One week after Kyle Stanley blew an 8-shot lead in the final round of the Farmer’s Insurance Open at San Diego, the golfer from Gig Harbor came from nine shots off the lead in the final round to win the Phoenix Open.
It was his first PGA Tour victory and the fact he could come back one week later and win — after such a monumental collapse — says a lot about the young man.
So this week it’s Spencer Levin, a golfer with Bremerton ties,
who walks in Stanley’s shoes. Last week Stanley seemed on his way
to victory when he took a triple-bogey eight on No. 18 and ended up
losing a playoff to Brent Brandt Snedeker.
This week, Levin took a triple on No. 15, an relatively easy par-5 at the TPC Scottsdale Course, and he never recovered and finished third after shooting a 75.
Now, all eyes will be on Levin at this week’s Pebble Beach Pro Am. Can he put the tough loss behind him?
Levin’s already won $462,000 this year, and over $4.5 million in his young career. He’s not a terribly long hitter by PGA standards, he’s only 5-10, 170 pounds, but he just might be the best young player on the planet who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour. Now all eyes will be focusd on him, just like they were focused on Stanley this week after his meltdown at Torrey Pines.
Levin’s bound to have a few fans in the Kitsap area cheering him on.
Levin’s grandfather, Bucky, was a 1948 Bremerton High grad. His son and Spencer’s father, Don, was a professional golfer in the Sacrmento area.. Spencer’s proud great grandparents were the late Roy and Florence Levin..
Roy, who belonged to the Kitsap Golf & Country Club, rarely missed a Bremerton Athletic Roundtable meeting and always had something nice to say about everybody.
Florence was the first non-Indian child to be born in Manette. She was 101 when she died in 2005. Boy, she’d marvel at the new Manette Bridge. Florence used to ferry across to Bremerton and walked two miles to high school. At that time, there was no Manette Bridge, and the ferry cost just 3 cents.
She’s also be pretty proud of her great grandson.
As for Stanley, who grew up playing at Canterwood Golf & Country Club, the win gives him a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour and earns him a spot in this year’s Masters. He’s already won just under $1.8 million this season.
