Angela Stanford claims maiden major at Evian Championship

Angela Stanford snatched major victory during a dramatic Evian Championship which saw overnight leader Amy Olson double bogey the last to lose by a single shot

Stanford, who had started the day five shots behind Olson, carded a final round three-under 68 to finish one shot clear of fellow American’s Olson, Austin Ernst, Mo Martin and South Korea’s Sei Young Kim. 

For Stanford the win was a surprise. An eagle on the 15th hole pushed her in to a share of the lead, and when she saw her name at the top of the leaderboard on the par-three 16th, she couldn’t hold her composure.

“I freaked out,” Stanford said. “The very next swing was the worst of the golf tournament.”

A double bogey dropped her back to 11-under-par, and despite a bounce-back birdie on the next, a par on the 18th left Stanform at 12-under-par, and the tournament firmly in Olson’s hands. 

With one hole to play Olson was ahead by one, only to need two shots to get out of the rough before she three-putted for a closing double-bogey to hand Stanford her first major victory on her 76th start. 

Asked to summarise her emotions, Stanford was overwhelmed.

“I can’t,” she said. “I have no idea what just happened.

“I’m grateful. And so happy for everybody at home, everybody that’s all cheered for me and never gave up on me. I mean, God is funny. He catches you off guard just when you think that maybe you’re done. It’s amazing.

“I mean, I don’t think — I couldn’t have asked for it any other way. It’s not my plan, so it’s pretty cool.”

For Stanford, who came close to claiming the 2003 US Women’s Open title but lost in a playoff, it was a win that she felt might never come. 

“You know, I remember my first time being in contention was in 2003 at the Open. I was in a playoff. I didn’t know at the time how close I was because it was only my third year and I had know idea what I was doing, to be perfectly honest.

“As the years go on and you have all the near misses you think, Wow, am I ever going to get that close again? I had that moment on 16 tee today. Okay, you know, here you are again. This is as close as you’ve been in I don’t know how long. So now what? We saw what happened.

“So, you know, like I said, I’ve always believed that God has a plan. That doesn’t mean I haven’t doubted Him, doesn’t mean I haven’t doubted that plan. But deep down I was with Him one way or the other.

“I was prepared to retire and not be a major champion. That was okay, because it was His plan. Like I said, He has a sense of humor.”

Asked if there was any point during the day she thought she might win, Stanford confessed it wasn’t until the very last moment. 

“I actually never felt close until 16 tee because I knew Amy was playing very well. You know, to do that all week and to play at a high level at a major all week is very difficult. She played some amazing golf this week. So I never felt close at all. I didn’t know if I could catch her. I had 15 in mind, and then I saw her drop to 13. I thought, Well, if I can get to 14…

“Then I thought well — you know, so you never really know. Honestly, I never thought I was close.

But by the time Olson had reached the final hole, things began to change…

“I kept asking my caddie — well, when I found out Amy had about 40 feet on that green for par I thought, There is a chance maybe. Because if you’re putting up that ridge it’s a hard putt. You don’t know how hard to hit it and it’s the end of the day.

“Then when my caddie told me she was past the hole I thought, It breaks a lot and she was going to have to kind of hit it. And in those moments, I mean, I was thinking that over my putt on 18. You’re shaking so much that it’s hard to hit something hard.

“I just wouldn’t let myself go there because I was already crying anyway”

And as for Amy Olson, who carded her best ever finish in a major, the feelings were mostly positive despsite losing on the final hole. 

“I don’t think I felt the roller coaster that maybe people watching did,” Olson said. “Yeah, obviously disappointed to finish the way I did, but honestly I hit every shot, I committed to every shot, I did everything I could, and double bogeys happen.

“I honestly had no idea where I was (on the leaderboard) until I was in the rough and kind of needed to make the decision to go for it or not. I asked Nathan, Where am I at? He said I was ahead by one, so I really felt like I needed to try to get it on the green there.

“I hit an awesome cut 8-iron; landed it right where I needed to be. That was a great shot. I was aggressive with my putt; a little too aggressive obviously. Obviously it’s really — it’s disappointing to finish like that, but I had a great week. I have so many positive things to take away from it.

“I’m very pleased. This is my best finish I believe in a major, so that’s always a positive.”