U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2000

Cristie Kerr

CHRISTIE KERR: Well, I felt like the course played pretty similar to how it played yesterday. The wind was a little bit different. So, you have some holes that played easier today that played harder yesterday and vice versa, and I felt like I hit it a little bit better today than I did yesterday; and obviously, I holed out a shot on 15; it was from 162 yards. I hit a 6-iron, and that was a great moment. I have not had an eagle in a while, and to have one at the Open is really special. I felt like I played better today. Did not get the ball on the fairway in 18 like I tried to the last couple days; so I didn't really have an opportunity for birdie there. But, overall, I felt like I played a little bit better today than yesterday.

CHRISTIE KERR: I missed about a 2-footer on the 1st hole for birdie but I made the par. I birdied 3. Bogeyed 4 and 5, and then parred all the way through 14. I holed out that shot on 15 for eagle, and then proceeded to birdie 16. And then bogeyed 17. Parred 18 for 1-under total.

CHRISTIE KERR: Yesterday, I hit 5-wood and it went through the fairway into the first cut, and the bluegrass, even the short first cuts out here tends to kind of turn the club head through impact a little bit. So, I said to my caddy, Donna, "Why don't we just try and get it in the fairway," because the wind was left-to-right and helping a little bit. I'm sure it's getting harder -- the fairways are getting harder each day. So, I figured, well, 3-iron would be better, and I didn't catch it -- catch all of it. I was in the fairway and I had a 7-iron into the green, which was fine because I had a good number. And the wind was correct through the shot that I was going to play, but I pulled it a little bit, and I was in the grass that was trampled done by the galleries. And I was in a little hole, and I said to her, "Well, let's just try and get it on the green and make a long putt for par." And I missed just about a 15-footer for par, and, so, a little disappointed there. But, I had a chance to make birdie on 18, but I did not hit the fairway again; so, it did not matter.

CHRISTIE KERR: I think I was younger. I think I might have been 17, because in October I turned 18 when I went to Q-School; so, I might have been 17. That's the year we went overseas to play the Curtis Cup. I remember I made a birdie on 18 that day, and I don't remember if it was Marisa Baena that was ahead of me or not, but she didn't play very well on the last day and I played really well. So, it was an honor to get the Low Amateur Award there.

CHRISTIE KERR: You do, because the courses are just -- well, just basically tough, and you know the conditions are going to be tough here. It's going to be the wind and the hardness of a golf course that comes into play, and the greens are getting really fast out there right now. They are getting extremely fast. So you're dealing with all of these different things. And I think it's just the Women's Open is just a test of how you live your life and how patient you can be; how you handle the good breaks and the bad breaks, and, hopefully, you can come out on top.

CHRISTIE KERR: Yeah, I didn't feel like -- usually my tendency in the wind is to get a little bit handsy and a little bit long, and I don't use my body as much, so I don't get the ball flight that I want. I don't hit it as hard; it's not as on line. So I did a little bit of practicing after I was done, and I just tried to feel like my body was moving through the ball better and just tried to lower it a little bit, and that helped a little bit in the wind today. Definitely helped on 15 because I hit it great. You practice all those shots to hit that one kind of shot, and to hit one in the Open was great.

CHRISTIE KERR: No. I think it was windier in the morning, in today's round in the morning than it was when we were finishing our round yesterday. I think the wind is starting to die a little bit out there. When we were on 18, it seemed like it was a little calmer. But I just tried to play a little bit smarter off the tees and just hit the fairways. And one or two shots in the Open to improve from day-to-day, it's huge. So I accomplished that today, and I'm going to go out and practice a little bit after we're done and see if I can shave one or two more shots off my total for the next couple days.