'The best of what golf is': Why Brandt Snedeker is a deserving winner of the AT&T Legacy Award

When Brandt Snedeker was 8 years old, his parents bought a pawn shop in a gritty section of Nashville. After school he would assist his mother, Candice, behind the counter and receive an accelerated education in real life.

“My mom was probably the worst and best pawn shop owner ever,” Snedeker recalled, now 45, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour who is captain of this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup team competing at Medinah. “She’d believe people to a fault, but she helped so many who were really struggling and just needed a break. I could tell it made her feel good, and her example stayed with me.”

Candice Snedeker passed away in 2020 but lived to see her son set his own example. When Brandt won the 2012 FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus, he and his wife Mandy started The Snedeker Foundation, which has now raised nearly $6 million for underprivileged youth in middle Tennessee.

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Brandt Snedeker and his mother Candice during the Par-3 Contest ahead of the 2008 Masters.

Andrew Redington

At this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Brandt Snedeker is being honored with the AT&T Legacy Award, presented by Golf Digest and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, recognizing the spirit of partnership and philanthropy. The tournament is the PGA Tour’s leading contributor to charity, generating $18 million annually to California central coast communities. Snedeker succeeds the inaugural winner of the award, Jordan Spieth.

The tournament winner in 2013 and 2015, Snedeker over the years has excelled in every dimension of the event. Along with his mastery of Pebble’s diabolical greens, he is a pro who amateur participants would most like to have in their foursome.

“Oh, yeah, everybody wants to play with Snedeker,” said tournament director Steve John. “They know they’re going to be more relaxed because Brandt cares about their experience and is so good with people.”

MORE: Brandt Snedeker’s 5 keys from tee to green

In his first AT&T victory, Snedeker paired with Toby Wilt, a close friend who established the athletic scholarship at Vanderbilt that made Snedeker its first recipient, to also win the team title. “To get to walk down the 18th at Pebble arm in arm with Toby and come out on top was a magical, full-circle moment for both of us,” said Snedeker in his rapid-fire cadence. “We had a lot of fun talking about everything but what we were doing, and that’s what you need out in that tournament.”

“Brandt has the qualities of a great quarterback,” said NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who partnered with Snedeker in 2020, “a really high emotional intelligence, a responsibility and energy that makes things happen. He’ll be a tremendous Presidents Cup captain.”

Snedeker is excited to captain the U.S. Presidents Cup team this September at Medinah.

Ben Jared

At the root of Snedeker’s appeal is an empathy that distinguishes him in a game that is unavoidably self-centered. Learning to play on Nashville’s public courses and going on to win the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links gave him the grass-roots perspective to develop the Sneds Tour, which, in partnership with the Tennessee Golf Foundation, provides affordable golf and tournament opportunities for junior golfers. In 2025, the tour held 220 events for more than 2,000 competitors from ages 4 to 19. The foundation also supports several different charities, including Our Kids, a Nashville clinic that provides free medical evaluations and crisis counseling for victims of sexual abuse.

“Sneds is the best of what golf is,” said Dan Crockett, a prominent Nashville businessman and accomplished amateur who sits on the foundation’s board and partnered with Snedeker at Pebble in 2018. “He’s an incredible competitor, but also kind and gentle. It’s hard to do both at the same time. That makes him the perfect partner.”

Humbled by the praise, Snedeker deflects credit for the award to the pro-am itself. “I’ve always been blessed with a good attitude, but it improves at the AT&T,” he said. “You are around all these quality human beings who are giving back, and it motivates you to do the same, which ends up being almost selfish because it makes you feel good.”

That’s an old lesson straight from the pawn shop.

PAST WINNERS OF THE LEGACY AWARD:

2025: Jordan Spieth