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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

July 30, 2009

Angela Stanford

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND

COLIN CALLENDER: We have Angela Stanford, who just shot a 2-under par 70 in very difficult conditions. How do you feel about that?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I feel really good to be sitting here talking to you about this round.
You know, it is really tough out there. Some of the pins are close to the edges today. So you know, when you find the pin that's just four or five off the right or left and the wind is blowing the opposite direction, it makes it kind of tough.
COLIN CALLENDER: Jiyai Shin said to me earlier that the fairways seem to be drying out, as well, and the ball seems to be running into the rough. How did you find that?
ANGELA STANFORD: I played yesterday afternoon, so I was not here when it was at its wettest. So for me, it seems dry. I mean, it didn't seem real wet, but I don't have anything really to base it off of.
COLIN CALLENDER: Eagle at the 7th?
ANGELA STANFORD: Hit 3-wood in there. I think we were 242 to the front, downwind, and just got it on, like a step on, and my caddie said, "That is a 66-footer that you made."
13, I hit 3-iron off the tee and then just tried to hold a 9-iron into the green. That's another example of the pin being difficult. It was just a little off the left side and the wind was blowing off the left, so I just tried to hold a 9-iron in there to like ten feet.
15 was a 3-putt. I just pulled my approach shot and hit the first putt way too hard, wrong line, 3-putt.
17, really hit a decent drive, 3-iron came up a little short, and hit a really bad chip and it got away from me and missed the putt.
COLIN CALLENDER: What sort of distance would you say?
ANGELA STANFORD: Chip was just a couple of yards short of the green and then went past like ten, 12 feet.
COLIN CALLENDER: And finished with a great birdie.
ANGELA STANFORD: Yeah, I hit a good, solid 4-iron in there. I'm not sure how far that putt was, maybe 30 feet.

Q. Of the first ten groups, you were one of only two players to shoot level par. I'm just wondering about the difference in wind going out and coming back, and in terms of clubs, what was the difference in clubs, strength of wind?
ANGELA STANFORD: It seemed fairly strong starting out, and then coming in, you know, I don't know if the clubhouse had anything to do with it, but on 18, I felt like I was standing over the ball and it was dying down.
I don't know, it seemed to be blowing pretty good all day. It seemed to actually blow harder 13, 14, 15 in there where you start kind of crossing, the wind is crossing you. It seemed to blow harder at that point. I don't know, it's harder for me to tell. It just seemed like it was pretty consistent all day.

Q. I gather your preparations were a bit unusual going off to continental Europe, so tell us about that.
ANGELA STANFORD: How did you find out about that? (Chuckling).
The last couple of weeks have been kind of tough and I haven't really played very good, and you know, I come here every year and try to prepare my best. You know, my best finish at a British has been my very first time in '02 (tied 13th). So recent history, I haven't played well here.
So I thought, you know, I'm going to take my mind off of this, all of the negative feelings I have, and I've always wanted to see Rome and took a short vacation. I got here yesterday afternoon. It was the best weather that y'all have had all week and got a great practise round in, got some good positive vibes going, and was I think mentally in a better state than if I would have been here the whole week.

Q. What did you see in Rome, and any prayers involved?
ANGELA STANFORD: Of course, if you're standing in the Sistine Chapel, you're saying a few prayers.
You know, I have a connection through some friends at home. There's a tour guide that had spent some time in Texas and now they do tours, his family does tours around Rome. We really just had him Monday and half a day Tuesday, so he got us in the Vatican early and we went to another chapel. We saw a couple different churches. We saw St. Peter's. We saw the Colosseum the second day. So just a bunch of fun things and fun facts; the Forum.
It was just a lot of fun. And you know, you get to a church -- I don't know, it's pretty cool as a Christian to reflect on that. We saw the Catacombs, went there. That was kind of eerie/cool, in that I'm a Christian and what it would have been like to risk your life for that.
So a couple good days. Just a lot of reflection on stuff like that and not golf.

Q. How many days?
ANGELA STANFORD: Only two days. We flew in Sunday night and left Wednesday morning.

Q. When did you decide to do that?
ANGELA STANFORD: I've always wanted to go to Rome and we've always been so close being over here, and I just decided at the first of the year, I'm just going to do it.
When I bought the ticket, I don't know, it fell into place perfectly. I knew it was going to be a good trip, but I didn't know it was going to be that good.

Q. Have you ever got in for a major so late before?
ANGELA STANFORD: No, I haven't. But you know, I played here in '03 and '06, so I'm fairly familiar with the golf course and my targets. So once you get here, you can play a different course seven days. So if I were to get here Sunday night and play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I may play a different course on Thursday. That's how I justified it in my head.

