Angela Stanford digs deep to reach 100 consecutive major starts

Angela Stanford spent most of 2023 trying to find answers. As her work with Golf Channel ramped up, the now part-time LPGA player would often find a place to practice after the broadcast. On one such occasion, she was at a golf course in Midland, Michigan, hitting yellow-striped golf balls that were mostly out of dirt, mixed with a few clumps of grass.

It was there that Stanford realized – she wasn’t done.

“I think it just hit me that everything that happened up to that point, I let it shake my confidence,” she said.

And so, Stanford put her TV gig to the side and rededicated herself to a goal she set a few years back to become the first LPGA player to reach 100 consecutive major championship appearances. Stanford, 46, owns the current longest streak at 97. It started at the 2002 McDonald’s LPGA Championship and extends through last year’s AIG Women’s British Open. During that stretch of 97 majors, Stanford made 66 cuts and posted 14 top-10 finishes.

Cristie Kerr’s major streak ended at 92 (with 76 made cuts). The next best in LPGA history is Betsy King with 73 (67 made cuts).

“That’s a lot of perseverance,” said LPGA Hall and World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, “and a lot of good golf for a very long time.”

Angela Stanford a vice captain of The United States team walks with Rose Zhang during final practice prior to the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 21, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

The only male player dating back to 1950 who has played in 100 consecutive majors is Jack Nicklaus, who owns the record for men’s golf with 146 consecutive major starts (1962 Masters Tournament through 1998 U.S. Open). Only 16 players even played in 100-plus majors total in that span.

The longest active majors streak in men’s golf belongs to Adam Scott at 89. The Aussie’s streak began at the 2001 British Open Championship.

The LPGA major schedule has been extremely lean at times, with long stretches in the 60s and 70s with only two majors. In 2013, the LPGA added a fifth major, the Amundi Evian Championship, which Stanford won in 2019 at age 40.

Stanford’s first LPGA title came in 2003 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, and her most recent came in 2020 at the Volunteers of America Classic, not far from her Texas home.

A seven-time winner on the LPGA, Stanford’s rededicated offseason included two-a-days as much as possible. She loved every minute of the grind. Her quest to reach 100,…