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Dream on: 14-year-old makes LPGA cut in Texas

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.