Jimmy Stanger · Round 4 · Emotional Interview · 2023 Compliance Solutions Championship · Korn Ferry Tour
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JIMMY STANGER WINS BY ON WITH FINAL-ROUND 66 AT COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jimmy Stanger had no idea he won. The 28-year-old Tampa, Florida native literally couldn’t believe it. Stanger hadn’t looked at a leaderboard Sunday afternoon, and even after a two-putt birdie (which will technically go down as a one-putt) at Jimme Austin Golf Club at the University of Oklahoma’s par-5 18th, the 72nd hole of the inaugural Compliance Solutions Championship, he wasn’t convinced 22-under par was enough for an outright victory.
“It’s something I’ve been doing for the last eight, nine events,” Stanger said of ignoring leaderboards. “My brain is active enough as is out there, so trying to worry about what other people are doing doesn’t help me at all.
Once Stanger walked off the green, close friends and fellow Korn Ferry Tour members Dawson Armstrong and Jared Wolfe showered him with bottles of water. Stanger remained unconvinced. After all, the heat index in Norman, Oklahoma eclipsed 100 degrees around 11 a.m., so Stanger figured his friends were cooling him down for a playoff.
Even when it finally hit Stanger that neither player in the final group could tie him at 22-under par, the fact he won still didn’t feel real.
For six years on the Korn Ferry Tour, something had always happened. Whether it was an unlucky break on the final hole, a competitor carding the round of the day to beat him by a stroke, something always kept him from winning.
None of those things came to fruition Sunday. In his 120th start since joining the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018, Stanger became a Korn Ferry Tour winner.
“It’s not real. I don’t believe this is happening,” said an emotional Stanger. “I can’t put it into words. I’m so beyond thankful.”
Stanger entered the final round two strokes behind outright 54-hole leader Tim Widing, but by the time he reached the closing hole Sunday, Korn Ferry Tour winner Rafael Campos was his only competition.
Campos settled for par at No. 18 as he missed the green short and right, caught a flier on his chip which finally came to a stop on the back fringe, and rolled a putt within tap-in range which kept him at 21-under par for the tournament.
Two groups later, Stanger had 235 yards to the flag and grabbed a 5-iron, usually his 210 club. Adrenaline and the scorching heat made it the perfect club. Stanger slung a draw around the overhanging trees up the left side, and watched as his ball came to rest in the unformidable rough just behind the green.
Stanger pulled a putter and cozied his ball just outside of tap-in range, then knocked in his 3-footer for birdie and a bogey-free 6-under 66.
“There were nerves because I wanted to finish with a birdie on the last hole,” Stanger said. “I figured 22 (under par) had a better chance to win than 21, and it’s the last hole of a big tournament, so there were nerves. I’m glad I didn’t know where I was at. I would have been shaking a lot more.”
