A savvy veteran, Stanford has many reasons why she can win this week, none more important than for her ailing mother
By Stuart Hall
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Hit it there: caddie Daniel Chapman and Angela Stanford strategize on the course Tuesday. (John Mummert/USGA) |
Bethlehem, Pa. — What is necessary to win a major is no longer in Cristie Kerr’s memory bank.
“It’s really not a question anymore, so it’s hard to remember what that felt like,” said Kerr, who broke through with a win at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open. “I know it really takes nothing special, nothing extra. It’s just good, solid golf you have to play.”
Angela Stanford played good, solid golf at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open, making it into an 18-hole Monday playoff with Kelly Robbins and Hilary Lunke. Stanford came within a stroke of winning, shooting an even-par 71 to Lunke’s 1-under 70 (Robbins shot a 2-over 73). The finish was as close as Stanford has been to winning a major. Even in defeat, she gleaned what Kerr now knows.
“I agree with Cristie,” said Stanford on Tuesday at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. “This is my 10th Open, and early in my career I thought you had to spend so much time preparing, but then when the week starts you’re worn out.
“Someone told me to watch what the veterans do. Now I prepare like it’s any other week. I stopped playing 36-hole practice rounds and just don’t try to do anything different. You just play your game.”
But this is not just any ordinary week. This is the major that Kerr referred to as the crown jewel of the year’s four. This is the one that players most covet because it’s the national championship.
In 2003 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, Stanford holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to make the playoff and a 25-foot par putt on the 18th playoff hole to force Lunke to make a 15-foot birdie putt for the win — which Lunke did. Stanford, 31, of Saginaw, Texas, firmly believes that loss prepared her for an eventual major victory.
“The thing that I took away from [2003] is that I can win one, that I can put myself in that position, and anything can happen,” she said. “I don't believe that was my one shot. And ever since that moment, I know that was supposed to happen. That God knew that way before I did. But I also believe He has one in store for me.
“I think that's what made getting over that that much easier, because I know that there's one in store for me.”
If the spiritual Stanford has faith the day will eventually come, the resulting major finishes since the 2003 Women’s Open playoff have tested the conviction of the four-time LPGA winner and two-time USA Solheim Cup member. In 22 major starts she has just four top-10 finishes (T-4 at the 2004 McDonald’s LPGA Championship being the best); there are also seven missed cuts.
Yet, Stanford is considered one of America’s favorites this week on the 6,740-yard, par-71 layout, a 1922 Herbert Strong design that was recently updated by Tom Fazio and his design associate Tom Marzolf. The reasons for those in Stanford’s corner are numerous.
First, it’s a Solheim Cup year, which seems to heighten every U.S. player’s competitive nature. A U.S. Women’s Open win would all but secure a spot on the 12-player USA squad. Second, since squashing the notion of quitting the tour in the 2005 offseason after two disappointing years, Stanford has slowly transformed into a formidable weekly presence. She began to work with Mike Wright, director of golf at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, rebuilding her swing and losing 25 pounds from her 5-foot, 6-inch frame.
Though she was winless for a third successive season in 2006, Stanford’s 71.80 scoring average was the best of her career. The following year brought another winless season, but more signs of optimism — 12 top-10 finishes, a total that was just one shy of her combined 13 top-10s since turning pro in 2001.
Stanford broke through in 2008, winning two tournaments and earning more than $1 million for the first time. And the progress has continued into 2009 — a win at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay to start the season, a stroke average that is nearly three strokes better than the trying 2005 and a string of top finishes that puts her on a track to top last year’s earnings.
“I've always said I've kind of been blessed because I've been backwards,” said Stanford at last month’s McDonald’s LPGA Championship. “I think when I first started playing golf and through high school and college, it seemed like work. It was hard for me. I didn't really enjoy it.
“The last three or four years I've loved the game more than any time in my life. I think that's been the difference. Now I love it. I look forward to it every day. I love it more today than when I started.”
What may test Stanford’s mental state more than the USGA’s stern Women’s Open course setup will be thoughts of her mother, Nan, who was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 22.
Like Phil Mickelson, whose wife, Amy, is going through treatment for breast cancer (and whose mother, Mary, was diagnosed with breast cancer this week), Stanford thought playing would be a welcome diversion. Now, she’s uncertain.
“You know, I thought last week was going to be easier for some reason,” said Stanford who finished tied for 49th at the Jamie Farr Corning Classic in her first start since her mother’s biopsy. “I thought by getting back out on the road and playing and knowing that my family was taking care of my mom at home, I thought I would be able to focus once I got on the course and got into the tournament, and I've always been able to do that in everything I've ever done, but this one's been different.”
Helping her focus might be the thought that par will put her in contention.
“I like par,” Stanford said. “I like the fact that 4 or 5 under wins a tournament. I think its great, and wish more tournaments were like that.”
Stanford will no doubt get her wish this week. Now, Stanford just needs to remember that nothing extraordinary is needed to win and, at last, to lift the Harton S. Semple Trophy on Sunday evening.
Stuart Hall is a freelance writer whose previous work has appeared on USGA championship Web sites.
