In a stunning reversal of fortune, Kyle Stanley bounced back from his own nightmare a week ago to win the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona by one shot on Sunday as Spencer Levin suffered an agonising meltdown.
While Stanley came from eight behind going into the final round to claim his first PGA Tour victory, overnight leader Levin squandered an early seven-stroke cushion to finish third.
"I just didn't have it," Levin told reporters after mixing four bogeys with two birdies and a costly double-bogey at the par-five 15th. "I just was looking ahead too much and maybe trying a little too hard.
"The back nine in general I didn't play very well. It just was a tough day for me."
Levin, like Stanley, was hunting a maiden PGA Tour title, and had recorded only two bogeys in the first 54 holes at the TPC Scottsdale. After battling to sleep soundly overnight, he went on to shoot a four-over-par 75 in the final round.
The six-stroke lead he lost with 18 holes remaining matched the PGA Tour record set by five other players and he accepted full blame for his last-day meltdown.
"I gave it away, simple as that," said the 27-year-old Californian whose father Don played the PGA Tour in the early 1980s. "You have a six-shot lead and lose, you gave it away.
"My hat's off to Kyle; he played a great round. He went and got it. But if you've got a six-shot lead and don't win, then I think it's on the player with the lead for sure."
The chain-smoking Levin, whose best PGA Tour finish was second place at last year's Mayakoba Golf Classic, tried to take comfort from Stanley's remarkable turnaround from last week.
'AWESOME' COMEBACK
"That's pretty awesome from what happened last week to come back and win the very next week," he said. "That shows he's a hell of a player obviously. I guess it shows that you can recover from it.
"I think I will. I feel like I am getting better. But it was a weird feeling today. I've never had a lead like that. It's almost like you're kind of wanting the holes to run out real quick.
"Next time I'll just try to maybe stay a little more patient ... try to have a little more fun. I just didn't have any fun today. I was trying to rush it to get it over with; that was my mindset."
Stanley held a seven-shot lead early in the final round of last week's Farmers Insurance Open before triple-bogeying the par-five last when a double-bogey would have earned him a win.
He went on to lose to fellow American Brandt Snedeker on the second hole of a playoff, and later broke down in tears during his post-tournament news conference.
"I'm never going to forget that," Stanley said of his nightmare last Sunday at Torrey Pines in San Diego. "And I'm not sure what I'm thinking right now. It's been a great week.
"You go from a very low point to a high point. I'm not sure I expected to maybe recover this quickly. You know, I'll take it," he added with a grin.
Asked whether he had made any adjustments to his game after the bitter disappointment of Torrey Pines, Stanley replied: "Not really. I hit it great last week and I hit it great this week.
"I putted well last week, with the exception maybe of a couple of times, and I putted well again this week. I just kept telling myself to keep playing my game, have a short memory and just go out and play golf."
Stanley, whose final-round comeback from eight strokes behind matched the third largest on the PGA Tour, was gracious in expressing sympathy for Levin.
"I really feel for him," the 24-year-old said. "You don't want to wish that on anyone. He's a very good player. I feel bad for him."
"I really feel for him, experiencing that," the 24-year-old said. "You don't want to wish that upon anybody. He's a very good player, way too good of a player to not bounce back or recover. I feel bad for him; I really do."
