Seven days ago, the 24-year-old had let the Farmers Insurance Open title slip out of his clutches. He led by five at the start of the final round and was still up by three when he came to the 18th hole at Torrey Pines in pursuit of what seemed sure to be his first PGA TOUR win.

But Stanley watched forlornly that afternoon as his third shot at the par 5 was sucked off the green. A three-putt later, he had posted an 8 and was off to a playoff that Brandt Snedeker, who had been in the media center watching the disaster on TV, won on the second extra hole.

Stanley’s brave face but bitter tears that evening had said it all.

On the very next Sunday, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Spencer Levin was poised for a similar coronation. He led by six at the start of the final round and was seemingly doing everything right. Kyle Stanley trailed by eight, just as Snedeker had the previous week.

This time, though, in a dramatic reversal of fortunes, Stanley emerged as the winner — firing a brilliant 65 on a warm and welcoming afternoon at TPC Scottsdale to take the one-stroke victory.

“I think the biggest challenge was seeing if I could put last week behind me,” Stanley said simply. “I think I did.”

Levin, on the other hand, was cast in Stanley’s role as he shot a 75 that included a double bogey on the par-5 15th hole, the third-easiest on the course. After an adventure in the cactus and a 5-iron that fell short in the water, he surrendered sole possession of the lead and was never able to catch up.

As disappointed as the shell-shocked Levin was, he understood the magnitude of what Stanley accomplished in the span of the last 168 hours. And he’d like nothing better than to have the same opportunity this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

“That’s pretty awesome from what happened last week to come back and win the very next week,” the disappointed but surprisingly composed Levin said. “That shows he’s a hell of a player obviously. But I guess it shows that you can recover from it. I think I will. I feel like I am getting better, like I keep saying. It was a weird feeling today. I’ve never had a lead like that.”

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r003/02/05/ross-sunday/index.

Kyle Stanley led by seven shots early in the final round Sunday, and he still had a four-shot lead as he stood on the 18th tee at Torrey Pines. Just like that, he went from being anointed a rising star to a meltdown that ranks among the most shocking in golf.

Snedeker, in the group ahead of him, hit wedge to a foot for birdie and a 67, then drove up to the media tent for an interview as the runner-up. He arrived in time to watch Stanley spin a wedge into the water, then three-putt from 45 feet for a triple-bogey 8 and a 74.

Two playoff holes later, both were in shock.

Snedeker’s tee shot hopped over the green and would have gone into a canyon except that it bounced off a television tower. He chipped to about 5 feet and made the par. Stanley three-putted again from just outside 45 feet, his 5-foot par putt catching the right lip.

“It’s just crazy,” Snedeker said. “To get my mind around what happened the last 30 minutes is pretty hard to do right now. My heart is out to Kyle. I feel bad for him to have to go through this.”

Stanley, whose power, poise and polish was on display all week, was reduced to tears. His eyes were glassy and his lip quivered as he tried to answer questions, a sad ending to an otherwise spectacular week along the Pacific bluffs.

“It’s not a hard golf hole,” Stanley said. “I could probably play it a thousand times and never make an 8.”

But he did Sunday, a painful lesson for the 24-year-old out of Clemson.

It was the second straight time Snedeker won a PGA Tour event by rallying from five shots behind in the final round to win in a playoff. He did it at Hilton Head last April and beat Luke Donald.

This one was handed to him.

Stanley birdied his first two holes and led by six shots at the turn until he started dropping shots from the sand. Even so, he made three straight par putts, starting with a 12-footer on the 14th, to seemingly regain control.

The kid knows heartache. Last summer, he was two shots ahead at the John Deere Classic until he bogeyed the final hole from a bunker, and Steve Stricker closed with two straight birdies to win.

This loss, however, put him in the wrong kind of company.

It was reminiscent of Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie, who made triple bogey on the last hole of the 1999 British Open and lost in a playoff; of Robert Garrigus, who made triple bogey on the last hole of the St. Jude Classic in 2010 and lost in a playoff; and even of Frank Lickliter at Torrey Pines, who three-putted from 12 feet on the 17th hole in 2001 to make triple bogey in the third playoff hole in losing to Phil Mickelson.

