An interview with:
ANGELA STANFORD
RHONDA GLENN: How long was that putt you made on the 72nd green?
ANGELA STANFORD: I think it was about 20 feet.
RHONDA GLENN: Was that "Wow"? It had to be "Wow", that you said,
when it went in.
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I said, "Oh, my God." (Laughter.)
RHONDA GLENN: How did it feel, what was it like when that ball
started rolling toward the hole?
ANGELA STANFORD: It just seemed like the closer it got the bigger
my eyes were getting, and the more real it was becoming. And I'm so
glad it didn't turn out of the hole, because it was moving to the left,
and I thought, please hit the hole before it goes too far left. And
when I saw it disappear I just screamed.
RHONDA GLENN: Any plans for tomorrow? What you have planned going
into your round?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, you know, I think we're pretty lucky to
have another shot at this golf course, because I did not play it very
well today. I put myself in so many bad spots. And that's the good thing
about getting another chance tomorrow, because I.
We won't make those mistakes again.
Q. The way your afternoon went, the fact that you had a shot
to tie or at least to have a shot to even come close there on the 18th
hole, did it surprise you the way everything sort of fell into place
for you, despite the way your afternoon had gone?
ANGELA STANFORD: It did, because I was not playing well. I thought
I would play better today. And it was tough out there. But coming down
the stretch I knew -- I mean I knew Annika was there, and I felt like
if we just kept backing up and backing up, I'm sure she was ready for
that. And I was disappointed that -- I was disappointed that I fell
back so far that she was in the tournament then. So to have a shot coming
up 18 was pretty cool, because I felt like I didn't deserve it at one
point, but just lucky to have it. But I'm glad I took advantage of it.
Q. I'm just wondering if you could sort of describe -- I don't
know, what happened in your mine, your body, the whole thing, from the
whole 18th hole from standing in the middle of the fairway to watching
Annika's drama play out, knowing what's been happening with the lead,
just the whole swirl of everything?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I kind of started thinking, okay, if Annika
makes par, I knew Hilary could make birdie, but then it only was --
it was just Hilary. And I could see what she was doing. But I kept telling
myself, three solid shots, three solid shots, get a good tee shot, get
it in the fairway, hit the second shot and as we were walking up, I
could see that the crowd was kind of moved, they shouldn't have been
there. So I knew something was going on. And fortunately they told us
that there was a ruling. So I kind of walked back and just kind of kept
walking around. I didn't want to talk about the shot that we had to
hit until we had to hit it. So I think that was good. I pulled out a
6-iron, was swinging that, stretching. So until we had to hit it I didn't
want to think about it. And actually hit one of the best 5-woods of
the week, because I've been struggling with that club a little bit.
I only have to hit it once, but I finally got it right today. And then
the last shot was about -- it was 45 yards to the front, 60 yards to
the pin, and we knew everything kind of funneled left, so I said to
Jeremy, "50 yards? Yes". So I thought 50 yards, I hit that shot all
the time. It's just never to try to tie for the U.S. Open. So actually
missed it a little right of where I wanted, but right was the spot to
miss.
Q. If we walk out there right now and put a ball in that same
spot on the 18th green and you putted that thing 25 times, how many
times do you think you'd make that putt?
ANGELA STANFORD: You know, actually I think I would make it more
than I -- I'd probably miss more than make it. But it was a good putt
to have. There wasn't much break to it. The speed was very obvious,
it was downhill and fast. So cross that off the list. And really from
one side it looked pretty straight. And then from the other side it
looked like you had to move a little left if anything. So fortunately,
it was downhill and the speed part was taken care of.
RHONDA GLENN: How much break did you allow for, if any?
ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I want to say I played it right edge,
but where I think I'm playing and where I'm actually playing can be
two different things. But I wanted to start it right edge, half in,
half out, because I knew I was going to hit it so softly, that if there
were any break at all it would move.
RHONDA GLENN: It was just a feel putt, basically?
ANGELA STANFORD: Basically, yeah.
Q. So much happened on the 18th hole with the last two groups,
does that surprise you at all or do you expect that 72nd hole of the
U.S. Open?
ANGELA STANFORD: I didn't even know it was the 72nd hole. I didn't
expect Annika to do what she did. I didn't expect that at all. And I
did not realize that that putt was for bogey. I'd actually looked over
into the crowd, because I wanted to know if it was for par, and they
said it was for bogey. And I didn't expect that at all. But I knew --
I think Jeremy was upset with me because all day I wasn't exactly focused
on just what we were doing. I was kind of -- I was concerned about her.
