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CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 21, 2015

Cristie Kerr

Naples, Florida

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome in Cristie Kerr into the interview. 6‑under today, lowest round of the day. Great Saturday or for you and for moving day as well. Overall thoughts on the round?
CRISTIE KERR: I played great. I had one little kind of hiccup on the first hole where I had a very makeable birdie putt, about 12, 13‑footer. I got very aggressive with it and got caught on one of the grains. It was actually up to speed and little faster, so it kind of went by the hole and I missed it and was kind of miffed about it. Maybe that lit a fire under me a little bit. I got it right back on the next hole and made a lot of birdies on the front and had a lot of chances on the back.
Thought the greens were pretty slow on the back, and had trouble getting it to the hole a little bit. Shot 2‑under on the back had a great round.

Q. Keeping the eye on the leaderboards at all? It's a stacked one. A lot of big names up there. Have you been taking a peek at those?
CRISTIE KERR: Not really. I saw it on the 18th green a little bit.
At the end of the day, I can only do as well as I can. If I want to look on the back nine if Sunday if I'm there, I will. Sometimes I look, sometimes I don't.

Q. On the front nine you said it sparked a little bit of fire under you, four consecutive birdies. Take us through that stretch. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day.
CRISTIE KERR: Great little pitching wedge on the second hole and made a 6‑footer. Then made my four in a row stretch started at No. 4. Made a 30‑foot kind of snaking putt. Just hit it kind of close the next three holes. Just did great and had a lot of chances out there. If you are going to shoot a low round, you are going to be doing a lot of things well.

Q. How did you get so long? I know you've been hitting it good, but dang, it was really long?
CRISTIE KERR: I guess it depends on who you are playing with, right? If you are playing with some people that are just shorter than you, it looks even longer. I was hitting it very solid today, no doubt. But that five, six‑week break I had when I had to come back from my back in Asia, I was in the gym almost every day and getting stronger again. It felt good.
I feel fresh and kind of ready to perform. I don't feel like this is the last tournament of the year for me. It feels like there's a couple left. Hopefully that can carry me through tomorrow.

Q. We talked in Phoenix. At that time you said you were hitting it best you've ever hit it. Of course, you had a period of time where you didn't hit it very good. Are you back to that spot now?
CRISTIE KERR: I think kind of medium. Definitely hit it better today. My coach, Michael, and I have been working on really engaging my core and my legs down into the golf swing again, like did when I was a junior golfer. It's kind of funny to say that, but a lot of ‑‑ when I don't hit it solid, I use more my upper body instead of using of my legs to draw down into the ball. We've been really working on that a lot, which I think you are seeing the speed difference.

Q. The new clubs, couple questions about that. Are you someone who makes changes easily? Two, are you surprised that you get to see results this quickly?
CRISTIE KERR: To answer the first part, I'm not a player that likes to switch that often. It takes me a while to find things that I like. I first tried the clubs, the PXG clubs, in the beginning of the year and they weren't kind pro ready‑‑ pro tour ready prototypes.
Then I tried them in August again and it was like, wow, these are really good.
What was the second part of the question again?

Q. Is it unusual to have results right away?
CRISTIE KERR: I don't think so. When I put the Pings in a couple years ago, I shot 9‑under in Phoenix. I think better is better and technology certainly is coming along ways. You don't necessarily need to increase your swing speed to hit it farther if the technology is great. They have a great team of designers there at PXG.
I think the irons are pretty much set. I'm still tinkering a little bit with the woods. I played my Ping driver today. I played the PXG last week in the first two rounds. Here I think that I need to fine tune it a little. I felt like on a good swing it should have gone a little farther, because it was spinning just a touch too much. So just need to fine tune that stuff.
I think they are going to be better. I have most of the clubs in now. We'll see what happens.

Q. Is distance the biggest difference with the new clubs or some other things?
CRISTIE KERR: Honestly, I hit these PXG irons, I hit them straighter. If I miss them, I feel like they go straighter, as long as I make a pretty good swing. Obviously if you miss it, you miss it. I feel like the dispersion is better. They have such an ability to change things, especially with the woods. Not only inside the hozzle, but around the perimeter of the club, that I just need to bring the spin down a touch on that driver that I've been playing and I think it's going to be better. I'm not a‑‑ I don't want to make the wrong move and switching something inside the head and end up playing with it. I'm just going to wait for them to tweak it.

Q. Knowing that you were fresh going into this tournament, did you have any particular approach on how you wanted to go at this event?
CRISTIE KERR: I've just been working really hard on my game with my coach. He said he knew that I was in a good mindset. I had Top‑10 last week in Mexico after having seven weeks off. It was good to get some rounds under my belt. I felt good about my game coming into this week and have a good mental game plan as far as what my feel is, what my routine is, what I'm working on, my rhythm and my short game. Just been trying to work on my game.
I'm going to try to not put too much pressure on myself tomorrow, but I know that I'm a little bit fresh than some people. I know that if you do my work and take care of my job, that I should be right there.

Q. As good a run and ball striking day as you had today at Solheim?
CRISTIE KERR: No. Solheim was pretty hypnotizing. It's sort like another birdie, another birdie. She hit it close again. It was like Kerr's 3‑down, Kerr's 2‑down, one down, even, 1‑up, 2‑up, 3‑up and it's over. It was crazy how good I hit it that day. I was in the zone there, and I knew it. You try not to think about it. It's sort of like talking to the pitcher that's having a no‑hitter, you just don't it. My caddie was like here is your club.

Q. We've heard quite a bit about the green speed, front versus back. Did you notice a big difference in the speed? If you did, did you have to consciously prepare you're when you switched nines and think about it?
CRISTIE KERR: The front nine is much quicker greens than the back nine. Much, much different. I don't know why that is. But the putting green is much faster than the entire golf course. We've just kind of been trying to stay on top of it. Even though you know on the back there are some slower putts, it's so hard to make yourself hit it. I talked to Lydia about that. And one hole we were like let's both get it to the hole this time. Her putt went in and mine didn't, but we both got it to hole.
I don't know why that is, but I would say they are trying to prepare the golf course as well as they can. I have to keep an eye on that tomorrow. I was too aggressive on the one green that was faster and you see what happened. You want to make putts, so you want to try to be aggressive. You just have to see.

Q. One of only three players, I think, over 29 to win an event this year. Is there any reason, you think?
CRISTIE KERR: I am 29. I really don't know what you are talking about. At least I keep telling myself that.

Q. When you are down with a back injury, you probably feel your age. Is there any reason that‑‑
CRISTIE KERR: My back injury, not to cut you off, is actually from lifting my 35 found son.

Q. Do you think this is at all a temporary thing or is there any reason why older players haven't won more this year?
CRISTIE KERR: You know what, the only way I can answer that is I think as people get on in the years in their career, not everybody likes to play a long time. The people on Tour, even though they are young, they are only going to get older. Ten years from now, the average age of people winning could be over 30. I don't know. I don't know how to answer that question.
I feel like I'm getting in good shape again and I want to play for a long time. Hopefully I'm answering questions, Wow, you are the only player over 45 to win a tournament out here, why do you think that is? Hopefully I get to answer that one day.
THE MODERATOR: Great job so far. Good luck tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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