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RR DONNELLEY LPGA FOUNDERS CUPMarch 14, 2012Angela StanfordPHOENIX, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: All right, everybody. We'd like to welcome Rolex Ranking No. 13 Angela Stanford into the interview room. Angela, coming into this event having won at the last event, the HSBC Women's Champions, a very prestigious event and fifth career LPGA victory for you. Just talk a little bit about how you feel about your game right now and how it felt to be back in the winner's circle again in Singapore. ANGELA STANFORD: Well, it felt good. You know, I think it was three years in between, and it never gets old. And it was a lot of fun coming home and seeing everybody, and sometimes for me the most fun is talking to other people about it. And all the guys at shady oaks and all my family and friends, they love it so much, and that's a lot of fun for me. My game, I feel like my short game's getting better, and that's where I think I've struggled in the past. So to keep momentum going in a round you have to be able to get it up and down, and I haven't been able to do that in the past, so that really helped in Singapore. So the game feels good, and excited about this week. THE MODERATOR: When you go so long between victories, do you get to the point where you almost feel yourself pressing at times to try to just get that win, and what kind of pressure does it take off of you now having that victory and maybe feeling a little bit more comfortable? ANGELA STANFORD: You could probably ask me that same question in a couple of weeks at Kraft. I think you do press because it's almost like you know what it feels like to win and you know what it feels like to be there, and you're trying to make those things happen sometimes. You know, fortunately for me I've been blessed to not be injured, and I've been able to play. This is my 12th year. So you get to a point where you just kind of let go and just play, and I told myself coming into this year I'm going to get back to just having fun hitting the golf ball. And that's what happened in Singapore. It kind of started in Thailand and then carried over to Singapore. THE MODERATOR: Talking to everybody today, all the other golfers, this week is pretty special because we get to honor all of the Founders, and last year this event was all about charity. While we now have a purse and you actually get to play for money, you still are embracing that charity aspect. Can you talk a little bit about your pledge to donate? ANGELA STANFORD: Sure. You know, I decided to give half of what I make this year to my foundation. Last year my foundation received $30,000 from my finish here, and you know, for a foundation just getting off the ground, that's tremendous. And we had a board meeting in January and we're kind of thinking about the events coming up this year and kind of what we're looking at going forward, and it was kind of my first gut instinct was, you know, that was a special part of our foundation last year, and I'm not ‑‑ I want to do that again. You know, I want to be connected to this tournament in that way, because it is the concept of giving back and remembering that there's a bigger picture. THE MODERATOR: Can you talk just a little bit about your foundation and all the many things that you get to do through the foundation? ANGELA STANFORD: Yeah, you know, this year is going to be really cool because we are giving out our first round of scholarships, we're giving scholarships to kids who have had family members with cancer or have cancer themselves. So we're really ‑‑ you know, it's for anybody, but we're really kind of targeting that group of people that, you know, I grew up in a very middle class family, and my mom was diagnosed in '09 with breast cancer, and if that would have happened while I was in high school, you know, financially we would have been strapped, and so we're really trying to reach those people that don't qualify for some grants or scholarships, and we're just by seeing what cancer does to a family, we're just trying to help in a different area. THE MODERATOR: I know you are very busy off the course with your foundation and you've got a lot of other things going on off the course as well. And you're wearing a new sponsor that you have. Can you talk a little bit about Athena Water and what this partnership is going to come like? ANGELA STANFORD: Yeah. Athena Water is new this year and I'm very excited about it. All the proceeds go to finding a cure for breast cancer, and having my mom beat cancer, you know, it's pretty cool. You know, I just think that my family went into it not having any idea what was coming at us. And now I feel like I want to give back and I want to help those people that, you know, they just don't know what's going to happen, and I think the more knowledge you have and the more dollars you can raise to teach people and then to find a cure and all the research that goes with it, I mean it all helps. It feels really good because it just feels like a good fit. THE MODERATOR: Well, speaking of another fun thing that you get to be involved in this week, I helped corner you into doing something tonight, and we are going to the Rockies‑Diamondbacks game and you and a few of the other players will be singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. How excited are you to take part in this? ANGELA STANFORD: I'm kind of nervous because I'm only holding one mic and it's just me, and I don't want you to put me up to warming up in front of everybody because I have a bunch of people behind me tonight and the mic's going to be like this. So it's going to be a lot of fun, and I think a lot of people know that I'm a huge baseball fan, and it'll be fun. I've never done anything like this before. I mean I think I'm a good singer by myself, but I don't sing in public, so this is kind of getting out of my comfort zone, but it'll be fun. THE MODERATOR: It's one of us, I guess, a reminder of what the Founders all used to do when they had to go out and promote at baseball games, and I guess this week is kind of fun when you see everybody throwing out first pitches, going back into that grass‑roots efforts that we have to promote the LPGA. Any questions for Angela? Q. Last year in an introspective moment you talk about trying not to be so hard on yourself and you weren't so sure if you could do that or not. And it sounds like with this start this year that you're beyond that. And I'm wondering if there was a trigger point for you. I thought maybe it might have been the playoff last year, but it sounds like it was later than that. ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I think you get to a point in life that, you know, there are some good things happening off the golf course, with my foundation. My mom is as healthy as she's been in a while. You know, I just think you have these ebbs and flows to life, and I'm just in a really good place right now. And you know, there's so many things that I get to do with my foundation and Athena Water, and just all of a sudden you ‑‑ I mean it sounds weird, but you enjoy playing golf more. And I can't explain it. So going into this year, I took an extended break in the off season and just really tried to find out what was important, and realized that there's more to it than hitting this little golf ball around. So I think sometimes that helps. Perspective helps, and again, this is my twelfth year, and I don't know how much longer I'll do it. And you know, I hope for a certain date, but I'm to the point to where I want to enjoy it now. And that might have had something to do with winning in Singapore. Hope so. Q. Sounds like it. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions? Q. So what's more nerve‑wracking, throwing the pitch or singing at the baseball game? ANGELA STANFORD: I think throwing the pitch, because singing, from what I understand ‑‑ I forgot who was giving us this tip, like you start the song and then like the crowd kind of starts singing too and then you kind of put the mic down and everybody's singing, but when you're throwing the first pitch, it's you. So I think the first pitch is the toughest. Q. And who else is doing it with you? ANGELA STANFORD: Let's see. Me, Gerina Piller, Kristy McPherson, Jenny Gleason, Meredith Duncan, Kate Futcher, possibly Stacy Lewis. Stacy, you know, she wants to see how many people. So she's not confirmed yet. THE MODERATOR: We were trying to joke with them about how really the worst you sing take me out to the ball game, the better people seem to enjoy it. So you don't have to be pressured. ANGELA STANFORD: Buy a ticket tonight then. Q. And how much more relaxed are you about the rest of the year having the win under your belt already? ANGELA STANFORD: I think if anything I just have a little more confidence. You know, there's still that lingering thought of winning a major, and that's ‑‑ you know, you kind of go through the whole process again. It's like, you know, you want to win a tournament, but then the majors are ‑‑ it's the same thing. So you know, that's one of my ultimate goals. So as much as I say I'm going to try to not put a lot of pressure on myself and try to stay ‑‑ keep the perspective and stay patient, subconsciously when you want something so bad, you know, you can't always control what you're feeling. But I'm definitely more confident, and at least now ‑‑ you know, my caddie's been great. Again, I kind of feel like I'm in just one of those really good places that I was in '08 and into '09. And it's kind of cool that I've gotten to play this long and it's familiar, and that's the fun part about it. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for Angela? All right. Thank you very much and best of luck this week. ANGELA STANFORD: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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