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FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 6, 2006

Angela Stanford

FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE

PAUL ROVNAK: Angela, another great round today. 6 under 66 for 18 under for the tournament. That's a four shot lead going into tomorrow. You've led every round of this tournament. Just go ahead and take us through the day and then we'll take some questions.

ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I think I started off kind of shaky. People say when you've won it should be easier when you're in that position, but it's been three years since I've won. I'm a big believer in you have to learn how to win. And I feel like I might be learning all over again, almost.

So I started off kind of shaky and made a birdie on 7. And I finally got comfortable then. The first six holes I was a little uncomfortable.

PAUL ROVNAK: Let's take questions.

Q. It seems like you were smiling, laughing and enjoying yourself out there. Is that typical of your play or is that kind of a tool to keep you maybe a little less stressed?

ANGELA STANFORD: I smile a lot when I'm playing well. My family members and friends at home tell me that I need to smile more, especially when the cameras are on, so I do. I am having a good time, but I do make an effort to make sure you know, a lot of it is for them at home to let them know I'm thinking about them and having a good time.

Q. Have you addressed the conditions, having to change since the first day, with each day

ANGELA STANFORD: With how wet it is?

Q. Yes.

ANGELA STANFORD: It's been pretty consistent. That's the good thing. Today seemed a little bit drier, but you just find those low areas on this golf course that's still really mushy. It's been pretty consistent. And it's been nice to lift it and clean it and place it out here. It's been really helpful, actually.

Q. Early in your round you were kind of going along there with some pars and there was starting to get quite a bunch there behind you on the board. Did you pay any attention to the fact that your lead was still staying at one stroke or were you just not scoreboard watching at all?

ANGELA STANFORD: I knew I had a one shot lead. But I also thought, well, maybe the course is playing a little tougher today. Because all those people are out in front of us. Maybe the pins are tucked or maybe the course is just playing tougher today. It actually helped me think, okay, just keep making pars and keep doing what I'm doing. I didn't really notice how many were behind me, I just thought the course must be playing tougher today.

Q. Talk about No. 11. I believe it was No. 11, your fifth straight birdie there. It was a bizarre sequence. There was a train whistle in the background, your ball does a 360. Was that just one of the things you just kind of laugh at, as well?

ANGELA STANFORD: It was one of those moments where you think, Wow, this might be my week. I heard the train, but I'm from Saginaw, Texas, and there are a ton of trains going in and out of that city. So any time I hear a train I think of home. So if anything it makes me comfortable.

I did hear it, but I hit the putt. I actually thought I missed the putt long and right. As soon as I hit it I thought, "Oh, no. Please stop." So the fact that it caught the edge of the hole and still went in with that speed was pretty unbelievable.

Q. You mentioned your putting. According to the stats, you needed only 25 today. Was anything in particular working with the putter today?

ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I think we probably had some straighter putts, at least I can think of three off the top of my head today that were fairly straight. So when you get a straight putt, you just kind of take it back and swing it through. So I felt like the degree of difficulty with our putts wasn't very high today. I felt like we had some pretty simple putts.

Q. I know you're probably going to do the hole by hole, but can you go through 18 for me and tell me what you were hitting on that hole, specifically, please?

ANGELA STANFORD: The tee shot, there is a tree out there. Actually from the tee box it looks like the left side is much more open than you would think just looking at the hole. The second shot, I want to say we had 193 to the front, 225 to the pin, so I told my caddie we just put this new 5 wood in the bag on Wednesday. It's a Ping 5 wood. I said, Well, let's find out how far this 5 wood is going to go.

I tried to hit it up the left side, tried to get it up there as far as I could and had a fairly easy chip looking right at it, and the putt was uphill.

Q. How far was the chip?

ANGELA STANFORD: I guess the chip, it had to be about 40 to 50 feet. And the putt, I'm thinking, was eight or ten feet.

Q. How much confidence can that give you going into tomorrow? Your lead is now four strokes, but there is some rain coming in. How do you approach going into tomorrow?

ANGELA STANFORD: Well, making a birdie on 18 was very important. And actually, I wanted to get 17 too, to get to 9 under under, because I think the more shots you can get on these ladies, the better off you are.

If it rains tomorrows, it doesn't matter to me either way. We're just going to wait and be patient. It doesn't seem like it's really going to change the condition of the golf course. The greens are still soft and the fairways are still soft, so I don't think it's going to change the golf course much.

Q. With the way you've been playing the last three days, how much confidence do you have in your game going into tomorrow trying to protect the lead?

ANGELA STANFORD: I have a ton of confidence right now. I think the thing I probably need to be careful of is trying to protect. I think tomorrow I'm going to try to be smart. If there is a pin tucked and I don't need to go at, I need to hit the middle of the green. It's going to be one of those days where I want people to catch me. I don't want to do anything that's going to force me to back up. I'm going to make as many pars as I can, and if I can throw in a few birdies I'm going to be happy with that.

PAUL ROVNAK: Let's go over your scorecard. Start with the birdie on 7, Angela.

ANGELA STANFORD: We hit a 3 wood into the bunker left and hit a bunker shot to like 7 or 8 feet.

PAUL ROVNAK: No. 8?

ANGELA STANFORD: Hit a pitching wedge. That one was like 20 feet.

No. 9 was an 8 iron. We were just trying to get it to the middle of the green, since I've struggled with that hole all week. I think that putt was about 20 feet, too.

No. 10, we hit a little hold 9 iron. It was kind of into the wind. I want to say we had like 125 yards in. So I hit a 9 iron right at it and it went to like 67 feet.

No. 11, hit another 9 iron and it caught the top of the ridge and rolled down to about eight, nine feet.

PAUL ROVNAK: Bogey on 13.

ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I was never comfortable we hit 5 iron into that green. I just wanted to hold it a little bit, because I felt like it was going to be too much. I didn't know if a 6 was going to get there. So I hung it out to the right, hit a pretty decent chip, and I think pushed the putt a little bit. It was only like a 4 foot putt.

PAUL ROVNAK: The chip went to four feet?

ANGELA STANFORD: Yes.

PAUL ROVNAK: Then 15?

ANGELA STANFORD: Hit a pitching wedge to about 10 feet.

PAUL ROVNAK: You already told us about 18. Thanks, Angela.

End of FastScripts.

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