Cristie Kerr

Cristie Kerr

Kerr at the 2009 Women's British Open
Personal information
Born October 12, 1977 (1977-10-12) (age 34)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Nationality  United States
Residence Scottsdale, Arizona
Spouse Erik Stevens (m. 2006)
Career
Turned professional 1996
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour (joined 1997)
Former tour(s) Futures Tour (1996)
Players West Tour (1996)
Professional wins 18
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour 14
Futures Tour 1
Other 3
Best results in LPGA Major Championships
(Wins: 2)
Kraft Nabisco C'ship T2: 2009
LPGA Championship Won: 2010
U.S. Women's Open Won: 2007
du Maurier Classic T17: 1999
Women's British Open T2: 2006
Achievements and awards
LPGA Komen Award 2006

Cristie Kerr (born October 12, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She has 14 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $13 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings for three time periods in 2010.

Contents

Amateur career

Kerr was born in Miami, Florida, and started playing golf at the age of eight. She had a very successful amateur career, winning the 1994 Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship[1] and the 1995 Women's Western Amateur. She was the 1995 American Junior Golf Association Junior Player of the Year.[2] In 1996 she played in the Curtis Cup[3][4] and was the low amateur at the U.S. Women's Open. She graduated from Miami Sunset High School in West Kendall, Florida.[5]

Professional career

Kerr's first win in a professional tournament came in April 1995 in the Ironwood FUTURES Classic on the Futures Tour, which she played while still an amateur.[6] [7]

She turned professional in 1996 at age 18 after graduating from high school, playing on both the Futures Tour and Players West Tour. In October 1996, she tied for sixth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to gain exempt status for 1997.[8] Her LPGA career started fairly slowly; she broke into the top fifty on the money list in her third season in 1999, but did not win until her sixth season. In 2002 she won her first LPGA event at the Longs Drugs Challenge in California. By 2004 she was one of the leading players on the tour, with three tournament victories, and a fifth place finish on the money list. She won two tournaments in 2005 and moved up to third on the money list. She tied for second at the 2000 U.S. Women's Open, matched by her performance in the 2006 Women's British Open. Her first win of 2006 came at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship where she posted a tournament-record score of 19 under par. In 2006, she was the only American to win more than one event on the LPGA Tour, winning three times. She won the 2007 U.S. Women's Open, her first major championship. She was also a member of the United States Solheim Cup team in 2002,[9] 2003,[10] and 2005.[11]

The hallmarks of Kerr's game are putting; she finished in the top five on the LPGA Tour in putts/greens hit in 2005 and 2006 and iron play. She was fifth in greens-in-regulation in 2005. In 2005, Kerr finished in the top 10 in half of the tournaments she entered, and ranked second in the LPGA in scoring average, trailing only Annika Sörenstam.

In 2010, Kerr won two of the first 10 tournaments on the LPGA Tour, including the LPGA Championship, which she won by a record-breaking 12-stroke margin over the second-place finisher Song-Hee Kim. As a result of this finish, she went to the top of the Women's World Golf Rankings on June 28, 2010.[12] Kerr held the position for three weeks before Ai Miyazato again regained the top ranking by a margin of 0.0006 average points.[13]

Breast cancer activist

Kerr is actively involved in fundraising for breast cancer research.

The LPGA and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation awarded Kerr the 2006 LPGA Komen Award[14] due to her dedication to find a cure for breast cancer through the foundation that she founded called Birdies for Breast Cancer. Kerr donates $50 per birdie. As of August 2009 she has raised over $750,000 through donations and an annual charity event.[15] Kerr created the foundation in honor of her mother, Linda, who has been her inspiration. The foundation was created in 2003, the year that her mother Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer.[14] Kerr also founded Curvature Wines, which helps to raise money for breast cancer charities. All Trump resorts currently carry the 2006 cabernet sauvignon under the Curvature Wines label.[16]

Kerr is 5' 3" (1.60 m) in height and now weighs 125 pounds (8 stone 13 pounds; 57 kg), but in 1999 she weighed 175 pounds (79 kg), a weight that caused her to have back spasms. Her parents, who are divorced, are both diabetics, and her mother had a heart attack when Kerr was in the ninth grade. After her weight had peaked, Kerr began exercising regularly and went on a diet. By 2002, she had lost 50 pounds (23 kg).[17]

Personal life and off-course activities

Kerr made an appearance on an episode of the third season of Donald Trump's television series The Apprentice in 2005. In 2006, Kerr married businessman Erik Stevens. Kerr and Stevens maintain a residence in Scottsdale, Arizona. One of her sponsors is Mutual of Omaha, which donates money to her breast cancer research foundation every time she places third or better.[18]

Professional wins (18)

