American Kyle Stanley took advantage of a final-round collapse by overnight leader Spencer Levin to win his first PGA Tour title by one shot at the Phoenix Open Sunday. A week after agonizingly squandering a seven-stroke advantage to lose the Farmers Insurance Open in a playoff, Stanley delivered the best possible reply as he closed with a flawless six-under-par 65 at the TPC Scottsdale. The big-hitting Stanley birdied three of the last eight holes in dazzling afternoon sunshine to post a 15-under total of 269, finishing one ahead of compatriot Ben Crane (66). American Levin, who briefly led by seven shots early in Sunday's final round in pursuit of a maiden PGA Tour victory, had to settle for third place at 13-under after closing with a 75. “This feels great,” Stanley told reporters as he struggled to hold back the tears. “I'd just like to thank my Mum and Dad. They've done a lot for me.” Stanley said his family had comforted him at Torrey Pines last week after he had triple-bogeyed the final hole to take that tournament into a playoff which he lost on the second extra hole. “I don't know what I would have done if I'd been by myself,” the 24-year-old added. “I am just fortunate to have such a great team of people around me. It really meant everything.” Asked how it felt to rebound from the agony of Torrey Pines to the ecstasy of victory, Stanley replied: “That's golf. You need to accept the fact that there are going to be ups and downs. You just can't get too high, you can't get too low. “I am just thankful. I have had so much support from so many people, people I don't even know. It's really helped me kind of put it behind me and move on. It's been great.” “I made a really good par save there on 15 and on 16 as well,” a smiling Stanley said after clinching the winner's cheque for $1.098 million. “And it was really nice to make that four-footer at the last.”
