As Angela Stanford’s putt trickled towards the hole, she couldn’t help but smile. Her 20-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole of the Lotte Championship on Saturday tracked to the cup, but slowed its roll, ending up two feet shy.

Had her ball fallen in, Stanford would have earned her way into next week’s Pelican Championship and put off any celebrations of her retirement. Instead, the 46-year-old saw her 24-year LPGA career end at least as he wanted: She fought to the end.

“I kind of told myself going in, I just kind of want to be me again,” Stanford said. “And when I made the turn on the back nine, I knew I probably needed a birdie, especially after the bogey on 12. I’ve just always kind of been a fighter, so let’s just finish it the way we’ve been going all along.”

The veteran teed it up on Oahu, at Hoakalei Country Club, knowing the week was a likely career finale. It would be fitting, considering her late mother Nam’s love for the islands.

Stanford stood at 147th on the CME points list entering the Lotte, needing to get into the top 120 of players competing in the Pelican Championship field. The Texan headed to her final hole of the second round one shot off the cut line, but in dramatic fashion produced an eagle to guarantee she’d play two more days.

Closing 69-71, Stanford finished at five under for a T-26 result and rose to 137th in CME points. There is still a very slight possibility that Stanford could get into the Pelican because of eligible players in the top 120 not committing, but as of Saturday night, the lowest-ranked player who was assured to get in stood at 134th.

Angela Stanford receives a farewell cake after she played her last LPGA round.

Maddie Meyer

The retirement ceremonies began before she could sign her card, with Stanford greeted by leis and a cake with “We will miss you” written on top of it. The emotions didn’t pour out of Stanford until she got into the scoring tent and realized she had delivered one last signature effort in her 537th career start.

“Throughout my career my iron play was what I relied on, so that kind of made me get teary-eyed, because it’s awesome to play the last nine holes and hit every green,” Stanford said. “Just kind of felt like me, so it was good.”

Stanford concludes her career with seven LPGA victories. Her lone major came at 40 years old in the 2018 Evian Championship, and her last title came in her home state at the 2020 Volunteers of America Classic. But her lasting legacy comes from her longevity, including a record 98 consecutive starts in majors from the 2002 McDonald’s LPGA Championship through this year’s Chevron Championship. It is a run unlikely to be matched in the current LPGA era as players are more often retiring in their 30s than 40s.

Even as she steps away from playing, Stanford will likely still be around the tour. She worked for Golf Channel as a commentator in 2023, stepping away this season to pursue one final year on the LPGA, and she spoke of the importance of telling players stories in her final post-round interview. The four-time Solheim Cup assistant captain is a strong candidate for becoming a future captain.

When Stanford was asked what she hoped her playing legacy would be, her answer was simple, to the point, and rang true from her nearly quarter-century time on the LPGA.

“I hope my legacy would be that I was one of the good ones,” Stanford said. “I was one that loved the tour and made it better.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com