Former LPGA Tour player Angela Stanford has been named as the recipient of the Golf Writers Association of America’s prestigious 2022 Charlie Bartlett Award, which is given to given to a playing professional for ‘unselfish contributions to the betterment of society’.
A seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour during a 20-year career, including the 2018 Evian Championship, Stanford, 45, represented the US six times in the Solheim Cup, and served as captain in 2021. She will be a vice-captain under Stacy Lewis at this year’s matches in Spain. In 2012, she established the Angela Stanford Foundation, which awards college scholarships to young people in Texas whose lives have been impacted by cancer. The foundation, which was inspired by the death of Angela’s mother from breast cancer several years earlier, has awarded over $465,000 in scholarships, with another class to be awarded this spring.
“It’s been rewarding watching the kids graduate and become a part of society,” Stanford said. “I believe the entire purpose of this has been to give people hope. My dream is that someday when those young people graduate, they can say, ‘Somebody helped me. Now I want to give back. I’m going to help somebody else.
“I’m incredibly honored to receive the Charlie Bartlett Award,” Stanford added. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent our scholarship recipients, board members and the community of individuals who continue to support all the families affected by cancer. I have always wanted to give back to my community. When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, our mission became very clear. I’ve been amazed at the strength our scholarship recipients show in living a life affected by cancer. My mom lived with purpose, and I hope the Angela Stanford Foundation will continue to encourage others to find that purpose in their lives.”
Other award winners to be honoured at the 2022 Golf Writers Association of America Awards are: Scottie Scheffler (2022 Male Player of the Year); Lydia Ko (Female Player of the Year); Steven Alker (Senior Player of the Year); Bob Ford (Richardson Award for contributions to golf); Peter Jacobsen (ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award, for cooperation with the media); Steve Stricker (Ben Hogan Award, active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness); and golf writer Ron Green Jr (PGA of America Lifetime Achievement in Journalism).
The GWAA award winners will be presented with their awards at the 49th ISPS GWAA Dinner, to be held at Columbia County Performing Arts Center in Evans, Georgia, on April 5.