Stanford balancing thoughts of golf and mom as she tries to win Open

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) -- Angela Stanford has more on her mind than just golf at the U.S. Women's Open.

In addition to trying to tame the tough Saucon Valley Country Club Old Course and improve on her career-best second-place Women's Open finish of 2003, Stanford is thinking of her mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Stanford took some time off from the tour to deal with her personal business, but isn't sure she took enough time off.

"Everything's fairly new, so we kind of went through the couple of weeks that were the hardest weeks of finding out and then realizing what's going to happen and how it changes your life," Stanford said.

Stanford is in the midst of a solid season, leading the LPGA in top-10 finishes with six in 11 events. She leads the tour in rounds under par, ranks fourth in scoring and is seventh on the money list with more than $630,000.

Suddenly, golf has become a struggle.

"I need to learn how to mentally be in the present right now," she said. "If I can conquer that this week, I think I'll be OK."

She took a week off after the McDonald's LPGA Championship and returned last week because, she said, her mother basically kicked her out. It was a difficult week.

"I had a tough time last week, so maybe it is just an adjustment," she said. "I'm not used to having to think about something like this."

Stanford said her mother never follows her on the course because she gets too nervous. Instead, she sits at a computer and watches live scoring."

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