PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) ― Brandt Snedeker didn’t have to take a back seat to anyone at Pebble Beach.

A runner-up to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson each of the last two weeks, Snedeker finished off a record performance Sunday with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Chris Kirk in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Snedeker holed a 10-foot birdie on the 17th hole, and then tapped in for par to finish at 19-under 267. That broke the tournament record by one shot held by Mickelson (2007) and Mark O’Meara (1997), who each had a 20-under 268 when Poppy Hills was still in the rotation.

The hottest player in golf, Snedeker finally has a trophy to show for it.

“Feels great to finish one,” he said. “The last two weeks, playing great but running into two Hall of Famers, really motivated me to go out and prove that I can handle the lead.”

In five starts this year, he already had a win, two second-place finishes and a third. He never had much of a chance against Woods at Torrey Pines or Mickelson at the Phoenix Open, who each had big leads going into the final round.

Snedeker was tied with James Hahn, a 31-year-old rookie from the Bay Area, and seized control with an eagle and three birdies on the opening seven holes. Snedeker responded to his only bogey, a three-putt at No. 9, by rolling in birdie putts on the next two holes.

He took a long gaze out at the Pacific while waiting on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach, perhaps reflecting on an amazing ride over the last six months ― winning the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup and its $10 million prize, his first Ryder Cup team, and a blazing start to the new season.

Snedeker goes to No. 4 in the world, the highest ranking of his career and second only to Woods among Americans.

“Kind of crazy to think what’s happened,” he said.

He now heads off to a vacation on Maui before returning for the stretch run leading to the Masters. Winning a major is the next step for Snedeker, a 32-year-old from Nashville who has emerged as a veritable threat wherever he plays with a confident putting stroke and a dramatic increase in hitting fairways off the tee.

Hahn wound up with a 2-under 70 and tied for third with Jimmy Walker (66) and Kevin Stadler (65). The day wasn’t a total loss for Hahn. He previously tied for fourth at the Humana Challenge, and his tie for third gets him into Riviera next week. He hasn’t missed a cut this year and is already 11th in the FedEx Cup standings.

The only drama on a pristine day on the Monterey Peninsula came from Patrick Reed. His 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole gave him a tie for seventh with Fredrik Jacobson, and kept Jacobson from qualifying for the Match Play Championship by 0.0002 points.

Joburg Open

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― Richard Sterne cruised to his first European Tour title in more than four years, winning the Joburg Open by seven shots on Sunday.

Sterne shot a bogey-free 64 to finish with a tournament record total of 27 under at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington golf course and win by the largest margin in tournament history.

“That was probably the best final round of my career,” Sterne said. “It was quite special to finish the way I did.”

Fellow overnight leader Trevor Fisher Jr. faltered on the final day, allowing Sterne to finish well clear of Charl Schwartzel (66) in second. Fisher eagled the first but sank to a 1-over 73 that dropped him to joint sixth, despite sitting five shots clear of the field with Sterne at the start of the final round.

Fisher eagled the first but sank to a 1-over 73 that dropped him to a tie for sixth, despite sitting five shots clear of the field with Sterne at the start of the final round.

The victory was Sterne’s first since the 2008 South African Championship, and represented a major milestone for the 31-year-old player, who led at the halfway stage of last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic before finishing second to Stephen Gallacher.

Sterne had risen to 29th in the world rankings following back-to-back successes on home soil in December 2008, but then dropped out of the top 1,000 after a form of arthritis in his back forced him to miss most of the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Allianz Championship

BOCA RATON, Florida (AP) ― Rocco Mediate birdied the 18th hole and finished with a 1-under par 71 to win the Allianz Championship on Sunday.

He finished the tournament at 17-under 199 and became the 16th player to have a winning debut on the Champions Tour.

Mediate’s 4-foot birdie putt came after Tom Pernice Jr. missed a 5-footer at No. 18 that could have forced a playoff.

Mediate started the day with a three-shot lead, lost it by the 14th hole, but regained it when Pernice bogeyed the par-4 17th from a greenside bunker. Mediate protected that lead with a birdie on the par-5 closing hole.

“I’m ecstatic,” Mediate said. “I have been saying all week it’s never easy. It shouldn’t be easy. I was prepared to make that putt (at No. 18), but I didn’t have to.”

Pernice, who had a final-round 70, finished tied with Bernhard Langer (68) for second place.

Pernice was the last player to win his Champions Tour debut three years ago, but is still searching for his second title.

“I played better than any other day as far as ball-striking, but I just couldn’t make enough putts,” Pernice said. “Rocco played well; he deserved to win. He battled down the stretch.”