News: Waste Management Phoenix Open
February 7 2012
12:46 pm
Two Kyles equal mistaken identity
As our PGA TOUR media official Doug Milne reported here on Monday, Kyle Stanley was able to maintain a very low profile when he flew from Arizona to Atlanta less than 24 hours after his win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Maybe that’s because there’s a case of mistaken identity on the PGA TOUR. After all, look at what Kyle Thompson tweeted on Monday.
@KyleThompsonPGA I’ve now had three people tell me congrats on my win last week. Sorry I’m a different Kyle that plays @Titleist. #notkylestanley
Round 4: Waste Management Phoenix Open
February 5 2012
10:51 pm
Congrats for Kyle pour in on Twitter
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As was the case a week ago, the Twitter world was buzzing about the finish to the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Only this time, congratulations, not commiseration, poured in for Kyle Stanley, who came from eight strokes behind to win at TPC Scottsdale a week after squandering a three-shot lead on the final hole of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Here are some of the tweets – first of all from Stanley himself.
@kylestanleygolf Sweet redemption. So grateful to have had another opportunity. #KFS #bounceback
@kylestanleygolf To do list on my week off: 1. Relax. 2. Work on my lag putting from 15 feet!!
@LukeDonald As tough as loses like last week are, you do learn more from defeats. He learnt quicker than most, congrats Kyle Stanley
@PaulStankowski Well well well! What an awesome comeback by Kyle Stanley!!! I love a great story and this is ONE AWESOME STORY!
@bobbybaryla Gutted for Spence…but that’s pretty good stuff from Kyle. If he wins last week he probably finishes T17 this week… #netgain #experience
@geoffogilvy Massive effort Kyle Stanley!
@robertgarrigus @kylestanleygolf don’t care what happens well done kid
@ogilviej My prediction at the beginning of the week…@kylestanleygolf would bounce back quickly. His goals are top 20 in the world, then 10, then 1
@KyleThompsonPGA Congrats to Kyle Stanley. Awesome resilience after last weeks letdown! He has a ton of game.
@DAPoints Congrats @kylestanleygolf that is one of the most impressive wins I have ever seen! Enjoy Agusta it sets up well for you!
8:29 pm
Pampling wins par-3 contest
Waste Management’s annual “Going for the Green” contest counts the cumulative total distance to the pin on the par-3 16th over all four days of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Waste Management will donate $25,000 to ‘Keep America Beautiful’ in the name of the winner, Rod Pampling. Since its inception three years ago, this is the lowest total distance for a champion (average of 10 feet each round).
|
7:12 pm
With this victory: Kyle Stanley
With his win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Kyle Stanley:
• Earns first PGA TOUR victory in his 44th career start at the age of 24 years, 2 months, 17 days.
• Collects 500 FedExCup points to move to No. 1 in the standings with 846 points, leading Johnson Wagner by 49 points.
• Extends fully-exempt status through the 2014 season.
• Becomes the first player to make the Waste Management Phoenix Open his first TOUR win since J.B. Holmes in 2006 and the 10th in tournament history.
6:53 pm
Notes from inside the ropes
By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Sticky Situation: Kyle Stanley’s shot of the day came on the 71st hole of competition. He drove into the desert at the short par-4 17th, where his golf ball lodged under a cactus. Stanley hooded a 56-degree wedge and the ball left the clubface spinning left. The shot found the green and, two putts later, Stanley was on the 18th tee with a two-shot lead, on his way to redemption.
Bloody Sunday: Spencer Levin wanted a win so badly that he also walked into a cactus in the desert to play a shot. On the 15th hole, he stood in the middle of a prickly situation, ripping the fabric on his shirt and tearing his flesh. Levin got down low and swatted at the ball with his putter, knocking it into the first cut of rough. While the shot bloodied his back, his next play was even more painful as Levin hit into the water short of the green. He played the par-5 15th hole in 3 over this weekend and lost by two.
Using Your Crane-ium: Ben Crane finished second and putted well the whole week. He took 28 putts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then took 27 strokes on Sunday. He one-putted the first four holes and led the tournament in par-5 scoring at 12 under. For a player who claims, “I didn’t hit it well all week,” Crane jumps into 6th place in the FedExCup standings.
