Amateur Karah Sanford values more than the playing advice she is getting from Stacy Lewis at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout this week.
Sanford shot a 2-under-par 69 Friday to make the cut in her first LPGA event. She’s 14.
Sanford, who was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was 8, made a special connection with Lewis this week. Lewis, the two-time LPGA Rolex Player of the Year, was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was 11 and grew up wearing a back brace for seven years before undergoing spinal surgery.
Sanford met and spoke to Lewis during Tuesday’s pro-am party.
“We actually kind of shared some stories,” Lewis told the Dallas Morning News. “I think our doctors have talked to each other.”
Sanford, of Escondido, Calif., made a name for herself nationally two years ago as a finalist in the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National. She earned her way into the Texas Shootout in a special amateur qualifier for college and high school players. She was one of four amateurs to advance from a field of 100 players in the qualifier.
“It would be so fun to go into the weekend playing with more pros and getting more experience,” Sanford said after Friday’s round.