Kyle Stanley: Moving on quickly following Torrey Pines disappointment. (Getty Images)
Kyle Stanley is wasting no time getting back on the horse.
A mere 3 1/2 days after his march to a first PGA Tour victory took a damp side trip into Devlin’s Billabong, last week’s hard-luck runner-up found himself drawn in the third tee time to begin this week’s Phoenix Open. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The sooner Stanley can look ahead, the better.
“That’s the beauty of it,” the former Clemson standout said. “I think we’ve got to remember that the year has just started, so I have probably 27 or 28 events ahead of me. The process doesn’t change, the mindset doesn’t change. I’m playing great golf right now.”
For 71 holes, Stanley played the best golf of anyone at the Farmers Insurance Open. Nor was his fortune-turning shot at No.72 all that bad – after spinning off the green, it paused twice on the bank before diving into the water.
He’ll draw a lot of curious eyes in Phoenix, wondering how he’ll rebound from that shot to the gut. Among the first people to send Stanley a note in the aftermath was Robert Garrigus – who likewise blew a three-shot lead on the final hole to lose the 2010 St. Jude Classic in a playoff.
Five months later, Garrigus won at Disney for his first PGA Tour victory.
“He’ll win,” Garrigus told reporters. “It’s not the end of the world, but it sure feels like it at the time.”
Pick-4 agrees, though the heartbreak-to-winner’s-circle jump rarely completes itself in a week. We’ll keep Stanley in reserve for another time.
Last week: A tie for 8th by D.A. Points, with Ryo Ishikawa another shot back, provided strength from the second tier. Blaming Nick Watney’s 74-75 weekend on illness that forced him to WD this week. Through four events: One win, four top-10s.
1) Martin Laird. The Scotsman (and reigning Arnold Palmer champ) makes his home in Scottsdale and already has two top-15 finishes in as many starts this season. He tied for 3rd last year at TPC Scottsdale, playing his final 30 holes without a bogey.
2) Rickie Fowler. The California kid has a comfort zone in the Arizona desert. Not only does he have two top-15 finishes at TPC Scottsdale, he also lost a playoff (on a sponsor invite) when the Frys.com Open took up temporary residence at Greyhawk.
3) Johnson Wagner. Three starts, three top-10 finishes that include a victory at the Sony Open. Though Wagner took last week off, Pick-4 will hitch onto whatever’s left of that hot streak. He takes a run of 10 consecutive rounds in the 60s into Phoenix.
4) Robert Garrigus. Mr. Encouragement gets this week’s longshot tag, with a power game that should work especially well on the TPC Scottsdale’s wide fairways. Another Phoenix resident, Garrigus was runner-up two weeks ago in the California desert.
