Some things are better with age. But not your putting stroke, as anyone who hits 40 and the millionth career putt can attest. And not speed or strength, as each new workout gets harder. However, maturity of mind brings plenty of rewards, not the least of which is perspective.
That is what Angela Stanford has as she prepares to defend her lone major championship at the Evian Resort Course. She is mellower now at 41, more appreciative of the accomplishments she’s had in her career and the struggles she’s had to overcome. And while the win last year came late and quick – she was convinced that she might be in a three- or four-way playoff; “Nobody expected Amy (Olson) to do what she did,” Stanford said of the leader’s double-bogey on the final hole – the year since has given Stanford plenty of time to reflect.
A year ago, in the last iteration of the Evian Championship’s September date, Stanford believed she had blown her chance. After rebounding from a double-bogey at the 16th with a birdie at 17, the then 40-year-old hit what she thought was a perfect putt for birdie on the difficult 18th. But the ball stayed above ground. She turned away from the photographers behind the green because, in her words, “I thought I was going to cry.”
Stanford pulled herself together. She had finished at 12-under. All she could do was wait, another difficult realization that only age and perspective soothes.
“You know, people say majors define careers,” she said. “I was at a point where I was okay personally without it. That was hard. Took me years to get to that point. But I just felt like I needed one as affirmation for myself. I always believed I could win one. When you don't year after year after year you do kind of start to wonder.”
That wondering extended all the way back to 2003, the year Stanford lost the U.S. Women’s Open by one shot in an 18-hole playoff to Hilary Lunke. That loss hurt, especially since Stanford played so well. But as a 25-year-old, she was certain that more opportunities would come; that she would be in the major-championship mix sooner rather than later and that at least one or two times, the putts would fall.
“If you would have said not a chance (that I’d have a major) for 15 more years I would've said, ‘You're crazy,’” Stanford said on Wednesday afternoon in Evian-les-Bains. But maybe it's been a blessing that it happened late because I've been able to enjoy it a lot. I tell you, I've learned a lot about myself. A lot in the recent months. I would show up to majors and I was just mad; mad that I didn't have one; mad that I was trying and mad that I couldn't figure it out.”
Before flying to France, Stanford reflected on that 2003 loss and what it meant 15 years later. “I’ve always said that I don’t know how my career would have gone if I’d won the open in 2003,” she said. “Because I thought Hilary and I were a lot alike. I had a long way to go. I was a good player but I was far from where I needed to be. And I think Hilary was in the same boat. Watching her win and seeing everything that happened afterward, I couldn’t help but think, would that have been me?
“People ask me, would you have traded anything for that U.S. Open,” Stanford said. “My answer is always, no. To begin with, I’m a Christian and that wasn’t God’s plan for me. Second of all, I’ve had this nice, long career, 19 years, and God continues to bless me in this arena. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I had to trust His timeline. And, ultimately, I had to be okay with the idea of never winning a major.
“It’s hard for competitors to say that; to say you can’t accomplish something. But I had to reconcile myself to the idea that this might not be in the cards for me.”
Those were some of the reflections she had as she waited for the final two groups to finish a year ago. At first she thought Olson might bogey 18 – one of the most difficult par-4s of the entire season and a hole that has, this year, been restored to its original design as a par-5 – which would have meant a two-way playoff. Then her caddie informed her that Mo Martin and Sei Young Kim both had birdie putts on 18 to tie as well. “I was mentally getting ready for a playoff,” she said.
Ten minutes later, just like that, 15 years of frustration ended. Stanford was a major champion. Her victory was punctuated by one of the most iconic photos of the year as she stood on the 18th green, holding the trophy, draped in the American flag. She looked to the heavens, a mixture of joy, relief, and, yes, perspective on her face.
Now, a year later, she is reminded of all those emotions. Her face is on all the promotional materials, the banners and the hotel key cards.
“It's weird because I'm not a face that they're going to throw up on signs and billboards and key cards,” she said with a smile. “So it's a little different, but it's just been reminder after reminder (of what happened a year ago). For somebody who is having a tough year, that kind of keeps hitting you. ‘Okay, something good did happen. Something good can happen.’ So, yeah, it's been fun.”)
)
)
)
