Don't sleep on Brandt Snedeker, the Eli Manning of the Masters, after first round 69: Second to Tiger Sunday?

Last year’s PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Brandt Snedeker is only one shot back at the Masters after round one and he could be tied for the lead if he hadn’t recorded his first bogey of the day on 18. While you can expect most of the first round surprises to fade away (Dustin Rose for the second straight year no doubt), don’t be surprised if Snedeker’s still in the hunt on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Snedeker doesn’t get too shaken by much of anything.

When I played with Brandt’s older brother Haymes Snedeker - a former All-SEC golfer himself at Ole Miss who still hits the ball better than anyone that’s not in pro golf - he remarked how Brandt doesn’t let things bother him on the course as much as they sometimes bugged Haymes. The younger Snedeker is good at brushing off a bad shot or a bad hole, much like Eli Manning seems to not stress about things nearly as much as the hyper intense Peyton Manning.

That should serve Brandt Snedeker well in Augusta. He sort of plodded along early in the first round, recording eight straight pars before ripping off three birdies in the next four holes, attacking just before Amen Corner (and getting a birdie on 12 too).

I’d love to see Snedeker in the final pairing with Tiger Woods on Sunday (let’s face it, Tiger is still winning it). And not just because I could tell the unreported story of how Woods tried to intimidate Snedeker on the putting range when he was close to the lead in another tournament.