Q. Is this the sort of place where it could spook you out if you played too much before the Wednesday?
ANGELA STANFORD: Oh, I think so. Even me today going around today, it's like, I've been there or I know what happens if I miss my target here. Oh, yeah.

Q. Before you came here, would you have considered yourself a good wind player?
ANGELA STANFORD: I think so. I think just growing up in Texas helps, I'm not somebody that wants the wind in blow by any stretch of the imagination. But I think growing up and playing in the wind, it just doesn't bother you as much as it would bother somebody that never plays in it. You know what to expect and I know what's going to happen in my golf swing and what's going to happen in my putting and my chipping. I think I'm just more aware of what the effects of the wind will do.

Q. What is it about the British Open that gives you the bad vibes or had given you in the past?
ANGELA STANFORD: I think it's just I'm not used to this type of golf. I mean, you know, where I grew up, you hit it in a certain spot, it's probably going to be there. Here, you could hit it right at your target and it could be 15 yards off line because it gets a funny bounce.
Like the ball I hit on the par-5 7 today: I thought I was in the bunker. It was going dead at the bunker and we get up there and it's on the green. I'm like, okay. It's just stuff like that.
And I think I need to be better mentally here, and that's where along in my career, I've matured mentally. In recent past, I haven't been, it used to make me angry. I hated it when I felt like I hit a great shot and it's not where it should be.
You've just got to kind of go with the flow, and this is just the kind of golf it is. I'm not used to going with the flow. I try to control it.

Q. So were you fearful of what might happen today going out there with the wind?
ANGELA STANFORD: Yeah, but you know, I also stood on the first tee and told myself, you know, whatever happens, happens. You can't control it. Today I just tried to focus on the contact of the golf ball and the type of shot I was going to hit. Whatever happens, happens. I mean, I hit it in the first two bunkers on the first two and hit one of the best bunker shots of my life on No. 2.
So I think just having that attitude of, okay, yeah, I felt like I hit a good shot, it ended up in the bunker, what are you going to do about it? You are going to go hit it. I think my attitude starting today is a lot better than it's been in the past.

Q. Do you have any time now for more sightseeing, any plans?
ANGELA STANFORD: No. We have to go straight to Chicago after this. Captain told us, time to go to Chicago.

Q. No, this afternoon I mean?
ANGELA STANFORD: No. I'm tired now, 18 holes out there, that will wear you out.

Q. Just in terms of the scoring and the conditions, where would you put this in the satisfying rounds in your career?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, you know, for me, it's recent past. And my recent past the last four events, three events, has not been very good.
So you know, for me, this was a big deal for me today. I mean, that was probably the best round for a while. I didn't think I was going to do that to be perfectly honest. So that really helped me today because I haven't played that good mentally in the last three events. So it was a big boost for me today.

Q. I know that the general view is that the wind blows everywhere in Texas, but did the place where you grew up, where you learnt your formative golf, would it be considered to be a particularly windy place or a less windy place?
ANGELA STANFORD: Not as windy as west Texas. I'm not all the way in west Texas but the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex gets a fair amount of wind. And somebody told me this one time, I don't know if it's true, but they say Chicago is the Windy City. Well, Dallas is actually the windiest city, and however they measure that; apparently Dallas is the windiest city in America.
So I grew up about 45 minutes west of there, so pretty windy. I grew up in Saginaw, Texas, or just north of Fort Worth.

Q. The last couple of events, you've had to try to block out some personal stuff (her mother, Nan was diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently undergoing treatment); is this one of those first rounds where you have been able to just put that aside and not think about your mom?
ANGELA STANFORD: Yeah, you know, and I think she's had some good days lately, and when I call home, she sounds good. And I think as much as you try to not let it affect you, it affects you. And I didn't know how to just let it and deal with it instead of trying to not let it affect me at all and just trying to do what I do.
But you know, I think when she sounds good, it helps. But I also know that watching her go through her first chemo treatment and watching how it wasn't as bad as what it could have been, that helped. We know it's going to get harder. But I also have a plan for the rest of the year.
I think a lot of times when you don't know what's going to happen, that's scarier. But now we kind of know what's going to happen and we know how it's going to affect her. So that helps.
And you know, as bad as this sounds, I think being so far away from home, it's hard to think about it all the time. I mean, I can't just get on a plane and go home. That's what I told her before I left. I told her, mom, if I just come home, it's going to take like a day. As bad as that sounds, it helps. It's so far away.
But at the same time, like my brother's birthday is today. Their anniversary was four days ago. You know, they are a good couple of weeks to be gone. So it helps that she's having some good days, to get to your question.
COLIN CALLENDER: Angela, thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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