
When you are seeking your first PGA Tour victory, you probably wonder if it is ever going to happen when you fail to capitalise on a six-shot lead heading into the final round.
Of course, some players have famously found it particularly difficult to finally get across the line and win on the PGA Tour. Tommy Fleetwood’s victory at the 2025 Tour Championship was all the more satisfying because of all of the agony along the way.
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While Justin Rose would have felt confident heading into Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open after opening up a six-shot lead, he would have been wary of allowing complacency to creep in.
He would not have been the first player to throw away that much of an advantage with 18 holes to play at Torrey Pines.
The golfer who blew a six shot lead on the PGA Tour before winning the following week
Heading into the last round of the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open, Kyle Stanley looked to have one hand on the trophy. The then 24-year-old led by six with 18 holes to play in California.
Stanley even extended that lead at one stage. And while Brandt Snedeker managed to close the gap, it seemed that the youngster would cruise across the line as he left the 18th tee three shots clear.
Unfortunately, the par five proved to be something of a disaster for Stanley. He found the water with his third shot, and went on to three-putt to record a triple bogey.
That led to a playoff with Snedeker. Stanley would then be beaten on the second additional hole.
Kyle Stanley would make amends at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
It is probably little surprise that Stanley decided to play the very next week in the hope of banishing those painful memories of Torrey Pines.
And oddly, that loss may have given him reason for optimism when he began the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open eight shots back of Spencer Levin.
Stanley posted a 65 to finish one shot clear of Ben Crane at TPC Scottsdale. Meanwhile, Levin’s 75 left him third.
Cruelly, Levin is yet to register a PGA Tour victory. The 41-year-old is currently playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Stanley would win for a second time on the PGA Tour in 2017. The 38-year-old only played in three events last year, missing the cut in all three.
Nevertheless, he has a claim to have enjoyed one of the most truly remarkable fortnights in PGA Tour history.
