It was the worst of times…then 7 days later, the best.
Last week, Kyle Stanley from Gig Harbor suffered a legendary meltdown. Stanley, a 24 year old PGA pro had a 5-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. In fact, he still had a 3-stroke lead standing on the 18th tee. A waterlogged triple-bogey later, he found himself in a tie with Brent Snedeker, who won in a playoff.
Those meltdowns can have long-lasting effects on any player, much less a young guy looking for confidence.
Stanley showed what he was made of only a week later. On Super Bowl Sunday, Stanley was 8 strokes down. Stanley made five brilliant birdies in the last 6 holes to win his first PGA Tour event. Certainly, most of the sporting world was watching the Super Bowl. Regardless, of the lack of attention, Stanley made a huge statement that may define his future success.
It takes a lot of courage to be a professional athlete. Courage most of us who never have had the opportunity can even comprehend. What Stanley did in his “bounce back” showed a tremendous amount of courage and intestinal fortitude. Maybe it’s easier to do when you’re 24 years old, than if you’re 34 or 44. Doesn’t matter. He could have let that memory linger on for years or decades. He let it last less than week.
It definitely was, for Kyle Stanley, the best of times…
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