“I know I’ll be back,” Stanley said, pausing to allow the words to come out of his mouth. “It’s tough to swallow right now.”

http://www.pga.com/news/pga-tour/brandt-snedeker-wins-farmers-insurance-in-playoff-after-kyle-stanley-triple-bogeysDEKER

He’s not exactly superstitious. Wilson just likes the sense of order that ritual gives him as he embarks on an uncertain future over the next four or five hours and 18 holes.
“That’s one thing I can control,” Wilson explained. “A lot of things I can’t. I can’t control my opponents, bounces or the roll on the green.”

Nowhere was that more evident than during Sunday’s final round of the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. His opponents were making birdies with abandon and Wilson was stuck in neutral, watching his three-stroke advantage quickly disappear.

But when the pressure intensified on the back nine of the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Wilson regained control of his game as well as the tournament. He tapped in a 9-inch putt for his first birdie of the day at No. 11 and holed a bunker shot for another at the 12th, an unexpected development that “gave me the momentum to go in the right direction,” Wilson said.

He and Robert Garrigus then traded birdie putts at the 16th to separate themselves from the crowd before a missed 6-footer at the next gave Wilson the upper hand he would not relinquish. Not even with Garrigus staring down a 28-footer for eagle as darkness enveloped the the 18th hole. Not when his own successful 10-footer for birdie there would more than do the trick as it broke a inch to the right and curled into the hole.

“That’s what we play for,” a reflective Wilson said. “You want somebody to win it, not necessarily lose it. So it was neat to have (Robert) making birdies back and forth. And I don’t look at the leaderboards really, and I just happened to glance on 17 to see what was going on. …

“But I reminded myself, I’m in position. You have a lot of thoughts go through your head; am I going to come out and play well and win or am I going to come out and play flat and finish 10th or am I going to have a horrible day and finish close to the bottom? You just don’t know.

Updated standings
Mark Wilson moved to No. 2 with his victory but Johnson Wagner maintained his top spot. Complete standings
“I just tried to clear my head of that and said, This is what we play for, let’s enjoy the day. Win or lose, let’s try to be a good example out there.”

Wilson ended up with a hard-fought, two-stroke victory over Garrigus, John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner — the fifth of his PGA TOUR career. Two came in the first five events of the 2011 season and now he has another in the just third of this year. There’s a reason for that, and Wilson, who didn’t build on his early season momentum last year, has scheduled several longer breaks this season to make sure he is fresh.

“When I came out the last two years, I really just had a clear mind and really focusing on what I’m doing, not worrying about my standing in the world rankings or my standing in the money list or FedExCup or how I’m doing against or the players that week,” Wilson said. “I feel like I’m more into my zone.”

And he certain was on the back nine Sunday. But as much as Wilson persevered with the pressure on, patiently waiting for the birdies he knew would come, Garrigus did the same after an extremely difficult start to the week.

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r002/01/22/ross-sunday/index.html

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Imagine that you’re 44 years old, your left arm suddenly has no strength, and your livelihood depends on swinging a golf club.

It’s a scary thought. Steve Stricker didn’t know what was going on with his health last fall. All he knew was that his arm “didn’t feel like it really wanted to move.” There were no answers at that precise moment. Only questions — about his career, about his future, about perhaps whether he would even compete on a world-class level again on the PGA TOUR.

Even after he found out that the problem was between the C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck, there was no consensus on the treatment. One well-known doctor in his home state of Wisconsin recommended surgery. Stricker then talked to others. He got more information to make a decision. He opted to hold off on surgery. Instead, he would undergo physical therapy and get a couple of cortisone shots.

Stricker feels great now. “I want to emphasize that,” he said. And on Monday, he confirmed that the health of his game also is in excellent shape. His three-shot win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was a study in patience, experience and determination to start the 2012 season off on the proper note and win on a Plantation Course that has tempted him in past visits.

“I was comfortable today,” Stricker said about the 12th win of his TOUR career that gives him 500 points and the early FedExCup lead. “That’s what I was really proud of.”

