For his character, charitable spirit and sportsmanship nine-time PGA TOUR champion Brandt Snedeker has been named the 2024 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company.
“It’s an amazing honor and privilege to be a recipient of this award. With my family being from Springfield, Missouri, Payne’s hometown, he was my favorite golfer growing up and to have my name on this trophy is unbelievable. When you’re recognized for an award like this, it means not only are you a good player, but you’re a good person. This was one of my dreams and it came true.”
- Brandt Snedeker, 2024 recipient
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Brandt “Sneds” Snedeker stayed close to home for his college career, playing for Vanderbilt University’s Men’s Golf Team. There, he was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2000, qualified for the 2001 NCAA Regional, and was named All-Conference during all four years he played for the Commodores. To cap off his college career, he won the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links tournament. This marked his last major win before the start of his professional career the following year.
Sneds hit the PGA TOUR in 2007, earning Rookie of the Year honors in his very first year on tour. His drive for success didn’t stop there as Sneds racked up a list of accolades during his professional career, including nine PGA TOUR championships and the 2012 PGA Tour FedExCup Championship. You can still find Sneds on the PGA TOUR, where his greatness on the links is matched only by his goodness off it.
After his remarkable 2012 PGA TOUR run and subsequent FedExCup title, Sneds launched the Snedeker Foundation alongside his wife, Mandy. For more than a decade, the foundation has supported both social and athletic youth programs across Middle Tennessee.
One of those nonprofit programs is Our Kids, which provides expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling to children who are victims of sexual abuse. Since 1987, Our Kids has evaluated and cared for more than 30,000 children, many of them seven years old or younger. With eight team members providing free, 24/7 support to 47 counties across Middle Tennessee, Our Kids is one of the largest clinics of its kind in the country.
“The philanthropic work Brandt performs on behalf of others – including some of the most vulnerable among us – demonstrates how his values are as meaningful to him as his victories,” said Chris Womack, chairman, president & CEO of Southern Company. “His contributions ensure others feel loved, respected and cared for and make our world a better place.”
The Snedeker Foundation also partners with the Tennessee Golf Foundation to operate the Sneds Tour, a year-round junior golf tour that makes the game more accessible by providing lower entry and registration fees for more than 150 events. Through the Tennessee Golf Foundation, Sneds’s foundation also funded a practice facility for Nashville Christian School, which also serves students at the Tennessee School for the Blind.
Continuing the track record of successful partnerships, the Snedeker Foundation teamed up with Simmons Bank and the Korn Ferry Tour to host the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. The charitable tournament has raised more than $1 million for charities within his home state of Tennessee and was even named Korn Ferry Tour Tournament of the Year in 2022.
Brandt Snedeker’s legacy isn’t exclusive to the green, it’s a culmination of the good he’s demonstrated both on and off the links. Throughout his career, he’s followed the path of good energy that Payne Stewart paved for golfers nationwide and now, step by step, he’s leaving his own mark.
Tune in live to the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony on Tuesday, August 27 at 7 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.