Phil Falls: Phil Mickelson started the final round at 8 under in a tie for 10th. He tumbled 16 places to finish tied for 26th. Mickelson hit just 23 of 56 greens, which ranked him 77th in the field for futility. Phil needs to sharpen his driving, but the putter is just fine. Mickelson took just 107 putts for 72 holes, the second best total in the tournament.
Nailed It: Kyle Stanley missed just three putts inside of 10 feet for the entire tournament. He also made three putts outside of 25 feet this week, yet he took 31 putts on Sunday and ranked 63rd in the field for total putts taken. The reason for the large number of putts? Stanley hit 57 of 72 greens, including 16 of 18 on Sunday.
Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and is inside the ropes this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.
6:53 pm
Congratulate Kyle Stanley on his win
Kyle Stanley is a first-time winner on the PGA TOUR, shooting 65 Sunday at TPC Scottsdale to come from behind to take the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Want to congratulate Kyle? Send a note below and we’ll pass it along.
6:05 pm
Stanley wins WM Phoenix Open
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Seven days ago, Kyle Stanley was fighting back tears after making a triple bogey on 72nd hole at Torrey Pines and losing the Farmers Insurance Open in a playoff with Brandt Snedeker.
On Sunday, though, Stanley was hoisting the trophy at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after shooting 65 and coming from eight strokes behind to win by one.
Stanley’s victory became official when Spencer Levin was unable to hole his second shot from a fairway bunker at the 18th hole for the improbable eagle. Levin had started the final round leading by six strokes.
"That’s golf," Stanley told CBS announcer Peter Kostis. "You need to accept the ups and downs. You can’t get too high or too low. I am thankful for the support I’ve received from so many people."
The victory propelled Stanley to the top of the FedExCup standings as well as the PGA TOUR money list.
After the win was assured, Stanley, the emotions once again close to the surface, told Kostis he wanted to thank his parents. “They’ve done a lot for me,” he said. “I’m speechless.”
Stanley is the first player since David Toms at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial to lose in a playoff and come back and win the following week. K.J. Choi had beaten Toms at THE PLAYERS Championship seven days earlier.
Ben Crane finished second after closing with a 66 to finish at 14 under. Levin, who shot 75, was alone in third while D.J. Trahan was fourth at 12 under.
Levin’s six-stroke lead ties for the largest lost in the final round in PGA TOUR history.
The other players who have lost a lead that large are Bobby Cruickshank (1928 Florida Open), Gay Brewer (1969 Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic), Hal Sutton (1983 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic), Greg Norman (1996 Masters) and Sergio Garcia (2005 Wachovia Championship).
5:59 pm
Levin pars the 17th, needs eagle to tie
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Spencer Levin came to the 17th hole needing and eagle or two birdies to catch Kyle Stanley.
He left with a par after hitting his tee shot into the right fairway bunker and his second on the green but 27 feet from the pin. Levin, who had a six-stroke lead at the start of the day, now needs to hole his second shot at No. 18 for eagle to force a playoff.
5:52 pm
Stanley finishes at 15 under
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Stanley came to the 18th hole with a one-stroke lead over his playing partner, Ben Crane. He left with likely redemption – depending on how Spencer Levin plays the final two holes.
Stanley, who squandered a five-shot lead in the final round a week ago, hit his drive well left near a hospitality tent about 102 yards from the green. When his second shot landed 18 feet from the pin, Stanley high-fived his caddy emphatically.
Stanley’s birdie putt slid 3 feet, 11 inches past the hole. But he made the putt for par – clenching his fist in quiet celebration.
Crane, meanwhile, found the fairway but his second shot spun off the green. He putted to 2 feet and eventually made par.
5:31 pm
Crane birdies 17 to move within one
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Stanley challenged himself at the driveable par-4 17th hole, hitting his tee shot short and well right of the green.
The ball settled under a cactus, but Stanley chipped to 22 feet. When he hit his second shot, Stanley was leading by two strokes at 15 under thanks to Spencer Levin’s double bogey at the par-5 15th..
Ben Crane, who was tied for second with Levin, missed the green to the right by 31 feet, He chipped to 3 feet and made the putt for birdie to move to 14 under and one clear of Levin.
Stanley just missed the birdie putt but tapped in for par that left him one stroke ahead of Crane.
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network 
