Of course, those who know Stanley weren’t surprised to see him bounce back. The year following that withering high school failure, Stanley rebounded to guide Bellarmine Prep to back-to-back state titles. He earned a scholarship to Clemson, where he twice placed second at the NCAA Championships, and won the 2009 Ben Hogan Award, given to the best collegiate player in the nation.
After failing to make the top-25 in his first season on the Nationwide Tour, he bounced back to secure his Tour card at 2010 Q-School, then won more than $1.5 million last year in his first, small-sample PGA go-around, earning sponsorships from Titleist and financial services leader Transamerica in the process.
Like nearly all successful golfers, he’s never been one to let one failure — a bad shot, a bad hole, a bad loss or, indeed, a crushing nationally televised defeat — affect him once it’s done.
“He always had a forward-thinking attitude, three, four years ahead of anyone else. He’s a tremendous goal-setter,’’ said Todd Erwin, who was Stanley’s teacher from age 11 until the time he went to college.
From a young age, Erwin said Stanley had the natural ability, a passion for the game and a willingness to put the work in.
“When he was about 14, I knew this kid was going be something special,’’ Erwin said. “He would ask, ‘What do I need to do to get on the Tour?’ He was dreaming early.”
Stanley already had the swing. Erwin did little to change that, mostly working on every imaginable shot he might encounter. What he stressed more was building his confidence and his mental framework, keeping his cool, and how to carry himself as a pro — firm handshakes, eye contact, head and chest up.
With his conditioning obsession and his goal-oriented focus, Stanley developed into one of the best junior players in the country. When it came time to choose a college, Stanley’s goals were the same they had been at 14 — getting to the Tour.
“It was a little bit of everything,’’ Stanley said. “I was looking for schools where guys had gone, had moved on and done their thing on Tour. If you take a look at Clemson, they have a good representation of players on Tour, so that was important. And coach (Larry) Penley was great. He really helped me out there.’’
Penley has been Clemson’s head golf coach for 29 years and helped develop PGA stars such as D.J. Trahan, Jonathan Byrd and Lucas Glover. He first saw Stanley at age 16 setting a tournament record to win the 2005 MCI Junior Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C. Penley was blown away by his talent, but figured he had no chance getting this kid to come across country to Clemson — especially with Matt Thurmond’s elite Washington program in Stanley’s backyard.
“Then, he wanted to make an unofficial visit,’’ Penley says. “I liked that. I knew we had a chance. He wanted to come to the East Coast, maybe for a change of scene, warmer weather, different grass. I think he felt like he needed more of a challenge to better prepare him for later.
“We were blessed he decided on Clemson. We knew we had someone very special.’’
From his first day on campus, Penley said he saw Stanley’s commitment. He worked out every day, if not twice a day. He closed the driving range, often staying until midnight. He was no-nonsense, no horseplay and purposeful — with one clear focus.
“There is no wasted energy with him. Everything he does has a purpose,’’ Penley says. “I talked to our team and used him as an example for anyone who wanted to be on the Tour. I said, ‘Watch what he does. Do what he does. He’s showing you the blueprint to get on the PGA Tour.’
“His goal is to be the best player in world. I think it’s a realistic goal. I’ll be more surprised if he isn’t.”
The question that Penley often gets is how the slim-framed Stanley can generate so much power and distance. The PGA Tour lists him as just 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, yet he consistently ranks among the longest drivers on Tour.
“He [has] a great golf swing with a lot of whip,’’ Penley says. “You [can] see the speed in his golf swing. It’s amazing — I’ve never seen someone with that much speed. You can’t teach speed; either you have it or you don’t.”
Erwin, trying to answer the same question, mused, “I honestly couldn’t tell you. He does have fast-moving hips. But it’s a gift. Some people have it; some don’t. He’s got a fairly wide arc and he generates a lot of whip.’’
Whether it’s his hips, his whip or a gift, Stanley says, “It’s obviously an advantage to hit it a long ways, but it’s nice when you can shorten holes up and hit mid irons into par-5s and wedges into par-4s. But first and foremost, you’ve got to hit fairways. It’s a stat that is probably the least important out there if you’re hitting it everywhere. But yeah, when I’m driving it straight, it’s certainly an advantage.’’
Last year, his first full season on Tour, Stanley made 22 cuts and pocketed $1.5 million with four top-10 finishes. He had a chance to win the John Deere Classic in early July, until Steve Stricker holed out from off the green for a one-shot victory.
Stricker was one of the first players to text support to Stanley after his Torrey torment. Hundreds of other texts followed, including an unexpected encouraging message from Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few. Stanley is a big-time Bulldog fan stemming back to elementary school; his favorite athlete is Adam Morrison.
According to Stanley, Few texted, “You showed unbelievable toughness and guts to come back and play so well in the playoff after that unlucky break on 18. Congrats on a great weekend, and you have a very bright future ahead of you.”
A week later, Stanley heard from Few again — this time under much better circumstances.
“Way to respond,” Few texted, just moments after Stanley’s unlikely win. “You could have played the victim, or the warrior, and you were the warrior — big time.”
Stanley reflects on the entire experience in the way only a great golfer can — as a chance to learn, and improve. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he’s taken the worst punishment the game can deliver, and risen stronger than he was before.
“I’m never going to forget that,” Stanley said. “But I think it makes [winning] a lot sweeter, just being able to bounce back. It was very tough to swallow, but that’s one of the things I learned — you need to be prepared for whatever this game can throw at you.
“It’s unbelievable. An unbelievable turnaround.”
Bob Sherwin is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Cascade Golfer. A veteran of the Seattle Times, he also freelances for the New York Times and Associated Press, and is the co-founder of Northwest golf website GolfersWest.com.