The rain arrives at Carnoustie. Kyle Stanley embraces it
The 147th Open Championship, in all its typically rain-soaked and windswept glory, finally arrived Friday at Carnoustie Golf Links.
Fittingly, so did Kyle Stanley.
The day before, playing in burnt-out conditions more akin to a PGA Championship in torrid August, Stanley shot a so-so 1-over par 72 on a day most of the field found the usually brutal course to be vulnerable. Twenty-four hours later, eastern Scotland’s first significant rain in two months revived scenes of past Opens – and the eighth-year PGA Tour player (and former Clemson Tiger) responded like a true native son of often-soggy Washington State.
His 2-under par 69, matching his best score against par in five trips to the United Kingdom (a scorer’s error briefly listed him with a 68) left Stanley at 1-under for two rounds. In the post-round interview area, with an audience of one, a smiling Stanley – after inquiring after the reporter’s health and family – sounded as if he would welcome more of the wet stuff the next two days.
“It felt like some rounds I played as a kid back home, probably,” said the Gig Harbor, Wash., native. “I was thinking about that today, because we” – Stanley and wife, Dolly – “moved back to Washington about four years ago.
“Nowadays, if it’s like this at home, I’m probably not playing golf. But growing up being pretty used to the rain, it’s probably not as important to me as some other guys – although, when you have your umbrella out all day anywhere, it’s not fun.”
The soft-spoken 30-year-old obviously wasn’t complaining. He reeled off three birdies on the front nine, capped by a spectacular 30-foot putt from off the green at the ninth. After a lone bogey at the 10th, he made workmanlike pars over Carnoustie’s difficult finish – where, the day before, he’d bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes.
“Conditions like yesterday’s were fine, but when you get later in the day, the greens get so bumpy, it’s a little harder to make putts,” Stanley said. “You had to adjust more because 4-iron (shots) were rolling out 300-plus yards.
“Today, I hit a lot more fairways than yesterday, probably because the ball wasn’t running out as much. I maybe drove the ball better yesterday, but I got some funny bounces. Today, I hit a lot of fairways and greens, and my speed on the greens was really good.”
He’s enjoying this week regardless of the weather. Life is good: He and Dolly and their “baby,” a pit bull named Dora, are staying a wedge shot from the golf course. When this week is done, they’ll return to Gig Harbor, where both grew up.
Stanley’s professional career is likewise low-key. He’s had a mixture of flashes of world-class potential coupled with some harsh disappointments.
In 2012, he became two-week PGA Tour sensation. Seven days after a heartbreaking loss at the Farmers Insurance Open, in which he blew a six-shot final-day lead, he overcame an eight-shot deficit on Sunday to capture his first title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Both situations were emotional, with tears of frustration the week before replaced by tears of joy.
For a player who says consistency is “probably the strength of my game,” Stanley has had more than his fair share of roller-coaster ups and downs. A year ago, he had his best PGA Tour season to date, winning the Quicken Loans National in a playoff after a 67-66 weekend and posting five top-10 finishes, all of it worth $3.4 million.
But it wasn’t all successful. He tied for fourth at The Players after surrendering the 54-hole lead with a closing 75. At the Memorial Tournament, he shot an opening 74, but rallied to tie for sixth, five shots behind winner Jason Dufner.
And at this year’s Memorial – talk about a bad run of luck in Ohio – he came off a double-bogey at the 13th hole and reeled off four consecutive birdies to take the lead, then bogeyed the 18th and lost in a three-man playoff. That one still bugs the otherwise easygoing Stanley.
“I hit a really good drive at 18 and got a terrible break, and on my tee shot in the playoff, one of the other guys was farther right than I was, but he was just fine,” he said.
Earlier this year at the WGC-Dell Match Play, Stanley took down 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia before losing a tight 2-and-1 decision to 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas. He was asked whether that week and his Memorial finish built confidence or created disappointment.
“Probably a little of both,” he said. “I feel like some of my best events this year have come in WGC events (besides the Match Play, he tied for fifth at the WGC-HSBC Championship), and one of my best ones last year was at the Players, which is arguably the best field we play against.”
After those performances, and having held his own against two of the past six major champions, Stanley quietly has reached a point where he believes a major could be in his future, too. “For sure, that’s something we all think about,” he said.
He’s off to a good start this week, equaling his best 36-hole total in five Open Championships. (His best previous finish is a tie for 39th at the 2012 Open, and he missed the cuts in 2013 and last year). Not that he expects anyone – other than a lone South Carolina reporter, that is – to take note just yet.
“I’ve always flown under the radar,” Stanley said, grinning. “I wouldn’t say that’s anything new. With my personality, I’d say maybe I prefer it that way.”
The rain has arrived at Carnoustie, and so has Kyle Stanley. The Open Championship weekend has officially begun.
This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 4:23 PM.