HOUSTON — Angela Stanford has been around the LPGA Tour for quite a while. The 20-year pro is making her 21st start in the U.S. Open this week at Champions Golf Club, fresh off a win last week at the Volunteers of America Shootout just up the road in Dallas. At 43 years old, Stanford even called herself “old” as she prepares for another crack at claiming the national championship.
Being “old isn’t all bad, though. She might not be as full of energy as she was in her younger years, but there are few players in the field this week who can boast the kind of experience that Stanford can. There are 41 first-time U.S. Women’s Open participants who would love to have the institutional knowledge that Stanford has on this stage.
Sticking around this ling didn’t happen by accident. Stanford recalled two pieces of key advice that helped her elongate her career like she has. The first came from seven-time major winner Juli Inkster.
“I asked her early on, I’m like, ‘Juli, how do you stay out here so long? How do you do it? This is hard,'” Stanford explained. The answer was simple. “It’s all about your short game.”
Drive for show, putt for dough might be an overused trope in golf, but when legends of the game share that advice, you’d do well to listen.
“She was like, ‘You’re not going to hit it perfect all the time,'” she continued. “You have to figure out how to get it in the hole on those days that you don’t hit it good.”
The second advice that stuck with Stanford came from another legend, Nancy Lopez, and it had nothing to do with playing inside the ropes. Stanford noticed that Lopez was always bright and cheery to people, no matter how she played. So, Stanford asked her how she is always so nice even when she has a bad day on the course.
“It’s not their fault you had a bad day,” Lopez told her.
Stanford called it the best piece of advice she ever received.
“That was really cool,” Stanford said. “I’ve had a couple of times in my 20 years that I wish I could take back coming right off the golf course, but for the most part, that has kind of stuck with me. It’s not the fans’ fault, it’s not the media’s fault, it’s nobody’s fault that I just played really bad. That really helped hearing early in my career.”
