Angela Stanford on the 18th hole Thursday at Hoakalei Country Club.
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Lumpy.
That’s the word Angela Stanford used to describe her three-bogey-over-five-hole stretch, and if anyone knows the ups and downs, twists and turns, it’s Stanford, who has been a professional for 23 years; won seven times, including a major; and made a big 98-straight start, a mark no other LPGA professional has accomplished. However, this year would be the last for the 46-year-old and this week’s tournament, the Lotte Championship, could be her last.
But things couldn’t end like this, could they? It couldn’t end with a missed cut that was now too much in play.
It couldn’t end with a bump.
“I just want to play,” she said. “As if this is my whole career, I want to play.
“I hate missing cuts. I’ve just always hated missing cuts. I’m frustrated at the back because I’m like, no, I want to play.”
So she did, remarkably so.
During Thursday’s second round at Hoakalei Country Club, she turned 14. “I just told myself, go back to the basics,” Stanford said. “Do what you need to do with your shot and just roll the ball. It was actually a really good shot.”
She shared 15, narrowly. “Fifteen was a good shot,” she said. “With the lip out.” But she turned 16 – “hit good, made good shots” – and was now one stroke from the predicted cut.
She parred 17. On the par-5 18th.
What was she thinking?
“I feel like I just have to give myself a chance,” Stanford said. “I thought of Mike Wright, one of my former instructors, on the tee. Just start at 18.
“And I thought of my current instructor, Todd Kolb, on that chip shot.”
Yes, that chip shot. After two shots, Stanford found himself with one, from about 25 yards from the green. She swayed, jumped four times, rolled inside. The eagle.
Weekend.
“Well, I said to my caddy walking up, I said, well, maybe it’s a good thing it’s in the grass and not a bunker, because you’ve seen my bunker play,” Stanford joked.
“But then I think it was 20 yards to get it down the field. I just said to myself, I’ve hit this shot a few times. Just stay – my thing there is, just stay left. Keep your left weight and just hit a good shot. I’m surprised it came in. I just think it was just gratitude that I can play two more days. Like that’s all I really want to do. That’s where my passion lies. I’m excited to play two more.”
Upon entering, she raised her arms. She appreciated her caddy. She looked up. In March, her mother, Nan Stanford, died and in a video posted on Instagram later on Thursday, she praised him. “I thought I should make a bird, and 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 respected golf writer from Golf week, estimated before the week that a tie for 12th after Saturday’s final round could see him into next week’s tournament, Annika.
Quiet.
Very bumpy.
“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 here. The leader, I think, is nine nine. I mean, that’s a lot. You know, I’m just going to take it out the next couple of days and see what happens.”
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