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MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLAJune 10, 2009Angela StanfordHAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND JASON TAYLOR: Angela, welcome to the media center. You're enjoying a pretty good year so far. Six top 10 finishes, including a win at the opening event in Hawaii. Talk a little bit about your year and being here this week at the second major. ANGELA STANFORD: Okay. Well, the win in Hawaii got everything kicked off. You know, I think I've just kind of been, for lack of a better term, just addicted to playing well. I just, ever week, want to show up and see how low I can go every day. I think the difference I think in the past is it's challenging. It's challenging to get up every day and play against the best in the world. Now I actually look forward to the challenge and it's fun, so I think that's the difference. JASON TAYLOR: Questions. Q. Was it a revelation? What changed your attitude to see this is as challenge to something that you actually relish doing? ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I've always said I've kind of been blessed because I've been backwards. I think when I first started playing gold 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 the my life. I think that's been the difference. My college coach and high school coach could vouch for this. I didn't like the practice. I didn't -- it was just a chore. Now I love it. I look forward to it every day. I can't really explain it. I just love it. I feel like I've been blessed that I was backwards. I love it more today than when I started. Q. Can you just talk about the course? There's been a lot of rain out there. ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I've actually only seen the back nine and No. 1, because we got rained out in our Pro-Am yesterday. You know, I didn't think it was that wet. I don't know if it was because we played in the afternoon yesterday and it might have dried out a touch. I thought the greens were firm-ish for the rain that they've had. I'm interested to see the front nine today. I know it rained quite a bit yesterday. But from what I've heard, it's softer and playing longer. But I told my caddie yesterday, I don't feel like this playing longer. If anything, I'm hitting it a little bit further. Q. Players who have gone on a long, sustained good run of playing have said that the hardest thing is handling the mental aspect of being in the hunt week after week. Have you found that to be true, and how have you handled it? ANGELA STANFORD: You know, again, I feel like if I had the opportunity the rest of the year, or rest of my life to show up on Sunday and play to win and have an opportunity to win on the back nine, that's a lot more fun than showing up on Sunday with the first tee times. So I've actually enjoyed the emotional roller coaster. I think you have to keep it in perspective. You know, I was pretty frustrated last week because I felt like I had the chance to win. I felt like I missed two short puts on 14 and 15 that cost me. At the same time, it was the best putting tournament that I can remember in a long time. So it's hard to say, Oh, I missed two putts. It cost me the tournament. I made a lot of putts. I'm kind of revamping my short game chipping-wise, so I -- as I told my caddie, I'm like, My short game is not good enough right now to rely on. But that's just because I'm changing some things. And he said it to me this week. He's like, Man, if you feel like you're changing your chipping and you didn't hit it real good last week and you finished third, I can't wait for you to get it all together. So I think it's about perspective. And realizing that you a chance to win, that's good. But why didn't I win? Well, because I missed the two short putts. Well, I could have hit better chips. That's all about perspective, I think. Q. Not all players relish media obligations. Does it mean anything to you to be at the pre-tournament press conference for a major without having won the previous week? ANGELA STANFORD: I love it. If you're in the media center you're doing something right. I love talking to the media. But, again, that comes from many years of not talking to the media. So it's kind of nice. So, yeah, I relish it. I like it. Again, perspective. You don't know how long it's gonna last. Golf is, What have you done for me lately. You have to enjoy the moments that you are sitting in here. Q. How important would it be to put a major on your resume? ANGELA STANFORD: Well, obviously that's the most important. I think you can win tournament after tournament, but I think majors define a player. You know, fairly or not, they do, because it's the toughest conditions and the toughest field. So I think it defines a career and defines a player. Obviously it's the most important thing you can put on your resume. Q. (No microphone.) ANGELA STANFORD: Not any more. I used to. I think that's why I've struggled in majors, because I show up and I've put so much more pressure on myself than I did the week before. You know, I feel like if I show up and I do the things that I'm supposed to do, you know, even though I just told you it's the most important thing, you can't treat it that way. It has to be treated like ever other week. It's another golf course, and you still have to hit the fairways and you have to putt the greens. So I think that's one area that I've gotten better in, is not getting to a major and thinking, oh, my gosh, I got to put so much more pressure on myself. I wanted to win last week, and I want to win this week. Q. So this is the last hurrah Bulle Rock and for McDonald's. Can you just talk a little bit your feelings about leaving this place, and are you concerned about this event's future? ANGELA STANFORD: That's a good question. You know, I think this is a great golf course. I've enjoyed being here. I'm not even sure what my finishes have been here. I don't think they've been bad, but they haven't been good. So, you know, a change of venue would be okay with me because I obviously haven't been in contention here. I think it's a solid golf course. I think it's unfortunate that we don't have the relationship with McDonald's moving forward, because they've been very supportive. We'll see. I don't know what the future holds, but I hope with the LPGA owning this championship -- you know, you would really like for it to one of the top majors. I mean, to be and LPGA member and to play your championship, you want that to be the best tournament on your schedule. That's the way it should be. Hopefully in the future we'll get there. Q. How would you size up the competition in this tournament? You know, I think it's almost anyone's game. Obviously you like yourself. Who else has a shot of winning here? ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I played with Suzann last week the first couple days. I mean, when she gets the ball rolling on the green she's tough. I remember thinking, she looks like Tiger when she's putting. I think Suzann always has a chance. Obviously you can't overlook the No. 1 player in the world, Lorena. But that's the cool thing about our tour right now, is that it's anybody's ballgame. Anybody can win. So that's what makes it so interesting right now. Q. (No microphone.) ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I did see your -- is it Tweet? I got your Tweet at dinner last night. I was sitting with Sam, Cristie, and Meredith Duncan and a couple guys and I said, Yeah, I'm a bomber. So thank you for the Tweet. I just don't have anything to say. I'm the world's worst Tweeter or Twitterer. I just don't have that much to say. But you gotta do it. Q. (No microphone.) ANGELA STANFORD: I always think about Solheim Cup. I think about it from -- the day in 2007 we won the Cup, I was thinking about it the next week. I'm one that looks forward to. Everybody plays to win, but I live for Solheim Cup. I love them. I've never played in the States. I've played a Curtis Cup and two Solheim Cups overseas. I've never played in America. Q. (No microphone.) ANGELA STANFORD: You're playing for your country and it's a team. For week it's a team sport, and I love team sports. I grew up playing team sports, and team golf is fun. I love it. I think that's the best week out of every two years. Besides the fact that you have to fight and battle with these women all year long, and then they get to believe on your team. It's pretty cool. End of FastScripts |
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