Off to a good start in 2014

One day soon, Tracy Stanford hopes her near association with notable figures will develop more deeply as her golf game improves.

The 26-year-old Epson Tour member has gotten off to a good start this season thanks to a tie for fifth in late March at the IOA Golf Classic. The Texas Tech graduate shot a first-round 67 en route to the second-best finish (T4 at the 2012 Vidalia Championship) of her five-year Epson Tour career.

With more performances like that, she could come closer to the myriad of famous ties to her hometown, Midland, Texas. First off, her high school, Midland Lee, was an integral part of the movie, “Friday Night Lights,” about the culture of high school football in West Texas. The Bush family, including former United States Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, has maintained residences in the Midland area for years, even though Stanford hasn’t met them. World Golf Hall of Fame member Judy Rankin is from Midland and once mentioned Stanford and the Midland association during the broadcast of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. Stanford has yet to talk with Rankin even though her grandfather, Albert Stanford, knows Rankin and prodded Tracy’s mention with a phone call to Rankin before the Women’s Open. Additionally, she looks up to another Texan, Austin native Drew Brees, the quarterback for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.

Then there’s the similarity in names with LPGA player Angela Stanford. Both are Texans – Angela is from Fort Worth – and the question often comes if Tracy is Angela’s younger sister. But there’s no relation.

“I get that once a week, from other players, fans, volunteers,” said Stanford, now an Orlando, Fla., resident. “When I played in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, I had the locker next to hers. But I was right out of school at Texas Tech, and I guess I was too scared to say anything to her.”

The reserved nature is not who Stanford is today. She calls herself adventurous, as she loves to participate in all types of outdoor activities.

“I like trying new things,” Stanford said. “When we played in Arizona earlier this year, I went hiking. My family is really active, so I developed a love for skiing and wake boarding. Sometimes when I’m on the road, I like to just drive around and find interesting things to do.”

Yet, her golf game is of a more conservative nature. She relies on consistent driving and good wedge play to be successful and is working harder on her putting and short game to make more birdies this season. That consistency carries over to the entire season where Stanford has a goal of contending on a weekly basis and to avoid the high and lows of one good finish and then missed cuts that follow. That could result in her first LPGA card for 2015 with a top-10 finish on the money list.

“I find motivation in everyday life,” Stanford said. “I went back to Lubbock, Texas (home of Texas Tech) for the spring football game recently. I just thought about who I am now verses who I was then. I could see how I have progressed. I’m getting better each tournament. That allows me to think about the places where I want to live and visit and can afford to in my career.”

And toward the people she knows about and would like to meet.

This week is all about Tracy Stanford

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