity to climb up the leaderboard after entering the final round in contention at 12-under par. He shot an even 70 Sunday thanks largely to three bogeys on the back, preventing any drama involving the 2017 Masters champion.

The tour now shifts its attention toward the FedEx Cup playoffs, which start this coming weekend at the Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. The four tournament playoff schedule concludes with the Tour Championship in Atlanta from Sept. 20 through the 23 before the Ryder Cup.

Snedeker, who won the 2012 FedEx championship, will have plenty of momentum after this victory and moved into 30th in the playoff standings following his effort.