LPGA Tour wins (14)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 Apr 21, 2002 Longs Drugs Challenge 66–72–67–75=280 -8 1 stroke Hee-Won Han 135,000
2 Apr 17, 2004 LPGA Takefuji Classic 69–67–73=209 -7 Playoff Seol-An Jeon 165,000
3 Jun 20, 2004 ShopRite LPGA Classic 66–68–68=202 -11 1 stroke Paula Creamer (a)
Giulia Sergas
195,000
4 Sep 5, 2004 State Farm Classic 69–63–63–69=264 -24 1 stroke Christina Kim 180,000
5 May 8, 2005 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill 68–68–68–72=276 -8 5 strokes Jill McGill 330,000
6 Aug 28, 2005 Wendy's Championship for Children 68–67–66–69=270 -18 1 stroke Paula Creamer
Annika Sörenstam
165,000
7 May 7, 2006 Franklin American Mortgage Championship 67–69–66–67=269 -19 2 strokes Angela Stanford
Lorena Ochoa
Pat Hurst
165,000
8 Aug 13, 2006 CN Canadian Women's Open 67–70–74–65=276 -12 1 stroke Angela Stanford 255,000
9 Sep 10, 2006 John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic 70–61–68=199 -14 1 stroke Annika Sörenstam 150,000
10 Jul 1, 2007 U.S. Women's Open 71–72–66–70=279 -5 2 strokes Lorena Ochoa
Angela Park
560,000
11 Aug 24, 2008 Safeway Classic 71–67–65=203 -13 Playoff Helen Alfredsson
Sophie Gustafson
255,000
12 May 10, 2009 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill 69–63–66–70=268 -16 2 strokes In-Kyung Kim 330,000
13 Jun 13, 2010 LPGA State Farm Classic 67–67–63–69=266 -22 1 stroke Anna Nordqvist
Na Yeon Choi
255,000
14 Jun 27, 2010 LPGA Championship 68–66–69–66=269 -19 12 strokes Song-Hee Kim 337,500

LPGA Tour playoff record (2-2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2004 LPGA Takefuji Classic Seol-An Jeon Won with par on seventh extra hole
2 2004 ADT Championship Annika Sörenstam Lost to bogey on first extra hole
3 2008 Safeway Classic Helen Alfredsson, Sophie Gustafson Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2008 Navistar LPGA Classic Candie Kung
Lorena Ochoa
Ochoa won with par on second extra hole
Kerr eliminated with par on first hole

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Futures Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Apr 3, 1995 Ironwood Futures Classic -6 (71-67=138) 3 strokes Stephanie Comstock[6]

Other wins (3)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year Championship Winning Score Margin Runner(s)-up
2007 U.S. Women's Open −5 (71–72–66–70=279) 2 strokes Lorena Ochoa
Angela Park
2010 LPGA Championship −19 (68–66–69–66=269) 12 strokes Song-Hee Kim

Results timeline

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Kraft Nabisco Championship DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP T35
LPGA Championship DNP DNP CUT CUT T5 WD
U.S. Women's Open CUT T36LA DNP 60 CUT T2
du Maurier Classic DNP DNP CUT T54 T17 CUT
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Kraft Nabisco Championship T66 T3 T11 T5 T3 T35 T20 T21 T2 T5 CUT
LPGA Championship CUT T41 T34 T17 T33 T5 T18 T10 T31 1 T3
U.S. Women's Open T4 T32 T13 T27 T10 T28 1 T13 T3 T17 3
Women's British Open ^ CUT T29 T14 T11 T5 T2 T33 6 T8 T5 T14

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
LA = Low Amateur
"T" = tied
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments
played
Cuts
made
Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish
Earnings
($)
Money
list rank
Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
1997 27 14 0 0 0 0 T15 49,058 112 73.44
1998 26 17 0 0 0 1 T4 88,613 74 72.89
1999 23 16 0 0 0 3 T5 177,978 47 72.09
2000 24 23 0 2 1 8 T2 530,751 15 71.94
2001 23 18 0 0 2 5 3 373,947 28 72.26
2002 26 22 1 1 3 8 1 685,393 12 71.47
2003 23 21 0 2 2 8 T2 696,097 13 70.69
2004 24 22 3 2 0 11 1 1,189,990 5 70.33 4
2005 22 20 2 2 4 11 1 1,360,941 3 70.86 2
2006 26 26 3 3 0 19 1 1,578,362 5 70.07 3
2007 22 19 1 0 1 6 1 1,098,921 6 71.88 17
2008 26 26 1 1 0 11 1 1,108,839 10 70.88 5
2009 25 25 1 1 2 13 1 1,519,722 2 70.28 3
2010 21 21 2 2 2 13 1 1,601,552 3 69.95 2
2011 22 20 0 3 3 12 2 1,470,979 2 70.71 3

