PGA Tour rookie has the drive
Kyle Stanley has yet to win a PGA Tour event. But pound-for-pound, the 23-year-old rookie is the longest hitter on the circuit.
Don’t dismiss the chances of the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Stanley, who shot a 2-under-par 68 in the opening round of the British Open on Thursday. He is ready to win, if not a major.
After a back-nine charge last week at the John Deere, Stanley had the lead before Steve Stricker made like a Tiger and birdied the final two holes.
Stanley needed just one year on the Nationwide Tour (2010) to step up to the PGA. Last June at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open, it was fun watching him and another big bomber, Jhonattan Vegas, brutalize the University of Maryland Golf Course with monstrous drives.
Both made a run at the Melwood, finishing in the top 10 in a tournament that provided another kind of amusement – watching the contorted swing of winner Tommy Gainey.
Vegas, also a Nationwide Tour graduate, won his second start in his rookie season on the PGA Tour. It’s no surprise the 6-3, 230-pound Venezuelan is in the top 10 in driving distance. But what about Stanley, who ranks three slots ahead, by far the lightest player in the top 10?
But maybe it’s not so surprising. His build, after all, resembles that of Tiger Woods at a comparable age. Woods won his first British Open at age 24. Could Stanley go him one better?