Monday certainly could’ve been a source of great discomfort for a lesser player. Just like the day before, Stricker’s five-shot lead was reduced to one stroke on the front nine, as the trio of Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and defending champ Jonathan Byrd took turns putting heat on Stricker.

After Stricker failed to birdie the par-5 fifth when he three-putted from 33 feet, then he bogeyed the sixth when he struggled to get out of a “gnarly little area” in front of the green, the world’s No. 6 player spent some time beating himself up.

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r016/01/09/mcallister-stricker/index.html

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Steve Stricker has a bad habit of losing big leads. He managed to slip back into his old habit of winning.

Despite losing most of his five-shot lead in only six holes, Stricker steadied himself in time to kick off the new PGA Tour season with a three-shot victory in the Tournament of Champions on Monday.

PHOTOS
Hyundai TOC
Right when it looked as though Stricker was coming unglued, he made back-to-back birdies at the turn. That restored his lead to three shots, and no one got closer than two shots the rest of the way.

Stricker birdied his last hole for a 4-under 69 for his 12th career win, which moved him to No. 5 in the world ranking.

Sweeter than the winner’s lei draped around his neck on the 18th green at Kapalua were his two children, 13-year-old Bobbi Maria and 5-year-old Isabella, there to greet him with a hug.

Stricker held back tears – they usually flow freely after a win – perhaps a sign that he’s getting used to this business of winning. It was his ninth PGA Tour win since he turned 40, and his eighth title in his last 50 tournaments.

As usual, he didn’t make it easy on himself.

Stricker had a five-shot lead going into the Monday finish on Maui, and it was just about gone when he muffed a flop shot and took bogey on the sixth hole.

Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd each got within one shot of Stricker on the front nine, but not for long. Stricker rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth, pitched to tap-in range at the par-5 ninth and was on his way.

Laird closed with a 67, and his birdie on the last hole put him alone in second place. Byrd kept most of the pressure on Stricker along the back nine of the Plantation Course, but he bogeyed the 17th. He had a 68 and tied for third with Simpson, who had a 68.

Stricker could not have started the new season better – all four rounds in the 60s, and already able to book his room at Kapalua for next year.

“It was tough,” said Stricker, who finished at 23-under 269. “I never let up today. It’s always tough trying to win, and it’s even more tough when you have a lead like I did. I’m very proud of what I did today.

The American pair fired six birdies in the alternate-shot final round at Mission Hills Blackstone course to finish at 24-under, 264 overall, notching the 24th U.S. win in the history of the tournament.

Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar helped the United States end its 11-year victory drought in golf’s World Cup by shooting a 5-under 67 on Sunday.
English pair Ian Poulter and Justin Rose had the final day’s best round with a 63 to tie for second at 22-under with Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka (69).

Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell led by two strokes going into the final round but could only manage an even-par 72 to finish tied for fourth with Australia, the Netherlands and Scotland.

The American victory was the first since Tiger Woods and David Duval claimed the title 11 years ago. The event was annual up until 2009, and this year’s tournament was the first in the new biennial format.

“We really clicked. It’s fantastic to win for the U.S.,” Woodland said.

The U.S. duo built a two-point lead over Germany midway through the round and after a rare slip with a bogey at the par-3 11th, the Americans responded with birdies on the next two holes and then pars the rest of the way to claim victory.

“Undoubtedly the shots on the 12 and 13th were key. It was a great moment and to shoot a par when you expected a bogey,” Kuchar said.

England seemed well out of contention heading into the final day eight shots off the lead, but soared into contention. However they needed more than one of the leading teams to falter. Instead it was only Ireland that came back to the field.

World No. 2 McIlroy was well below his best, hitting some loose shots, including a putt on the 18th which would have given Ireland a share of the runner-up check. The tournament favorites had a run of misfortune, including a penalty stroke on the 6th and four bogeys on the card.

They shared fourth with Australia’s Richard Green and Brendan Jones (69), plus Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Martin Laird (66) and the Dutch pairing of Robert-Jan Derksen and Joost Luiten (68).

Like Ireland, South Africa also had a pair of major winners who faltered on the final day, with Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen only able to record a 74 to quickly drop out of contention.

