Kyle Stanley lets Brandt Snedeker snatch victory at Torrey pines
Kyle Stanley is certainly not happy after a dramatic defeat in the Farmers Insurance Open but he has done Brandt Snedeker a favour by letting him walk away with the prestigious title and big prize money.
It was Stanley's worst experience at Torrey Pines, as he was playing amazingly in the tournament until the last hole of the final round. He had come close to winning the event but he apparently was out of luck on Sunday.
On the other hand, Snedeker was also surprised by the way he carved out a victory when he had already lost his hope.
Stanley was amazing until the second hole of the 4th round and spectators had started comparing his outstanding performance with Tiger Woods.
However, when the dust had settled and the winner was declared, Stanley tumbled to the bottom and his lousy performance on the last hole drew sharp criticism.
The 24-year-old Stanley kicked off the final day of the tournament in an impressive style. He managed to gain a considerably large lead over fellow Snedeker.
When he opened the round, he had a 7-stroke lead and was in a far better position to clinch a victory. He opened the round confidently and fired 2 birdies on the first 2 holes.
Stanley seemed unstoppable as he not only played well but the spectators were also quite supportive and gave him a big cheer. He then stunned his compatriot once again when he scored his birdie on the 6th.
He did not look as fired up on the back nine as he was on the front nine. Although he scored a bogey in the first 9 holes, he still managed to card 33.
Stanley's position was so strong, such that even after his bogeys, he maintained a 4-stroke lead over Snedeker.
The 31-year-old Snedeker was worried, as all he could do was watch his rival play and he knew that the only way he could win was how Stanley played.
Snedeker messed up his day when he double-bogeyed the final hole and came face-to-face with Snedeker in a playoff.
“It’s just crazy,” the 31-year-old 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 looked shattered after the defeat. He said he never thought he would make a mess of his hard-earned position in the last moments.
"I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve a little bit, it just kind of came out," he said. "It was very tough to swallow. But that's one of the things I learned is, I think you need to really be prepared for whatever this game can throw at you".
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