Major winner needed birdie, or her career was likely done. She got something more

Posted by Admin November 9, 2024 Golf

November 8, 2024

Angela Stanford on Thursday on the 18th hole at Hoakalei Country Club.

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Bumpy.

That’s the word Angela Stanford used to characterize her three-bogey-over-five-hole stretch, and if anyone knows ups and downs, twists and turns, it’s unquestionably Stanford, who’s clocked in for 23 years as a professional; won seven times, including a major; and made a whopping 98-straight major starts, a mark no other LPGA pro has achieved. This year, though, was to be the 46-year-old’s last, and this week’s tournament, the Lotte Championship, could be her last.

But things couldn’t possibly end like this, right? It couldn’t end with a missed cut that was now very much in play.

It couldn’t end bumpy.

“I just want to play,” she said. “Like that’s my entire career I just want to play.

“I hate missing cuts. I’ve just always hated missing cuts. I got kind of frustrated on the back because I’m like, no, I want to play.”

So she did, incredibly so.

During Thursday’s second round at Hoakalei Country Club, she birdied 14. “I just told myself, just get back to basics,” Stanford said. “Do what you’re supposed to do with your putting stroke and just roll the ball. That was actually a really good putt.”

She parred 15, narrowly. “Fifteen was a good putt,” she said. “Lipped out.” But she birdied 16 — “great shot in, made a great putt” — and was now one stroke off the projected cut.

She parred 17. On to the par-5 18th.

What was she thinking?

“I’m like I just got to give myself a chance,” Stanford said. “Thought about Mike Wright, one of my former instructors, on the tee. Just launch it off 18.

“And thought about my current instructor, Todd Kolb, on that chip shot.”

Yeah, that chip shot. After two shots, Stanford found herself with one, from about 25 yards off the green. She swung, it bounced four times, it rolled in. Eagle.

Weekend.

“Well, I said to my caddie walking up, I said, well, it’s probably good it’s in the grass and not a bunker because you’ve seen my bunker game,” Stanford joked.

“But then I think it was like 20 yards to get it on the green. I just told myself, I’ve hit this shot a number of times. Just stay — my thing there is, just stay left. Keep your weight left and just hit a good shot. I’m surprised it went in. Just I think that was just gratitude that I get to play two more days. Like that’s all I really want to do. That’s where my passion is. I’m excited to get to play two more.”

After the chip-in, she raised her arms. She high-fived her caddie. She looked upward. In March, her mom, Nan Stanford, died, and on a video posted to Instagram later Thursday, she credited her. “I thought I had to birdie, and, uh, the good Lord gave me an eagle,” she said. “Thanks, mom.”

There’s more here. On Friday, during the third round, Stanford shot a three-under 69, and Beth Ann Nichols, the esteemed golf writer from Golfweek, estimated ahead of the week that a tie for 12th after Saturday’s final round could get her into next week’s tournament, the Annika.

Smooth.

Very unbumpy.

“Yeah, you can’t finish in the top 10 if you don’t play the weekend, so I had to get that part first,” Stanford said.

“So anything can happen out here. The leader, I think, is at nine-under. I mean, that’s a lot. You know, I’ll just chip away at it the next two days and see what happens.”