Defending champions Italy, represented by Edoardo Molinari and Francesco Molinari, also had a final-round 74 to finish 17th, 10 shots back.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

Instead of Woods or any of the top-ranked golfers on the United States team, Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan were the best performers for their squad. Furyk was perfect, going 5-0 as he played all five rounds of action. He partnered Phil Mickelson in their wins in the first three rounds of competition, then partnered Nick Watney in a huge one-up win over Ernie Els and Adam Scott in Saturday four-ball. On the final day, he defeated Els easily, 4&3, after the USA had lost six of the first eight singles matches.

Mahan was nearly as good. Though him and David Toms lost in Friday four-ball, he competed in and won in all four other rounds, capping off his performance with a 5&3 victory over Jason Day in singles that broke up a string of four-straight International wins on the final day.

This is now the sixth consecutive time the USA has won the Presidents Cup and the fourth straight time that they have won it outright, with the lone tie in the competition’s history coming in 2003. Since the Presidents Cup started in 1994, the International team has won just once.

PALM HARBOR, FL, Nov. 13, 2011 – Michele Redman answers to the title of “Coach” these days, but today, she added the title of “champion” to her 2011 list of accolades.

The LPGA Tour veteran, who became the new head women’s golf coach at the University of Minnesota in August, emerged as the winner of the ISPS Legends Tour Open Championship presented by Publix and Kraft Foods.

Redman posted rounds of 72-70 to win the Legends Tour’s season-ending tournament at 2-under 142 on the Island Course at Innisbrook – A Salamander Golf & Spa Resort.

She edged out last year’s champion Rosie Jones, who finished second at even-par 144 with a final-round score of 3-under 69. Redman was runner-up to Jones at the 2010 tournament.

“I really didn’t expect much,” said Redman, 46, a second-year member of the Legends Tour and a two-time LPGA Tour winner. “I just came down to Florida to have some fun and to go on vacation next week.”

But Redman had a few extra cheerleaders heading into today’s final round. After Saturday’s opening round, she received text messages and emails from her Minnesota Golden Gopher players, telling the coach to go low.

And today, Coach Redman played like the LPGA Tour veteran who won the 1997 JAL Big Apple Classic, the 2000 First Union Betsy King Classic and who was a scrappy former U.S. Solheim Cup team member who used to drive her opponents crazy because she’s the classic “Steady Betty” under fire.

Redman bogeyed the first hole when she three-putted from 45 feet, but she answered with a birdie from 18 feet on No. 3 and a 45-foot birdie on the eighth hole. She chipped in from 15 feet on the 10th hole and played the remaining holes at even-par, intentionally not looking at leaderboards on the course.

“I think I’m getting smarter,” said Redman, who pocketed the $40,000 winner’s prize. “Honestly, I’ve been so busy with my new job, I haven’t thought about winning, but I putted well today. This was a lot of fun.”

Celebrating her 52nd birthday in today’s final round, Jones knew she needed to post a low score to have a chance to break away from the pack to defend her title.

“I knew I was still in the game if I could go out there and make some birdies today,” said runner-up Jones, who recently served as captain of the 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup team. “But this is a tight golf course and you really have to be in touch with your putter. You can’t make any mistakes.”

Finishing third at one-over 145 was Cindy Figg-Currier (70). Tied for fourth at 3-over 147 was Christa Johnson (72) and Legends Tour rookie Liselotte Neumann (73).

Canadian Lorie Kane, who started today’s final round tied for the lead with Redman, struggled today with a 4-over 76 to finish sixth at 4-over 148. A second-year Legends Tour member, Kane carded a double-bogey on the second hole and could never catch Redman, with whom she was paired in the last group.

“She played steady, just as she always does,” said Kane of Redman’s performance.

And steady wins golf tournaments.

- Lisa D. Mickey

]]> http://www.incagolf.com/2011/michele-redman-wins-isps-legends-open-championship/feed/ 0 http://www.incagolf.com/2011/donald-wins-disney-classic/ http://www.incagolf.com/2011/donald-wins-disney-classic/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:14:00 +0000 IncaGOLF http://www.incagolf.com/?p=1915 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Already No. 1 in the world, Luke Donald left little doubt who was No. 1 on the PGA Tour.