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Solheim Cup record

Year Total
Matches
Total
W-L-H
Singles
W-L-H
Foursomes
W-L-H
Fourballs
W-L-H
Points
Won
Points
%
Career 25 11–11–3 1–4–1 3–3–2 7–4–0 12.5 50.0
2002 4 1–3–0 0–1–0 lost to S. Gustafson 3&2 0–1–0 lost w/ M. Redman 4&3 1–1–0 won w/ R. Jones 1 up,
lost w/ R. Jones 1 up
1.0 25.0
2003 4 3–1–0 1–0–0 def. S. Pettersen 1 up 1–1–0 lost w/ K. Kuehne 3&1,
won w/ K. Kuehne 2&1
1–0–0 won w/ K. Kuehne 2&1 3.0 75.0
2005 4 2–2–0 0–1–0 lost to G. Nocera 2&1 0–1–0 lost w/ N. Gulbis 2&1 2–0–0 won w/ N. Gulbis 2&1,
won w/ P. Creamer 1 up
2.0 50.0
2007 4 1–2–1 0–1–0 lost to L. Wessberg 1 up 0–0–1 halved w/ P. Hurst 1–1–0 won w/ N. Castrale 3&2,
lost w/ M. Presel 3&2
1.5 37.5
2009 4 2–1–1 0–0–1 halved w/ M. Hjorth 1–0–0 won w/ M. Wie 1 up 1–1–0 won w/ P. Creamer 1 up,
lost w/ N. Castrale 1 up
2.5 62.5
2011 5 2–2–1 0–1–0 lost to K. Stupples 10&81 1–0–1 won w/ M. Wie 2&1,
halved w/ P. Creamer
1–1–0 lost w/ M. Wie 2 down,
won w/ M. Pressel 1 up
2.5 50

1Kerr conceded the match at the start because of injury; Solheim Cup rules categorized this as a 10 and 8 loss.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Past Champions". Junior Orange Bowl. Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061102003530/http://www.jrorangebowl.com/Events-index-id-40-g_id-11.html. Retrieved April 30, 2007. 
  2. ^ "All-Time Rolex Junior Players of the Year". American Junior Golf Association. http://www.ajga.org/Rankings/playersoftheyear.asp. Retrieved April 4, 2007. 
  3. ^ "Previous Curtis Cup Matches 1932–2002". USGA. http://www.curtiscup.org/2004/history/previous_matches.html. Retrieved March 23, 2007. 
  4. ^ "1996 Curtis Cup Match". USGA. http://www.curtiscup.org/2004/history/us_teams/1996.html. Retrieved March 23, 2007. 
  5. ^ "Women's Intuition". The Miami Herald. July 2, 2007. p. 1D. 
  6. ^ a b Salt Lake Tribune, Futures Tour Ironwood Futures Classic results 1995-04-03. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  7. ^ Futures Tour, Futures Tour Winners List Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  8. ^ LPGA.com – LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament – results – 1990–1999
  9. ^ "A Glimpse at the U.S. Solheim Cup Team". The Golf Channel. September 16, 2002. http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15104&dv=4618285&select=7253&select2=1&v.pos=901&h.pos=0. Retrieved April 28, 2007. 
  10. ^ "Sheehan Announces Selections". The Golf Channel. August 25, 2003. http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15104&select=10692. Retrieved April 28, 2007. 
  11. ^ Bethan Cutler (August 28, 2005). "Lopez announces 2005 U.S. Solheim Cup Team". LET (Ladies European Tour). http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=3896. Retrieved April 28, 2007. 
  12. ^ Associated Press, Kerr romps to 12-stroke win at LPGA Championship 2010-6-27
  13. ^ KSDK.com, Miyazato replaces Kerr as women's No. 1 July 19, 2010
  14. ^ a b "Kerr receives 2006 LPGA Komen Award". LPGA. November 15, 2006. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?mid=2&pid=8930. Retrieved December 23, 2008. 
  15. ^ "Things Are Looking Up: A Q&A with LPGA Tour star Cristie Kerr". Golf Digest. September 1, 2009. http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2009/09/cristie_kerr_interview. Retrieved September 7, 2009. 
  16. ^ Bergeron, Elena (August 9, 2010). "If at First You Do Succeed...". ESPN The Magazine: pp. 68. 
  17. ^ Ron Sirak (May 20, 2005). "The Winning Edge" (PDF). GolfWorld Magazine. http://www.lpga.com/content/KerrGW052605.pdf. Retrieved April 28, 2007. 
  18. ^ Cerio, Gregory (February 25, 2008). "On and off course, Kerr enjoying the fine life". Golf for Women. NBC Sports. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23338293/ns/sports-golf/page/3/. Retrieved June 29, 2010. 
  19. ^ "2011 Player Performance Record". LPGA. http://www.lpga.com/greensheet.aspx?pid=127&year=2011. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Ai Miyazato
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
June 28, 2010 – July 18, 2010
Succeeded by
Ai Miyazato
Preceded by
Jiyai Shin
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
August 16, 2010 – August 22, 2010
Succeeded by
Ai Miyazato
Preceded by
Ai Miyazato
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
October 25, 2010 – October 31, 2010
Succeeded by
Jiyai Shin