AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) — All those years scratching around the public courses in Nashville taught Brandt Snedeker a thing or two. With his ball sitting on a big knob at the back of the green — and the green jackets from Augusta National gasping in horror — he grabbed a lob wedge.

And chipped. On that pristine putting surface.

"I knew there was a couple of members worried when I took out the lob wedge," Snedeker said, referring to what might be the shot of the day yesterday at the Masters. "But I figured it would be OK if I didn't take a divot, and I didn't. So the green is no worse for the wear."

His scorecard's in pretty good shape, too. Saving himself a bogey — or worse — Snedeker chipped in, making birdie on the par three sixth on his way to a four-under 68 that put him a stroke behind clubhouse leader Trevor Immelman.

"He was dead," playing partner Tom Watson marveled. "The best he's going to make is four, maybe five, and he chips it in the hole for two. It shows some imagination and that's very impressive. Very impressive."

Making it more impressive is that this is only the second go-round at the Masters for the 27-year-old, who was the US PGA Tour's rookie of the year last year after winning in Greensboro and reaching the FedEx Cup finale. Snedeker played in the 2004 Masters after winning the US Amateur Public Links.

Young players, no matter how talented they are, are supposed to need a few years to figure out Augusta National, get a feel for its quirks and tricky greens, and discover where they can take chances. There's a reason only three first-timers have won, none since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

But Snedeker isn't exactly new to Augusta. In the months before the 2004 Masters, he played more rounds at Augusta National than most members.

"I've played here 40 or 50 times, easily," he said. "I've never really played that great. I don't know why — I'm always just so enthralled with the place every time I come. It's so peaceful and I'm more aiming to having fun when I come here than trying to shoot a low number.

"But I've hit it pretty much everywhere you don't want to hit it," he said. "I know exactly where you don't want to hit it, so I'm trying to avoid that this week. Did it a couple of times today, but hopefully no more this weekend."

When he does find trouble, though, Snedeker has a knack for working his way out of it.

He began playing golf at West Plains Country Club in Missouri because his grandmother was the manager there (she gave him his first set of clubs). But most of his early experience came at public courses around Nashville. Now, as all weekend duffers know, those courses aren't exactly the Taj Mahals of golf. There are divots everywhere, combinations of sand and sod not found in any greenskeeping manual and more bumps and mounds than the English countryside. Creativity is not merely recommended, it's a requirement.

"As a kid, I kind of hit it everywhere and scraped it around," Snedeker said. "So I always had fun getting up-and-down and making putts when you had to and chipping. Doing crazy stuff, you know, kind of just having fun out there on the golf course. People say imagination here, well, you really don't have a choice here."