Believing his only chance to capture the PGA Tour money title was to win at Disney, Donald ran off six straight birdies on the back nine Sunday and closed with an 8-under 64 to come from five shots off the lead and win the Children’s Miracle Network Classic.

“This is one of the most satisfying wins of my career,” Donald said.

Donald, who trailed Webb Simpson by $363,029 coming into the final tournament of the year, was two behind Simpson when they made the turn. Then came a performance that ranks among Donald’s best, even in his greatest season of golf.

He holed four straight birdie putts inside 8 feet, took the lead with an 18-foot birdie on the par-5 14th hole, then sealed his stunning rally with a 45-foot birdie on the 15th hole.

“Everything was on the line,” Donald said. “I’m thrilled and over the moon.”

It was his second PGA Tour win of the year. Donald also won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average. With no one else winning more than twice this year, Donald established himself as a heavy favorite to be PGA Tour player of the year.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/doug-ferguson/disney-round-4-wrapup/?hj=xfs

]]> http://www.incagolf.com/2011/donald-wins-disney-classic/feed/ 0 http://www.incagolf.com/2011/ben-crane-wins-mcglardrey-classic/ http://www.incagolf.com/2011/ben-crane-wins-mcglardrey-classic/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:27:59 +0000 IncaGOLF http://www.incagolf.com/?p=1913 ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Ben Crane wasn’t sure why he was even playing the McGladrey Classic. The real mystery came Sunday afternoon, when he sat down next to a shiny silver trophy.

“What the heck am I doing here?” Crane said.

His wife is expecting their third child, though a Caesarian section is scheduled for Monday in Dallas. Crane thought about withdrawing five minutes before his tee time Thursday because of a sore hip that was getting worse.

And with 11 holes left in the tournament, he was seven shots out of the lead.

Crane ran off four straight birdies around the turn, then another batch of four straight birdies for a 7-under 63. He wound up winning in a playoff when Webb Simpson missed a short par putt on the second extra hole.

“I’m in a little bit of shock — a lot of shock,” Crane said. “I don’t know how those guys played, but I know I played just about as good as I can play.”

Michael Thompson, a 25-year-old TOUR rookie who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, stretched the margin to three shots on the front nine until he stalled. He hit his tee shot into a hazard on the 18th hole, made bogey and shot 69 to finish one shot out of the playoff.

Billy Horschel, also playing in the last group, imploded early and late and shot 75.

Simpson closed with a 66, despite not making a birdie over his last seven holes. The playoff — the 18th this year on the PGA TOUR to extend a record — looked as though it might go longer when Crane made a 5-foot comebacker for par on the 17th. Simpson only had to knock in a putt just over 3 feet for par, but it caught the right edge and spun away.

“As soon as I hit it, I looked up expecting it to be going in, and saw it catching the right lip,” Simpson said. “It was unfortunate to end that way.”

Despite missing a chance to become the PGA TOUR’s only three-time winner this year, Simpson’s runner-up finish gave him a commanding lead over Luke Donald in his late bid to win the TOUR’s money title.

Shot of the Day
Ben Crane drains this 22-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole.
Crane, who earned $720,000 for his first win this year, and Simpson finished at 15-under 265 at Sea Island.

Starting the day five shots out of the lead, Crane thought a 63 or 62 might be enough. He really didn’t pay much attention, not realizing until he saw a leaderboard on the 16th hole that he was still in the game.

His 7-iron on the 14th stopped a foot from going in. His 3-wood on the par-5 15th set up a two-putt birdie from long range. Once he knew the score, Crane was at his best with the putter, holing birdie putts of about 20 feet on the 16th and 17th.

“I thought, `Well, I need to make two birdies in three holes.’ Do you guys have any idea how many times we say that to ourselves? And how many times does it actually happen?”

It did on Sunday, giving Crane is fourth career win.

http://www.pgatour.com/2011/r/10/16/wrap-McGladrey-4/index.html

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