ANA INSPIRATION

April 4, 2021

Cristie Kerr

Mission Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Cristie, your 23rd competition at the ANA Inspiration and still setting records. It's pretty amazing. Your career low 18 hole round at the ANA Inspiration. Take us through what went into the effort today.

CRISTIE KERR: You know, I had nothing to lose and I had been playing so good all week until the back nine, and I was just like, This is payback today. Like I'm just going to go for it.

And I started out of the gates really strong birdieing the 1st hole, getting good break to stay in bounds on the second hole, and I made eagle. I just stiffed a 3-wood, and I just -- all day I just kind of played with no fear.

I'm thinking to myself, Why doesn't that happen every day, right, especially on this course. If you can feel that it certainly helps you because the course is difficult enough.

So just ecstatic with my round today. I had a couple other putts that could have gone in as well. I hit it so good, and my caddie and I were in lock step out there. My long-standing full-time caddie is about to have a baby, so it's a pretty exciting day.

Q. That's awesome.

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, baby with his wife.

Q. When is the...

CRISTIE KERR: Due next Tuesday. So be even cooler if it happened today and I shot my lowest round here. That would be pretty cool.

Q. You played the weekend 21 of 23 times here. What does this tournament mean to you?

CRISTIE KERR: It's always been one of my favorites. Dinah Shore puts us on the map back in the day and her legacy lives on. It's an amazing event for showcasing women's golf and for really showing people what we can do.

I mean, you know, I talk about it with all the other players. It's going to be awesome when we have fans back because it's such an exciting event, especially with no grandstand behind the green this year. It's just on the edge of your seat if you're going for the green in two.

So I think it's just a pretty exciting tournament. I wish I would've played a little better on the back the first three days. I would've been in contention, especially with a round like this.

But I'm very proud of myself that I overcame some really bad back nines to just kind of really do what I wanted to do today.

Q. As well as you played overall this week, in the first couple trips here would it have been good enough to win? I'm sort of wondering if it sort of embodies the depth and how much better the game has gotten since you have been out here?

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, I mean, no, I don't think the way I played this week would've been good enough to win back then. I mean, the caliber of play has always been great. The tour as far as numbers of people this can win now is deeper.

Q. Got you.

CRISTIE KERR: So, you know, you got get it done on the back nine here and I struggled the first three days. Felt really good today to kind of get the golf course a bit.

Q. I feel as if you hit on it when you said today you played with no fear.

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah.

Q. That back nine really requires you to --

CRISTIE KERR: Really does, because if you start doubting yourself a little bit or getting a little controlly with your golf swing you'll hit it in the rough a lot. Then you're scrambling to make pars instead of like -- when the fairways are this firm you get it in the fairways, you're having some shorter irons into greens and you have better -- you're definitely going to have birdie opportunities if you hit the fairways here.

I'm going to learn from today and take that into next year.

Q. When you listen to Patty speak, that's what comes out. She's just pedal to the metal. She has no fear at all.

CRISTIE KERR: Yep.

Q. Is that what this next generation is bringing to the game?

CRISTIE KERR: I think from a younger age they're certainly more prepared to play tournament golf. You know, we'll see if there is in fear on a Sunday in a major.

Q. Yeah, come see you in 18 holes.

CRISTIE KERR: Sometimes it's blind youth that gets it done and sometimes you hang on and win. Be interesting to see what happens with her today.

Q. Are you gladdened to see her doing as well as she is, because she's one of the few people who in 2019 came here as an amateur and seems to be benefitting from the experience of having played four rounds here?

CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, and she's a real nice girl and I played with her that year. Birdie, my long-standing caddie was in the group with me as well. I actually worked for her for a period of time last year. She's a great girl and just going to be a lot of competition up at the top. That's what makes this tournament exciting, and especially with them playing the tee up on 18 all four days.

I think that's a great move because you're not guaranteed a birdie. Obviously look at me. I went for it for three days and I laid up one day. The one day I laid up I made birdie. Only made birdie one of the other two times and then I was 4-over the rest.

So laying up on that -- it'll be interesting to see like the drama of if somebody is two shots back and they go for it and get an eagle putt with that pin and she lays up and she's going to make birdie to win. It's really great theatre, yeah.