Stanley rallies from 8 back to win in Phoenix

Golf Betting Lines

02/05/2012 - Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A week ago, Kyle Stanley blew an eight- stroke lead in the final round to cost himself his first PGA Tour victory.

This week, Stanley made the big rally.

He fired a six-under 65 Sunday to come from eight shots back to win the Phoenix Open by one stroke over Ben Crane.

Stanley finished his first tour win at 15-under-par 269.

"That's golf. You need to accept the fact that there's going to be ups and downs. You just can't get too high or too low, but I'm just thankful I had so much support from so many people," Stanley said in a televised interview.

"That really helped me put [last week] behind me and move on. It's been great."

Crane, who played alongside Stanley, closed with a five-under 66 at the TPC Scottsdale to take second at minus-14.

Spencer Levin started the round with a six-stroke lead, and it was seven after the first hole. He had a solid par save on the 10th, but dropped four strokes in the next five holes to fall out of the lead.

Levin stumbled to a four-over 75 to end alone in third at 13-under-par 271.

Not only was Stanley eight clear to start the final round last week, but he was still three ahead on the 18th fairway. He then spun his third shot back into the water and that led to a closing triple-bogey. That was followed by a playoff loss to Brandt Snedeker.

Levin parred the first and was seven clear as Webb Simpson tripped to a bogey on the first to slip into a tie for second. However, Levin stumbled to bogeys on four and six as his lead dipped to three over Crane, who went four-under par in a three-hole span from the second.

Meanwhile, Stanley was quietly making a move. He poured in birdies on two and three. After four pars in a row, Stanley rolled in a birdie on the eighth.

Stanley got within three of Levin with a birdie at the par-four 11th.

Levin parred four in a row from the seventh, including a key par-saving putt from 12 feet out on No. 10. But trouble loomed for the leader.

At the par-four 11th, Levin dumped his second shot into a greenside bunker and failed to save par from there. He again found sand off the tee at the par- three 12th.

Levin blasted to 10 feet, but his par putt slid by the left edge. His lead was down to one.

Stanley, who was two groups in front of Levin, two-putted for birdie on the par-five 13th to join Levin in the lead at 14-under. Stanley came right back with a 12-foot birdie putt at 14 to grab the outright lead by himself.

Levin responded with a 14-foot birdie effort of his own on the 14th to forge a tie at minus-15, but the 15th would be Levin's undoing.

The 27-year-old Levin drove under a bush, then putted his ball back to the first cut of rough. His five-iron third shot came up well short in the water. He chipped on with his fifth, but two-putted for double-bogey to slide two back.

Stanley two-putted for par on 15, then saved par from eight feet out on 16. He hit a remarkable chip shot from under a cactus and onto the green at 17. Stanley two-putted from 22 feet.

At the 18th, Stanley hit his drive left and got a drop from the grandstands. He knocked his second to 17 feet and two-putted for a closing par.

"I had a couple of squirrelly tee shots, but my recovery shots were fantastic. I made a really good par save there on 15, 16 as well. It was nice to make that four-footer at the last," said Stanley on TV.

Crane had a chance to join Stanley at 15-under, but failed to hole his birdie chip at the last. Then, Stanley had to wait to see if Levin could catch him.

Levin missed the 16th green left and got up and down for par. After he failed to convert a 27-footer for birdie on 17, Levin needed to hole out for eagle at the last to force a playoff.

Levin's approach on 18 landed close to the hole, but rolled out to 40 feet. He two-putted for par to end alone in third and give Stanley his first tour win.

D.J. Trahan closed with a 66 to take fourth place at 12-under-par 272. Kevin Na (65), Bubba Watson (70) and Brendan Steele (64) shared fifth at minus-11.

NOTES: Stanley earned $1.098 million for the win...Levin is one of six players to have lost a final-round lead of at last six strokes...Last year's winner Mark Wilson matched Steele for the low round of the day with his 64, and that helped Wilson jump 41 spots into a share of 19th at minus-seven...D.A. Points will defend his title at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am next week against a field that includes Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Thekiwicasino Golf Betting News

<< Presbyterian football player dies
Clinton, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Presbyterian College student-athlete Kyle L. Allen died Sunday morning after being found unconscious in a campus fraternity house. The cause is being investigated by Laurens County Coroner Nick Nichols. Alle

<< Giants lead Patriots 9-0 after 1st quarter
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning started the game 9-for-9 and threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz, giving the Giants a 9-0 lead over the Patriots after the first quarter of the Super Bowl. New York got two points on

<< Patriots TE Gronkowski active for Super Bowl
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is active for the Super Bowl. Gronkowski had been listed as questionable on the injury report for Sunday's game against the New York Giants because of a high l

<< LSU upsets No. 6 Kentucky
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrienne Webb scored 19 points to lead LSU as it upset No. 6 Kentucky 61-51 at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday. LaSondra Barrett added 12 points for the Lady Tigers (15-9, 5-5 SEC),

<< Miami upsets No. 7 Duke in overtime
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Early in the season, all Reggie Johnson could do was look on as his Miami-Florida Hurricanes got off to a disappointing 5-4 start. Recovering from offseason knee surgery to repair a torn meniscu

Patriots lead Giants 10-9 after 1st half >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady's four-yard touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead ended a 96-yard drive and gave the Patriots a 10-9 lead over the Giants at halftime of the Super Bowl. Brady was 10-for-10 on the drive and comp

Monaco titles in Chile >>
Vina del Mar, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed Juan Monaco defeated seventh- seeded fellow Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1 in the championship match at the VTR Open clay-court tennis event. The 27-year-old Monaco now owns fou

Patriots lead Giants 17-15 after 3rd quarter >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady set a Super Bowl record for consecutive completions and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez that helped the Patriots take a 17-15 lead over the Giants after three quarters. Brady's

Giants lose TEs Ballard, Beckum to injuries >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants lost tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum to knee injuries in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Patriots. Ballard went down with a left knee injury early in the fourth quarter. Re

Again! Giants top Patriots to win Super Bowl >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning and the New York Giants did it again, beating the New England Patriots with another game-winning drive in the Super Bowl. Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds remai

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.