Kerr’s No. 1 and plans to stay there

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This article was published 19/08/2010 (5760 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — The road to the top is paved with dreams and hard work, things Cristie Kerr possesses in spades.

When she reached the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings after her major victory at the LPGA Championship in June, it was the first time since the women’s world rankings were launched in 2006 that an American player had occupied that slot.

"That’s very meaningful," Kerr said Wednesday at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, just before her Safeway Classic pro-am time. "It’s something you dream about since you were a little kid and you practise that six-foot putt to win a tournament to be the best in the world.

"And you know I’ve always dreamed of that and I’ve worked for it."

Kerr, who will be one of the headliners when the LPGA Tour moves to Winnipeg’s St. Charles Country Club next week for the CN Canadian Women’s Open, has always dreamed big.

"I think I wanted to be Nancy Lopez," she said. "She was one of my idols growing up. All all the great American golfers — Juli Inkster, Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon, Rosie Jones — I envied them all so much and I wanted to be them and that’s how I got involved in wanting to play golf."

Kerr shared a fascinating story about her first encounter with Lopez.

"I think I might have been 14, I played in Orlando and I had qualified for the LPGA tournament and I got paired with her," she said. "And I was terrified. She was my idol but at the same time I was a kid and playing with her in a tournament.

"Many years later she said I didn’t look terrified at all, that I was very focused and all that stuff. That’s me, but I mean I was a kid back then."

Kerr returned to the top ranking this week, even though the LPGA was off last week, based on the rolling, weighted average of performances over the last two years.

The ongoing battle for that top spot is the LPGA’s chief intrigue these days, now that the year’s four major championships are complete.

"I think the players are always focused on that but we only have nine or 10 tournaments until the end of the year and I think people always follow that stuff but maybe a little more now," she said.

Kerr leads her next four rivals by just a fraction of a point, meaning that any of Ai Miyazato of Japan, Jiyai Shin of Korea, Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Yani Tseng of Taiwan could well find themselves on top with a winning week.

"This is a great time in women’s golf," said Kerr, who has two wins this season to give her 14 career victories. "There are a lot of people contending for the No. 1 in the world this year. And to be able to stay there, I’ve just got to play well every week, just be consistent."

Easier said than done, as Kerr experienced after winning the LPGA Championship in Rochester earlier this summer.

"It’s a great feeling and when I first got to No. 1 about six weeks ago, there were a lot of other things that I had to do media-wise and I got very little time to practice, actually, before the U.S. Women’s Open, trying to get rest and trying to do all that stuff," she said. "I think what I learned from that was that I’ve still got to make golf a priority."

Kerr said there was definite pride in being the first to carry the American flag to the top of the rankings.

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"We’ve been a very international tour for a long time but we’re still an American-based tour and it’s important for the tournaments in the United States," she said.

Through her career, intensity has also defined her style. She said Wednesday she feels she’s simply more mature, which allows her to deal with everything better, but that she’s no less hard on herself.

"I’m very hard on myself," she said. "Oh yeah, you have to be if you want to be the best. Anybody who’s … some of the best golfers in the world are very hard on themselves. Don’t kid yourself."

NOTES: Next week’s yardage the CN Canadian Women’s Open is confirmed at 6,572 and par of 72 at St. Charles… Kerr plays the Safeway Classic opening round on Friday (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT, Golf Channel) with Tseng and Pettersen at 11:16 CT… Of the five Canadians in the field this week, Lisa Meldrum, Lorie Kane, Samantha Richdale and Adrienne White are all morning players Friday, while Alena Sharp has an afternoon tee time… The Safeway Classic, for a purse of $1.5 million US, is a 54-hole championship, with two full days of charity pro-ams on the Ghost Creek course at Pumpkin Ridge.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca