Global Golf Post - February 6, 2012

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA | It took Kyle Stanley just one week – seven long days – to erase the darkest moment of his career with the bright-est. His first-ever win, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, didn’t come easy, but as the resilient Stanley can attest, they hardly ever do.

Or just look to Spencer Levin, the latest casualty of a major meltdown on Sunday. Unbelievably, while Stanley had blown a nine-shot lead over eventual winner Brandt Snedeker in the final round to lose the Farmers Insurance Open, Levin one-upped him this time around by tossing away an eight-shot advantage over Stanley at TPC Scottsdale.

Welcome to the gut-wrenching world of the PGA Tour, where Stanley emerged from under a cactus and out of a party tent on his last two holes to record one of game’s great reversals of fortune.

(Coincidentally, the record for the biggest Sunday comeback on the PGA Tour is 10 shots –1999 Open Championship – and it is held by Scot Paul Lawrie, who won Sunday in Qatar.)

“That’s golf. It’s a crazy game,” said the

24-year-old Stanley, a second-year pro out from the small town of Gig Harbor, Wash., who equalled the third-largest comeback in Tour history.

Stanley grabbed the lead early on the back nine on this sunny day, and ended up pouring in six birdies without a bogey for a 65 and a winning total of 15-under-par 269. Just as key, he made five straight pars to finish out his round and held off a hard-charging Ben Crane, who ended up in second place, one shot back after a 66.

“I hit a couple of squirrelly tee shots, but my recovery shots were fantastic,” said Stanley, who miraculously chipped out from under a cactus and onto the green at No. 17, and then took a free drop before curling a pitching wedge onto the green at No. 18.

“I think the biggest challenge was seeing if I
could put last week behind me, and I think I did.”
So did his moment in the sun erase the
recent past? Stanley shook head and said: “Not
really. I’m never going to forget that, but I think
it does make this one a lot sweeter.”
Thus the onus of the biggest demise of 2012
falls on Levin, a 27-year-old Californian who
also was after his first victory in his third year
on Tour. Levin‘s fall was slow and steady, as
he birdied the third hole of the day to get to 18
under before three bogeys and a double spelled
75 and third place.

“You have a six-shot lead and lose, you gave it away. My hat’s off to Kyle, he played a great round,” conceded Levin, who followed up his 62 at Torrey Pines with a 63 in the second round at TPC Scottsdale.

Exclusive technology accounts for atmospheric conditions and incline/ decline to give you a more accurate range than simply line-of-sight (LOS).

TM)

1,000 YARDS ACROSS THE DESERT. 106 YARDS OVER THE SAND TRAP.

The same technology that allows us to put America’s best marksmen on target at staggering
distances can put you dead on the flagstick. Get instant, accurate ranging to within six
inches thanks to our lightning-fast Digitally eNhanced Accuracy
(DNA™) engine and True Golf Range™ (TGR
®) technology.