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GREENSBORO -- Tim Petrovic stood in front of the air vents before his interview in the media tent and told reporters, "You guys can come to me." After 18 holes on another sweltering afternoon at Forest Oaks, it was all he could do to stand there.

With temperatures again reaching the mid-90s Sunday, Petrovic fought through the elements and a brief bout with heat exhaustion to shoot 5-under-par 67. But while the afternoon sun was sizzling, Brandt Snedeker was even hotter. His 9-under round, capped by a 32-foot birdie putt at No. 17, secured the win and left Petrovic in a three-way tie for second.

"I just needed to play the front nine again," said Petrovic, who was 5-under and led through 13. "I think I was minus-92 on the front nine this week and I don't know what I was on the back. But I did everything I could today."

Sunday featured another torrid round full of birdies. Petrovic was just one of four players at 18-under or better through nine and it remained a wide-open tournament well into the afternoon. He used a seven-foot putt to take the lead at 20-under on No. 13, but Snedeker roared right back.

Petrovic could only watch from the shade behind the 17th tee as Snedeker rolled in his 32-footer to seal his first tour title.

"I was trying to stay cool, over with the gallery underneath the driving range," Petrovic said. "I saw him make the putt. He'd been playing great all day, so it wasn't a surprise."

After going 3-over early in the opening round Thursday, Petrovic battled back to finish the day 4-under and used a 65 Friday to easily make his 15th cut this year. Following his stellar front nine Sunday, Petrovic struggled to separate himself from the pack and maintain his focus when he got overheated at the 12th hole.

"It's kind of a hopeless feeling," he said. "When you've got it and you're not playing a golf tournament, it's tough, but when you're playing a golf tournament, you've got to try to concentrate. It's really, really hard. I was just trying to stay upright for about three or four holes out there, so I was really proud of myself the way I hung in there."

For Petrovic, who said he cut the lining out of his wool pants to stay cooler, the second-place finish was more than enough to lock up a spot in the first two FedExCup events, which begin next week at The Barclays in Harrison, N.Y.

"That was one of my goals," he said. "I've just kind of had an off year and I saw signs of life -- my game starting to get a little better. I've played good Sunday rounds in my last few tournaments and I knew I could do it. I just needed to stay in the moment. And that's probably the thing I did best today. I just stayed in the moment, shot by shot."

More than satisfied with his results this week, Petrovic said he gladly would have braved the heat for a few more holes had he been able to force a playoff.

"I would have loved to have been in a playoff, cooled off a little bit and got back out there," he said. "That would have been awesome. Would have been great for the fans to see a playoff, too."

Contact Matt Brooks at 373-7047 or mbrooks@news-record.com