Obviously when the best player in the field is in the field -- the best
player in the world is in the field, if you continue to back up, it's
just like any sport, if you let a team in that hasn't been in it the
whole time, they're going to jump on it. I knew if I backed up far enough
she would take advantage of that. And that's why I was so upset with
myself. I should have never -- me, personally, should never have given
her that opportunity to be in the tournament:
RHONDA GLENN: What's Jeremy's last name.
ANGELA STANFORD: Young.
RHONDA GLENN: Y-o-u-n-g?
ANGELA STANFORD: Yes.
Q. What happened throughout the day, obviously you've been solid
for almost two weeks straight, what happened to the swing today and
what was going wrong?
ANGELA STANFORD: The swing didn't really feel that bad. I think
the way we were trying to play shots into greens the ball was releasing
much more than I expected, because I felt like we were hitting spots
for the most part. But we just -- I think the one thing I learned today
is that I need to find the best place to miss it, like the best place
to be chipping from or putting from, because I don't think I thought
about that. Because I thought, well, I expected to hit every shot perfect
and hit them exactly where I wanted to and forgot that it was the last
round of the U.S. Open. So there were some funny hops out there we haven't
had in the last couple of days or last couple of weeks. And it just
seemed like the ball just kept releasing through the greens and not
doing what I had in mind. So it wasn't that I was hitting it bad.
RHONDA GLENN: Was there at any time while you were waiting on the
18th fairway, that you wished you had been asked to play through.
ANGELA STANFORD: No, no. I was happy that she was doing her thing
and taking care of her business. And I didn't want to be up there when
all that was going on. So I was very happy with what was going on.
RHONDA GLENN: Did you have as much fun playing with Hilary as you
thought you might.
ANGELA STANFORD: You know, unfortunately I got so focused in on
what I was doing that -- but there were times out there that she would
make a putt and I was happy for her. And she made the putt on 17, that
was huge. So I was happy for her there, because I kind of started thinking,
if I'm not going to win this, if I'm not going to be in the playoff,
I would like her to be there.
RHONDA GLENN: You are in the playoff.
Q. Angela, can you give us some idea of what it feels like to
be playing the way you're playing two weeks straight? What does it mean
to you and how does it feel at this stage of your career to be contending
for one of the biggest championships in women's golf?
ANGELA STANFORD: That is a good question. You know, it's funny
when you're playing in tournaments and you're missing cuts and you're
kind of going about things, it feels like forever. It feels like you're
never, ever going to make it to a final group. It feels like you're
never, ever going to win a tournament. And when it happens you're like,
wow, that happened really fast. So I think to get the opportunity to
play tomorrow, knowing that I'm only 25 is really cool, because at times
out here I feel really old. I mean with 13, 14, 15 years old, and even
on the LPGA Tour, everybody is -- if you're not 19 or 20, you're old.
So it's neat for me that it's happening when it's happening. And God's
timing is perfect, and he -- I've learned so much. And to get to play
all four years of college and to be in my third year on Tour and all
of this to be happening is really neat for me because I think if you've
ever spent time at the bottom, you enjoy the top much more.
Q. A lot of times when players are in a group and they're both
playing well, they feel like they feed off of each other. Did you guys
kind of -- did the struggles sort of feed off of each other? And the
second part, is what was going through your mind as you were watching
her putt to win?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I think unfortunately our struggles did
kind of playoff of each other. I think if one of us would have started
playing well, I think both of us would have started playing well. And
you know, to make that last putt and to be on such a high, and to realize
now I'm in a playoff to win, and then to remind myself, oh, wait a minute,
she has to miss hers. That was hard to stand over there and watch that,
because I couldn't imagine going from that high to that low in all of,
what, two or three minutes.
Q. Since you won last week and since you made that clutch putt
on 18, do you think you've got the momentum going for tomorrow?
ANGELA STANFORD: I think so. Obviously Kelly must have had an amazing
round today. I don't even know what she shot. Was she the only 1-under
par today? There were a couple. That's just an awesome round. Hilary
held it together, when she could have gone south. But I think -- I'm
excited about tomorrow because I know that I can play better. I know
that I can play this golf course much better, and so that's why I'm
excited about tomorrow and feel like I have some momentum going in.
RHONDA GLENN: Congratulations, what an exciting finish. Good luck
tomorrow.
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