Pick a word — “embarrassed” “disappointed” “humbled” — Brandt Snedeker said a lot of them flashed through his rapidly spinning mind last month after he badly missed the cut in the Australian PGA Championship.

In making a 12,425-mile beeline from Sydney to see his coach in Las Vegas, Snedeker had time to exhaust “Roget’s Thesaurus.”

But in all his rumination over a showing that included an opening-round 12-over-par 84 built on eight bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey, “positive” likely wasn’t one of them.

Only Friday, sitting atop the second-round leaderboard in the Sony Open in Hawaii with a two-day, 12-under-par 128, could Snedeker tout the “positives” of his disaster Down Under without placing tongue firmly in sun-reddened cheek.

Only as he reflected upon a start that contained but one bogey in two rounds at Waialae Country Club, good for a one-stroke lead, could he really count the depths of December as a blessing.

As the highest-ranked player (No. 38) in the field, “You shoot an 84 and finish third to the last … not a great ride coming home (from Australia), ” Snedeker acknowledged. “But a lot of times experiences like that can become a positive thing. They make you re-evaluate everything and take a hard look at what’s going on with your playing and practicing.”

It did for Snedeker, who urgently summoned a meeting with noted golf teacher Butch Harmon in Vegas seeking guidance with his swing and a renewed golfing equilibrium. Over the space of a pair of two-day sessions and a refresher course last week on Maui, Snedeker made what he termed a “pretty drastic change” to improve his ball-striking.

The retooling initially left him feeling “awkward and uncomfortable” to the point that he figured there would be “some growing pains with it, some kind of foul balls here and there that just kinda come when you make a swing change.”

But with a tie for third place at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua and the quick start at Sony, the change has grown on him to the point that Snedeker said, “I feel way more comfortable with it this week and am excited about it because the bad shots haven’t been nearly as bad as they have been (before).”

The five birdies in Friday’s round also have helped chase the lingering disappointment from Snedeker’s last Waialae visit eight years ago. In 2008 Snedeker had an even-par 140 through two rounds and made the cut only to find out he would not be allowed to play the third round.

It was the debut of the PGA Tour’s highly controversial policy whereby when there were an overabundance of players making the cut after 36 holes, some were restricted from playing the final two rounds in an effort to streamline play.

Snedeker said he found out about it in the scorer’s trailer and was incredulous.

Between that and a crowded early tournament lineup, Snedeker didn’t find his way back to Sony until this year.

“Then, getting back here, I realized I should have come back,” Snedeker said. “I should have been back here sooner because this is a golf course that sets up really well for me.”

Especially after he found a “positive” side to Down Under.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.