Kyle Stanley Makes an Emotional Comeback at TPC-Scottsdale

Just a week earlier, Kyle Stanley came off the 16th green dejected. He’d just blown a five-stroke final round lead, which included a heart-breaking triple-bogey on the 18th hole of regulation to force a playoff. It was hard not to utter the name of Jean van de Velde, who triple-bogeyed the 18th at Carnoustie in 1999 to force a playoff he’d eventually lose in the British Open.

What a difference a week can make.

In Scottsdale, people were extremely complimentary of Stanley through three rounds. He played with poise and confidence and was set to bounce back with an admirable Top 10 finish. Admirable, but not fulfilling. Heartbreak like that can only be erased by triumph, and with an eight-shot deficit to make up Stanley seemed relegated to another week of moral victories.

Then, something miraculous happened.

The 54-hole leader, Spencer Levin, began to slowly slide back to the field. It was a scenario that Stanley was all-to-familiar with having dropped a five-shot lead of his own the week prior. And while Levin continued to drop shots, TPC Scottsdale was playing like a local muni for the 24-year old Clemson alum.

Stanley birdied both the 13th and the 14th holes to get to six-under for the round and 15-under for the tournament. He’d go on to par his final four holes and card a bogey-free 65 on the day, but then the waiting game began.

In San Diego, just one-week prior, it was Brandt Snedeker who waited while Stanley finished out his disastrous round. Now it was Kyle Stanley who watched patiently as Levin finished his round, but Levin had already unraveled, scoring a double bogey on 15 that dropped him to 13-under.

Levin would finish there, and Stanley went on to victory. The first of his career, earning Stanley a trip to this year’s Masters and placing him atop the FedEx Cup Leaderboard.

For Levin, the pain was eerily similar to Stanley’s from a week prior. A sad end to an otherwise inspiring story, but any weekend hacker could tell you that pain and suffering is part of the process. However, occasionally there is unbridled joy. The kind that Kyle Stanley achieved on Sunday, and it’s the pain and suffering that makes those moments even sweeter.

For Kyle Stanley, it doesn’t get much sweeter.