Angela Stanford has already warned fans that she is going to be emotional this week at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei.

The 46-year-old is playing in what is expected to be her final event as a full-time LPGA Tour member this week in Oahu, Hawaii, a bittersweet moment for the long-standing stalwart who first joined the organization in 2001.

Stanford first announced her retirement intentions on April 24 via Instagram, sharing that after her streak of consecutive majors played ended at 98 after she didn’t qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open and wasn’t granted a special exemption to compete at Lancaster Country Club that she was planning to step away from the LPGA at the end of the 2024 season.

“I’ve been told I should smile more on the course,” the end of Stanford’s post read. “I’m going to try that the rest of the year. Play some of my favorites and call it a career on this Tour.”

It has been a prolonged farewell tour for Stanford, one that has seen her cherish her final moments alongside her fellow LPGA Tour athletes and be recognized by some of the events that have meant so much to her career, including during her final major appearance at The Amundi Evian Championship, site of Stanford’s only major victory. Now, she will have one last ride in Hawaii, enjoying her final walk in the throes of paradise as she says so long to her life on the LPGA Tour.

“It's been good for me, I think, being able to express my gratitude along the way,” said Stanford. “I knew I didn't want to be that person that just retired and never said anything, but I also knew I maybe wasn't the person that needed the grand see-you-later kind of exit. For me, it was important to show people how thankful I've been.”

Stanford has been vlogging her week at the LOTTE Championship on Instagram, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at what her last official tournament on Tour has been like. But doing so has been about more than just posting content for Stanford. She has used many of her videos as an opportunity to say thank you to those who have impacted her career and share some of what she is feeling as her time as a professional athlete is beginning to wrap up.

“I needed to kind of get it out there and just let people know how much it's meant to me,” Stanford said. “I wasn't highly recruited. I wasn't highly touted. I was kind of always overlooked and always the underdog. But that didn't mean that it didn't matter. Like all of this has mattered to me.”

Even though Stanford is considering this to be her last time competing on the LPGA Tour as a full-time member, there is still a possibility that she could play her way into The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican the following week. And the always-competitive Texan didn’t come to the LOTTE Championship just to participate. Stanford is here to win and is feeling extra motivated to play well because of one of her former LPGA Tour colleagues who is rooting her on back home.

“I think it's a gift. I think it's God's way of saying, ‘This is what you've always wanted. This is your passion. Chase something,’” Stanford said. “It's also for my friend Kristy McPherson. She is the main reason I'm really, really trying. I asked her a long time ago to caddie for me, and then I signed up for Pelican, and I was a reserve. I was like, ‘What?' because I don't understand how the priority list works.

“So, when I asked Kristy to caddie for me, I mean, she was my best friend out here. I thought it would be a cool ending for her to get to caddie for me. I need to play well.”

But even if this is her final tournament, Stanford can close this chapter of her life knowing that she gave it her all. Few athletes will ever win seven LPGA Tour titles, and even fewer will capture a major championship. She is on an elite list of players who have represented their country at the Solheim Cup, and not many of that group have been asked to serve as an assistant captain and been tasked with inspiring the next generation of American Solheim Cuppers in that role.

Stanford has done everything she set out to do and can take solace in that fact with every step she takes this week at Hoakalei Country Club, savoring these final moments set against an incredible backdrop in Hawaii, a perfect place to reflect on all that she has accomplished over her last two-plus decades on the LPGA Tour.

“At first, I was kind of like, dang. I'm going to have a friend come over, but none of my friends could really make it,” said Stanford about finishing her career at the LOTTE Championship. “But the closer and closer it got, the more right it felt. My mother obviously loved it here. It is paradise. It has a way of making you forget about everything.

“I feel really lucky if this is it.”

Angela Stanford Likely Making Final LPGA Tour Start at LOTTE Championship

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