Of course, winning beats losing.
Last weekend, Gig Harbor's Kyle Stanley was golf's tragic figure. He frittered away a seven-stroke lead in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at San Diego's Torrey Pines South Course -- which included an 18th-hole triple bogey -- and lost in a sudden-death playoff to Brandt Snedeker.
On Sunday, he turned the tables on somebody else -- Spencer Levin -- roaring back from eight shots down to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
Stanley, a Bellarmine Prep graduate from Gig Harbor, shot a bogey-free, 6-under-par 65 to finish at 15-under 269. He edged Portland's Ben Crane (66), who finished at 270, and Levin (75) at 271 to win his first professional tournament.
It was the third largest rally to victory in a final round in PGA Tour history.
So, naturally the 24-year-old was asked about both circumstances in his post-round press conference -- which situation is easier to deal with?
He thought for a moment. He nervously grinned. He knows very well this is how golf goes. A bad break, you lose. Somebody else's misfortune, you might win.
"Playing from behind was quite a bit easier. I think when you have a big lead, it is human nature to want to protect it," Stanley said.
"But I think you've got to learn to deal with both."
What he learned was how to embrace the unexpected, and then move on -- something he admitted in an interview with The News Tribune later Sunday night.
"You can't teach someone to deal with what I dealt with last week. I would not wish that upon anybody," Stanley said. "And the biggest thing with last week, I knew I was going to learn a lot about myself, and that was going to be a challenge.
"I am pretty happy with how I responded."
Nobody, not even Stanley himself, saw this turnaround coming so quickly -- mainly because Levin had been so solid in the lead.
Midway through his front nine, Levin's ball-striking timing seemed off. He was spraying approach shots left and right -- many into greenside bunkers. And those 10- to 12-foot putts he was making earlier in the week for birdies by Sunday were grazing the hole on par bids. He was backing up to the field.
"I just didn't have it," Levin said.
Stanley was sharp throughout. He made the turn at 3-under, then birdied the 13th hole to grab a share of the lead at 14-under.
A hole later, he hit a pitching-wedge approach from 138 yards in tight, and curled in a right-to-left 12-foot putt for a birdie to take the lead.
It was then that he started hearing what one of his buddies who flew in from the Northwest was yelling to him as the final groups came down the stretch.
"He was screaming, 'Why not (your time)?' " Stanley said.
Stanley thought the key moments on the back nine were the par-savers he made at the 15th and 16th holes.
The last one came after he hit his tee shot on the par 3 long and left, chipped up 9 feet past the hole and sank the putt coming back.
"That's pretty awesome from what happened last week to come back and win the very next week," Levin said. "That shows he's a hell of a player obviously."
On the finishing hole, Stanley faced an approach shot similar to the one he had on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines. This time, from 108 yards, the ball stayed on the green. And this time, he made the 4-foot par putt to win.
"It is rare you have the opportunity to redeem yourself that quickly," Stanley said.
The post-tournament perks are pretty tasty: Stanley gets a three-year exemption to play on the PGA Tour. He gets into the Masters in April for the first time. He leads the tour in both earnings ($1.79 million) and FedEx Cup playoff points (846). And he has plenty more fans today than he did 10 days ago.
"Best day of my life," he said. "Last week would have been great, but you have no idea how much sweeter (a victory) tastes now."
Stanley becomes the third player from Pierce County to win on the PGA Tour.
Ken Still won twice in 1969 and one in 1970.
Puyallup's Ryan Moore won in Greensboro, N.C., in 2009.
Moore also played at the event Stanley won, shooting weekend rounds of 77 and 78 to collect $11,224.
Final-round rallies
The biggest comebacks on the PGA Tour, with the winner, event, year and shots behind entering the final round:
Player Event Year Shots
Paul Lawrie British Open 1999 10
Stewart Cink RBC Heritage 2004 9
* Kyle Stanley Phoenix Open 2012 8
Jack Burke Jr. Masters 1956 8
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442 todd.millesthenewstribune.com
