Ben Crane finishes second in WM Phoenix Open - Golf News
The four-time PGA Tour winner, Ben Crane, shot a five-under 66 in the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) Scottsdale, Arizona, to finish second on the leaderboard on Sunday, February 5, 2012.
He started off his final round in an impressive style with birdie-eagle-birdie, starting from par-four second hole. However, he bogeyed on ninth to finish three-under on the front nine.
Crane bounced back again with three birdies on the back nine against a single bogey on par-three 16th.
At the end of the round, he was just a stroke behind the leader, Kyle Stanley, who registered his first ever win on the PGA Tour.
He said that apart from the two bogeys in the final round, he played well and finishing five-under was a challenging score on the final day.
However, he could have easily won the tournament if he could have managed pars on ninth and 16th.
According to him, the only difference he had with Stanley was the bogeys, as both of them started off their rounds way back on the leaderboard against the overnight leader, Spencer Levin.
Levin had one of the worst rounds of his career at TPC Scottsdale and faced a devastating defeat. Even he had a six-stroke lead while entering the final round of the tournament.
“I just didn’t have it,” Levin said. “Maybe I was looking ahead too much and trying too hard. What are you going to do? I tried my best”.
Levin mixed two birdies with four bogeys and a double bogey to finish four-over par 75 which cost him third position on the leaderboard.
“I really feel for him,” Stanley said. “You don’t want to wish that on anyone. He’s a very good player. ... I feel bad for him”.
Stanley also had a similar situation to face last week when he lost a three-stroke lead on the final hole of the Farmers Insurance Open, with a triple bogey and lost to Brandt Snedeker in the Playoffs.
However, he bounced back strongly in the very first event he played after his loss and looks forward to earn some more titles in the season.
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