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SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSICJune 4, 2011Cristie KerrGALLOWAY, NEW JERSEY THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome our leader, Cristie Kerr, into the interview room. Congratulations on your round today. 8-under now for the tournament and in the final pairing tomorrow. Just talk a little about the round today and what went right for you out there? CRISTIE KERR: Sure, well, I got off to a great start. I could tell when I was on the range that I was kind of very intense and just kind of had to go out there and do my job. So I got off to a very quick start, kind of missed the green to the right with a lob wedge on the first hole. I don't know why, but I guess I was meant to hit it there, because I made a great birdie putt from off the green, a big left-to-right breaking putt. On the second hole I flagged it with a 7-iron and made birdie and then hit the green in two the next par-5. So got off to a really good start, and kept the momentum going when I hit it close at 8. The pin on 9 was like on a down slope. It was I think a new pin from where I've seen them put the pins on these greens, and it was a really difficult location. Nobody could wedge it close to that hole location, and I hit a great pitch. You know, open-faced, spinning pitch that still went by about 12 feet and didn't convert for birdie there. Made a long putt at 11 for birdie, and kind of hit a little bit of a speed bump. But it didn't really bother me because I didn't really do anything wrong. It sounds funny. Well, you made double. But the pin in that back location, that green's really skinny and I just kind of pulled the gap wedge and there's really no room. You have to hit it right on the pin there. I was aiming at the pin, but I pulled it. I hit it in the worst location you could hit it in. I hit actually a great high, soft chip and it just went over the green, and I hit another great pitch and didn't make the putt. So I didn't actually feel like -- it was weird making double, but I didn't feel like that bothered me because I had been playing great today, and I didn't feel like I did too much wrong on the hole. So I just said to myself, just stay composed and keep going. I was able to make a great birdie at 14, a great birdie at 16, and finally the birdie at 18. So today was awesome. Q. Is that maturity that a double on a hole doesn't bother you as opposed to ten years ago or whatever that maybe just wrecked your round? CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, I think it's maturity. But I recognize that you can make some birdies on the stretch coming in. It just didn't feel like a bad double. It sounds odd, but just didn't feel like I made double. So when you make a stupid mistake or something happens and you make double, you get more mad at yourself. But I guess, yeah, maturity. I just knew that I had to focus on the bigger picture. Q. Can you talk about the long putt? I forget what hole it was, but one of the birdie putts on the back nine was pretty long. Can you just describe that? CRISTIE KERR: Sure, on the 11th hole, the par-3. I made probably a 30-footer, and on 14, you know, it probably was almost 30 feet. So both of them were perfect right in the middle. The line that we were playing, it did that. Some days you're able to make some long putts and that was good. Q. You've had a lot of success here in the past. Do you just have a good feeling coming back to this place? Can you use those memories that you've had in this place to sort of propel you when you come here each year? CRISTIE KERR: For sure. It's great being a past champion, knowing that I've won on this golf course. I know how to play this golf course. It's a little links style. My caddie and I, we think ourselves around the course really well together from a strategy perspective or where you need to bounce the ball or where it's going to check. Yeah, I'm very comfortable on this course. Tomorrow just keep winning that battle within myself every day and do that tomorrow ask I'll be fine. Q. There were some low numbers today. Brittany had one and a couple other players. Tomorrow do you go in saying I've got to go low again to win? CRISTIE KERR: Obviously, that's the plan, but you don't know whether it's going to blow 30 miles an hour or whether it's going to rain. You just have to kind of feel out the conditions and see what the optimum score would be in those kind of conditions. Shooting even par tomorrow I know is not going to get it done. You definitely have to shoot some kind of number; it just depends on the conditions, what the golf course will give up. Q. Seems like the main defense of this golf course is its greens. Maybe are there some parallels to Liberty National's greens? They kind of have similar undulations. Can you talk about the redo there and what you think of it? CRISTIE KERR: Okay. I think the wind here can be quite a defense. There were very few under par scores, and the greens are kind of links style. I think the greens here are a little different than Liberty's. Liberty's are a little more new style links. This is kind of an older golf course where there are lots of little humps and bumps and the greens are more consistent as far as the slope at Liberty. But the links feel is similar. Q. Congratulations, Christie. Let me ask you something. You were playing perfectly, perfectly today the whole day, but you weren't hunting like you were coming from behind. Tomorrow you're going to be the leader. Are you going to keep the same aggressiveness maybe? CRISTIE KERR: I think what he had asked, I answered that question already. I don't know if you were here or not. But basically you have to see what the conditions are going to be, and you certainly want to be as aggressive on this golf course as you can be. Like I said, it may be windy, it could be raining, it might be very nice; so you just have to see the conditions and judge the game plan accordingly. Q. Along that line, today you said you came out to the range and wanted to be aggressive. I think you told the TV guy that. Were you more aggressive today than you were yesterday given the change in the wind? CRISTIE KERR: I think you could be. Yesterday you were trying to hit greens and hit good shots under the conditions. Today, as we saw, a lot of other people went low too, so the course had very little wind today. The spots on the greens were a bit softer today. So I think the conditions led people to be more aggressive because you could be. Q. Tomorrow you'll be paired with Catriona. Have you ever played her in Solheim? CRISTIE KERR: In Solheim, yes, many times. I played with her last week in Brazil as well. She's a great player. It's going to be good. Q. You mentioned before that you just felt good on the range or felt -- was it just one of those days or the way you were hitting on the range? Just what gave you that feeling of intensity before you started? CRISTIE KERR: Sure, I think it starts with the mindset, are you ready to go low? Are you ready to, no matter what comes at you, are you able to handle it? I felt like I was like that today. I pray every day I'm in that mindset. Because that's a good place for me, very intense, knowing what I've got to do, taking care of my job. When you get out there, you've just got to execute. And I did that great in the beginning and I kind of hit a little lull, and I was able to get that at the end. You've kind of got to go with the ebbs and flows each particular day. Every day is different, but I think it starts with the mindset. Q. You're playing very aggressive today how do you get into that mindset when you come to the course in the morning? Do you get into a mindset of I'm going to shoot low today or today I have to shoot a 69? CRISTIE KERR: I can't really answer that question. Anybody that's played different sports, it's just I was born to be this way and I'm in this mindset a lot. You've just got to do it. Q. So you just kind of go -- CRISTIE KERR: No, I don't plan to coast my way into winning, if that's what you mean. No, you have to go get it. It's who wants it more and there is really -- winning is not easy. You have to go out and do it. Q. (No Microphone)? CRISTIE KERR: Mentally I just wasn't 100% there, and that's about it. I was trying a little bit too hard. It happens. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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