FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 5, 2006

Angela Stanford

DANA GRASSRHODE: Angela, you had a 67 today, so you're still doing well, sitting on top. Do you want to talk about your day today?

ANGELA STANFORD: You know, the thing that's really been good are my irons. I'm hitting it really close and I feel like I have my distances dialed in pretty well. I don't know, it's just been so much fun. It's great. You can't ask for anything more.

DANA GRASSRHODE: Let's go over your score card.

ANGELA STANFORD: No. 3, I hit a little hold 6 iron to about three feet.

4, a hold 9 iron to about three feet.

7, eagle, we were about 215 to the pin downwind and hit a 7 wood that went past the flag about 20 feet and made the putt coming back.

9, bogey, 3 putt. Sometimes when I really want to make a birdie, I hit it a little bit harder than I should, and I kind of just completely got out of the moment and really wanted to make that last one, really wanted to go to 14 and just hit it way too hard, hit the first putt way too hard.

DANA GRASSRHODE: What did you do on your approach shot to the green?

ANGELA STANFORD: 7 iron, I guess that would be about 20 feet.

11, we had like 110 to the pin and hit gap wedge to about three feet. Three feet seems to be right where I hit it all day.

14, I hit 9 iron. I think we had about 140 to that pin. Hit 9 iron to three or four feet again. 16 was about an 8 iron to three or four feet.

17, hit a nice 9 iron, just a hold 9 iron to 15 feet and again, really wanted to make that putt and just hit that first putt way too hard and missed it coming back.

Q. Yesterday you talked about the swing changes, you felt really good. Putting that together for two straight days, how much does that help your confidence?

ANGELA STANFORD: A ton. Just being able to hit a certain yardage and know to take a little off or go at it a little bit harder, that builds your confidence quite a bit. When you can hit a different shot with the same club it makes you feel good.

I think I felt like I was really in touch with, you know, with my distances and how hard I needed to swing at it. That's just a great feeling. Sometimes you're out there and you don't know how far the ball is going, especially when you make changes. In Atlanta two weeks ago, I was just air mailing greens. So they were starting to kick in; I was starting to land it about five yards farther. You could see how it was starting to kick in, some of the changes. This week I'm really in touch with how far the ball is going.

Q. You talked about going for the pin and being aggressive, even though you have a lead, you're not just sitting back, talk about that, your aggressive nature.

ANGELA STANFORD: Well, out here you have to be or you're going to get lapped.

You know, you've got Karrie Webb and Lorena, just to name a few, that are just on fire this year. So you can't afford to sit on a lead out here. You have to make birdies. I mean, these girls are good. These girls rock.

Q. How much can your experience in your lone victory wire to wire, how much can you draw on that as you head into the weekend here?

ANGELA STANFORD: I think quite a bit. That coupled with the three years in between that I haven't won; just knowing when to go for pins and when is a good par and when can I really go after it. I think that's going to help, just knowing that par is good enough sometimes, and not panicking. I think I panicked a little bit because I 3 putted 17 and 18 today, and that could have put me at I was at 11 under. If I just would have 2 putted those greens.

And I panicked a little bit on No. 1 tee and just blew it right. I think the faster I pull it together because you're going to make mistakes out there. The thing I've learned in just being out here is that you have to be patient and that you have to rebound faster. Those are the two things that are going to help hopefully this weekend.

Q. Looking back to 2003, you lost that U.S. Open playoff, how much of a carryover of confidence did you have from that? And did it ever really start wearing off, can you pinpoint where it wore off, and did you ever think: Now I've contended, I need to take my game to another level and change my swing so I can start winning majors?

ANGELA STANFORD: I think it started to wear off in 2004. The win and the second place finish carried me through Solheim, even throughout I thought I had won the U.S. Open the whole year, I mean, up until we were in November and the end of the year events and I'm actually there with Hilary, I thought I had won. And then they introduce her as U.S. Open Champion, and, "Oh, I didn't win." I think it carried me through 2003.

But the thing that I've learned is I think my expectations went up in 2004. I think I tried to do some things different, and I think it carried into 2005. I mean, I haven't done much since. Nobody else will say that but me, or maybe they will, I don't know, but I really haven't. I think I've put a lot of added pressure on myself, and I believe people say it's harder to win the second one; yeah, it is, because you know now. You know what it's like. So you just put that pressure on yourself to be perfect one week out of the year, and it's not going to happen.

Q. You talk about the competition, how much do you watch the leaderboard?

ANGELA STANFORD: You know, it's funny, weeks like this, I don't. Every other week, I do. Maybe there's something to that. I think you've got to keep an eye on it. It's not something that you want to get caught up in. I think I got a little bit caught up in it coming down 9. Because obviously the more strokes you can have on people out here, the better.

So, you know, that kind of worked against me because I was a little overly aggressive on the green there. But you've got to keep on it but not so much.

Q. How were the conditions, it seemed like after the rain stopped, the wind picked up, how much did that make the course different?

ANGELA STANFORD: It's still extremely wet. Still not much roll in the fairways. I thought when we made the turn going to No. 1 tee, the wind was coming the opposite not really opposite but it was in our face on 1, and it's usually either a little behind us or left to right on 1. So I knew that was going to make the front nine pretty tough today. If anything, that helps me because I thought, okay, I need to be patient, I need to make a lot of pars and just get it in the house.

So the wind coming from a different direction today did make it a little tougher. Any time that happens midway through a tournament, it makes it tougher.

Q. You're 12, Patricia is 11, Sophia is 10, that's a pretty healthy contingent under par just halfway through. Any concern they are going to throw some sucker pins out there tomorrow to make up for it?

ANGELA STANFORD: I expect it tomorrow, especially Sunday. Sundays are usually days they will put a few pins in areas that you're a sucker to go at them, yeah.

I don't know, I think that it's fun to watch. I think you've got to have those weeks where, you know, the players just tear up the golf course. It's funny think for the fans to watch. I think we can make it a little bit tougher. I think if we start playing the ball down, that might make a little bit of a difference. I don't know if there's more rain in the forecast or not.

End of FastScripts.