Angela Stanford comes from behind to lead inaugural LPGA Founders Cup
Angela Stanford came back from a terrible double bogey plunge at the eight hole, to land an eagle on the ninth hole and toke the lead in the first round of the Ladies Professional Golfers Association (LPGA) Founders Cup being played at Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort and Spa. Stanford’s 8-iron shot from a fairway bunker, bounced several times on the green, struck the flag stick and miraculously dropped in. She never looked back after that. Stanford birdied the 10th and 13th and charged ahead with a short birdie-putt at the 15th. She is now 6-under for 66 and leading the first round of the charity LPGA tournament.
"After our first two events, I found that I was struggling mentally, and I just get down on myself really fast," Stanford said. "So after the double, I thought, `OK, I have a choice here. I can either stay down ... or go to the next hole and try to make it better.' Usually, you don't get results that quick in golf."
The inaugural LPGA Founders Cup, which was created in homage to the great 13 women golfers who founded the LPGA, will direct the purse of the tournament to different charities. Half of The $1 million will go to the LPGA Foundation and half of it will go to the designated choices of the top ten finishers.
Brittany Lincicome also had a brilliant day, when she birdied the first four holes of the opening day and ended up scoring a 67. "I don't even know what happened. It was just one after another and it wasn't like I was making 50-footers," said Lincicome. "I drove it well. You don't want to get in the rocks in the desert."
50-year-old Juli Inkster was at 68 along with five other contenders. She is aiming to be the oldest LPGA winner. Inkster, a Hall of Famer, also won the 2006 event at the Superstition Mountain here at Phoenix.
Although the weather was considerably cold and cloudy, there was however, no dearth of spectators who lined the fairways throughout the day. This is the first event of the Founders Cup that has been played in Phoenix. The LPGA was not able to schedule a tour in Phoenix last year due to the lack of sponsorships.
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