Commodore Banter (4/12)

The entire world will get to know Vanderbilt grad Brandt Snedeker this weekend as the 2007 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year finds himself in second place at the Masters at 7-under, one stroke behind Trevor Immelman and seven strokes ahead of Tiger Woods.

Snedeker admits that even he is surprised.

"I've been playing great golf and I certainly have 100% confidence in myself," he said, "but if I had told you at the beginning of the week that thought I was going to be in second place, you probably would have thought I was crazy, and I probably would have thought you were right."

Snedeker is the final pairing today and will tee off at 1:40 CT. You can see the leaderboard here. One thing's for certain: Snedeker is living the dream.

"You know you ask anybody in my family at all, they will tell you, (the) only thing I said I was going to do my whole life was be a professional golfer," he said. "I went to Vanderbilt for that safety net of, if I didn't become one, I would have a great education to fall back on. You know, it's one of though things, growing up I always loved golf for some reason. I always played it; never had any inkling of doing something else. I'm one of the few lucky people in this world who get to do what they love to do."

You can read the rest of Snedeker Q & A here.

Snedeker stands second to none, writes Joe Biddle.

Snedeker's creativity and imagination on the golf course has golf legend Tom Watson impressed, writes Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post.

The media loves the ex-Commodore.

The youngster's already got an entourage.

Snedeker hit one of the best shots of the tournament, chipping in with a lob wedge instead of a putter on the sixth hole. "I figured it would be OK if I didn't take a divot," he said. "The green's no worse for the wear."

In other news, the women's bowling team refuses to lose. After dropping their first match of the double-elimination tournament, the Commodores won the next three to advance to the semifinals today at 4:30 CT. The finals are at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired live ESPNU.

Congrats to senior Margie Curran, who became the lacrosse program's all-time leader in assists and points in Vandy's 17-7 victory over Ohio State yesterday.

Hitting was contagious in Vandy's 15-8 victory over Mississippi State Friday night in Starkville. The Commodores improved to 22-10 overall, 6-6 in the Southeastern Conference.

Mike Minor's recent struggles continued, giving up seven runs on nine hits in six innings of work, but the offense picked him up. A few notables from the box score:

David Macias: 4-for-6, homer, 2 RBI, three runs scored
Parker Hanks: 1-for-2, homer, 3 RBI
Pedro Alvarez: 3-for-5, 3 runs scored
Ryan Flaherty: 2-for-5, homer, 2 runs scored
Dominic de la Osa: 3-for-4, 2 RBI
Shea Robin: 2-for-5, 3 RBI

Caleb Cotham gets the start this afternoon (2 p.m. CT).