Angela Stanford, who won a major at 40, selected to captain 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup team
When the LPGA communications team asked Angela Stanford whether she could meet with the media on March 19 to discuss her Solheim Cup captaincy, she politely asked to reschedule. The day had already been reserved for good friend and fellow touring pro Kim Kaufman, who was undergoing her final round of chemotherapy back home in Texas.
Stanford has been on a mission to help 33-year-old Kaufman keep her hair by helping with an ice cap regimen that restricts blood flow and chemo treatment to the hair follicle cells. They'd get dry ice in the morning and then put the first cap on an hour before chemo, changing the cap every 25 minutes throughout the session and then for four additional hours afterward. The caps are kept anywhere from minus 32 degrees to minus 40 degrees.
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Stanford wasn't going to miss cap duty.
For those wondering what kind of captain Stanford will be, that anecdote paints an accurate picture.
'I'm a protector by nature,' said Stanford, who steps into the role after serving as an assistant caption in the past three Solheim Cups, first to Pat Hurst and then Stacy Lewis.
Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho of The United States team (standing) ride with Angela Stanford down the 18th fairway in the singles matches on the final day of the 2024 Solheim Cup at The Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 15, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia.
In those experiences, Stanford learned that she needed to be 'all in' as Solheim Cup captain, and, in recent years, Stanford hasn't been in a position to do that. Her beloved mother Nan died of cancer three years ago, and it took some time to get back to a good place both emotionally and physically.
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Last year, she retired from full-time golf on the LPGA after 23 seasons. The 47-year-old won seven times on tour, including the Evian Championship at age 40, and competed in 98 consecutive major championships from 2002 to 2024, a streak that's second only to Jack Nicklaus in major championship golf.
A six-time Solheim Cup player, the proud Texan earned the winning point for Team USA in 2015 when she defeated Suzann Pettersen, who was embroiled in controversy, 2-and-1 in Sunday singles.
Lewis praised Stanford's never-give-up mentality as a player, and said she was most helpful in her role as assistant when it came time to make the captain's picks.
'She was there to help me as a sounding board,' said Lewis, 'and push me in the right way.'
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While Stanford served as a stats guru for Lewis, she won't be quite as tied to the numbers as she leads a team of 12 Americans Sept. 11-13, 2026, at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
'I grew up in an era that stats weren't really that important,' said Stanford, 'so my gut and my instincts, you know, those things matter to me. If I have a gut feeling about something, that number better be pretty good to talk me out of it.'
Growing up, Stanford loved to play basketball in away gyms, and she relishes the idea of winning overseas, having been part of two of the three American teams that have done it in the past. The Americans hadn't won overseas since 1996 when Stanford played for Betsy King in 2007, and she appreciated the methodical, serious approach King took to the role.
That being said, Stanford hopes her team gets to see her fun side.
Angela Stanford a vice captain of The United States team walks with United States team members Cheyenne Knight (C) and Ally Ewing (R) prior to the The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 21, 2023 in Casares, Spain.
For the Europeans, 37-year-old Swede Anna Nordqvist will lead the home team in the Netherlands, and it isn't lost on Stanford what the two captains have in common.
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As Stanford grieved the loss of her mother, Nordqvist grieved the loss first of her marriage, followed by the sudden death of her ex-husband, Kevin McAlpine, at age 39.
'I find that kind of fascinating that you have two people that are captains that have walked a path of grief that they didn't want, they didn't ask for, some of the hardest stuff they've ever had to go through,' said Stanford.
'And so I think it at some point, for me, it's going to be pretty special to get to stand beside her and know that, you know, she's done everything she can as a human being just to put one foot in front of the other. She's done the work, and I've done the work, and now we get to be a part of spearheading an event that will hopefully help women's golf grow.'
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Angela Stanford selected to captain 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup team
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