JM EAGLE LA CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 27, 2023

Cristie Kerr

Quick Quotes

Q. A solid start, nice round out there today. Made three birdies in a five-hole stretch. How were you able to get it going today?

CRISTIE KERR: I put a new driver in the bag. I hit one bad tee shot on the 17th hole and made an unbelievable bogey. But I hit it much better overall. Like my mental state of mind, I was very at peace out there and in the present, and when I had some adversity I didn't get anxious. I just made the best of it and made some really good par saves today.

Those kind of kept the momentum going.

Hit my wedges awesome today.

Q. You made another one there on the last. Tell me about some of those up-and-downs out there.

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, the grass around the greens is a little spotty here and there from all the rain that they've had. I heard the tunnel going not first tee was under water at some point in the last couple months. But they've done a great job to get the course in fantastic shape considering, and the greens are really good, so it was nice to have fresh greens today, and made a lot of good par saves and made one really long putt on the 11th hole. Made a bad swing off the tee there again to the right, and was a really tough up-and-down, and I just made like an unbelievable 30-foot par putt. That kind of settled me down, and just kept the momentum going.

Q. Obviously put the driver in the bag, but what else have you been working on that may have showed itself today that all that hard work is paying off?

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, I mean, you've just got to keep trying in this game. You just never know. I worked with my coach Brian on Tuesday here, and I've still got a bit of a swing fault where I kind of start the down swing a bit too early instead of kind of keeping my chest a little more wound to the target and that's kind of what I'm working on. I hit so many good irons and tee shots today that I'm just going to forget the couple bad ones and just say it's going to keep getting less and less, and just do that.

Q. We saw you with Kelly Kuehne a few weeks ago, but you have Louis on the bag this week, new caddie. How is that going?

CRISTIE KERR: Honestly, I've had a bunch of caddies in my career. It feels pretty easy with him. I'm not surprised we had a good first day. He's just kind of an old-school, old soul out here. He's been on Tour longer than me. I think this is either my 27th or 28th year and this is over 30 for him. We kind of think the same out there. There's certain pins you want to be aggressive to and certain you want to get your 20-footer, and when you have good greens, you're going to make a lot of putts, so we kind of think the same.

Q. You talked about the mental game. Do you work with a mental coach? You obviously had plenty of experience out here, you kind of know your triggers.

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, I do, and I've kind of worked with everybody because I feel like your mind should be the strongest part of your game, and today it was the difference between keeping me in it and not because I was very determined today, very kind of unwield -- I don't know the word, kind of relentless, to where I -- maybe in the past I would kind of let myself go mentally soft, and I was like, not today. That fire, that determination, that's also been one of my goals to kind of get back, and I did that really well today.

Q. Off to a hot start. Wilshire is kind of a tricky golf course. How good does it feel to have one under your belt, and what will you take as you look ahead?

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, solid start. First round with a new driver, new caddie. I thought it was a really good way to get off to a start in this tournament. I know what I have to work on with the driver.

The more and more good drives I hit, the more and more confidence I'm going to get. I've just got to let the one on the 17th hole not really bother me. I hit a couple right early in the round, as well, but golf is a game of misses, so just try to make the misses better.