A Tearful Response to a Final-Hole Collapse SAN DIEGO - After building a five-stroke lead through 54 holes of the Farmers Insurance Open, Kyle Stanley described himself as "kind of an internal guy." And it was true. For 71 holes, Stanley betrayed no emotion, his body language a study in stoicism. Then he blew a three-stroke lead on the final hole Sunday and lost to Brandt Snedeker on the second playoff hole, and his emotions were turned inside out. In the interview room, Stanley started out teary-eyed and was sobbing by the merciful end of the questioning. "Obviously not the finish I wanted," said Stanley, who played the final nine holes of regulation in five over par to close with a 74. After both golfers birdied the first extra hole, Stanley missed a par putt that would have extended the playoff. He was asked how he deals with the emotions of what happened. Stanley's chin quivered and he pinched back the tears. Before the first words were out of his mouth, he had given a complete answer. "I don't know right now," he said. I mean, it's really tough to take. When Stanley looks back on this round, his second-guessing will start with his decision-making on the 18th hole. After his drive, he had 237 yards to the pin and chose to lay up instead of going for the green. He placed his second shot in the fairway, but his third shot spun off the green and into the water. After taking a drop, Stanley took three putts from 43 feet for a triple-bogey 8 to fall into the playoff with Snedeker, who closed with a 67 for a 16-under 272. "Looking back, I don't really know what I was thinking," he said. It's not a hard golf hole. It's really a pretty straightforward par 5. I could probably play it a thousand times and never make an 8. If anybody could relate to Stanley's public display of disappointment it was Snedeker, who buried his face in a towel and cried in his post-round news conference after shooting a 77 in the final round of the 2008 Masters to finish tied for third. At the time, Snedeker said he grew emotional "because I came so close to living out one of my dreams and I wasn't able to do it." On Sunday, Snedeker said: "You never want to see anybody go through that. I don't care who it is, not even your worst enemy on the planet. Golf is such a funny game, and to have that kind of lead coming into the last hole and not to win is tough. It will be a tough night for him. But he's an unbelievably talented player, and the sky's the limit for him. And I hope he does not beat himself up too much over this. He should learn from it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's contending again soon.