Brandt Snedeker didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So after registering his best finish in a major championship Sunday at Augusta National, Snedeker did both.

And he said he woke up Monday with no regrets of how he handled himself while playing in the final group at the Masters and shooting a 77 en route to tying for third.

"I can't remember the last time I cried like that," Snedeker said. "That's probably why it happened there, because I needed a good cry. ... If there's one tournament in my life that I would want to win, it would be that one. I came very close to doing it, and it just kind of spilt over. And I tried to pull myself together, but I couldn't do it."

Snedeker's breakdown didn't come until after the round. The 2007 PGA Tour rookie of the year and Vanderbilt graduate said he thinks he might have won a few new fans, some who might have been impressed when he eagled the par-5 second hole to briefly tie eventual winner Trevor Immelman, and others for holding his head high while shooting 6 over the rest of the way.

The 27-year-old from Nashville, Tenn., awoke Monday to a cell phone filled with text messages and voice mails and an e-mail inbox packed to the limit. He even received messages from country music star Vince Gill, who attempted to console his good friend.

Snedeker said Gill told him: "You know it's pretty bad when everybody in country music is pulling for you, and they all feel bad about you. We write these stories all the time and we're seeing one unfold, and we still feel bad."

Despite the emotional drain, Snedeker said he never considered withdrawing from the Heritage.

"I love this place too much," said Snedeker, who tied for 16th in his second appearance at Harbour Town Golf Links last season. "(Tournament director) Steve Wilmot has been way too nice for me to do that to him, and they do a great event. I can't wait to tee it up."

Most of Snedeker's recent milestones have been happier occasions.

He capped a fabulous 2007 by popping the question to his college sweetheart last November, and an October wedding will serve as the honeymoon for what is shaping up to be a sensational sophomore season.

Snedeker earned more than $2.8 million, finishing ninth in the FedEx Cup standings and earning his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship. His victory in Greensboro, N.C., in August helped Snedeker earn a spot in the Tour Championship and a trip back to the Masters, where he played in 2004 as the U.S. Public Links champion.

This season, he has picked up where he left off, tying for 10th at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii, and has since added top-10 finishes at the FBR Open and the PODS Championship, which puts him two-thirds of the way to matching last year's total of six top-10 finishes.