Stanley's pain, Snedeker's gain at Farmers

SAN DIEGO -- Kyle Stanley's dream weekend took a nightmarish turn on the 72nd hole of the Farmers Insurance Open, costing him what would have been the first PGA Tour victory of his young career.

With one wedge shot on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines, the 24-year-old was forced to shift from cruise control to damage control, and he never recovered Sunday after his ensuing three-putt forced a playoff that Brandt Snedeker eventually won.

Snedeker, who was in the media room resigning himself to a second-place finish when Stanley's third shot on 18 spun into the water, converted a difficult up-and-down in the playoff. He clinched the win seconds later when Stanley's 6-foot putt lipped out. Just like on the final regulation hole, Stanley had three-putted again.

Following the round, an emotional Stanley sat on the podium, noting he likely could have played the par-5 18th "1,000 times and never make an eight."

"I know I'll be back, I'm not worried about that," said Stanley, who led by seven shots early in the final round and had a three-shot lead when he teed off on 18. "It's just tough to swallow right now. I just have to be patient."

An hour earlier, Snedeker sat at the same podium, watching on TV as the backspin on Stanley's third shot carried his ball off the green, down a hill and into the small pond in front of the 18th green. "You never want to see anybody go through that," Snedeker said. "I don't care who it is, not even your worst enemy on the planet."

Snedeker tempered his celebration on the 16th green, but when asked if the win was tainted at all by Stanley's collapse, he didn't hesitate. "If anybody wants to see the trophy, it will be at my house the rest of my life," Snedeker said. "It's not a tainted win. Winning out here is hard to do . . . and I'm sure Kyle will end up winning plenty of golf tournaments. He's got that kind of talent."

6 under for LI's Turnesa. Rockville Centre native Marc Turnesa finished the tournament at 6 under after shooting a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday. With his Major Medical Extension over after the tournament, Turnesa would have needed at least a tie for fourth to retain his conditional status.