Cristie Kerr's twelve stroke win at the LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans is... without a doubt... one for the ages.
After all, it was a major championship on an very tough course, and she dominated (some said annihilated) an ultra-elite field. ~ The victory also broke two tournament records: the 72-hole total of 19-under 269 and the 12-shot margin were both unprecedented. It was simply the biggest win this tournament has ever seen.
By some accounts it was Cristie's ability to extricate her ball from the tall, tangly US Open-standard rough that really set her apart from the rest of the field... also mentioned her prowess with a new putter that particularly suits her stance and stroke. But having spent time with Cristie, I've witnessed first-hand her dedication to the game... and a determination that goes way beyond anything I've ever seen before or since. In anyone. It's nothing short of remarkable.
I've written a number of times about Cristie Kerr's consistency... the 323 weeks of top 10 finishes and 74 consecutive cuts made... and I knew it was just a matter of time till she won anther major. Admittedly, I was as impressed as anyone at the sheer magnitude of it.
Last week on the Jersey Shore, during the ShopRite Classic, I spent some time with Erik Stevens, Cristie's charismatic husband. He's sports marketing whiz who also acts as his wife's agent, and we discussed a writing project we're currently working on. But mainly he spoke ... with excitement and admiration... about Cristie, how dedicated she was to golf and how close he felt she was to achieving one of her life's goals: to become the number one female golfer in the world.
It turns out that will happen tomorrow. When the world rankings are released, Cristie is projected to overtake Japan's Ai Miyazato, who also played stellar golf today, firing a 66. ~ But the tournament belonged to Cristie, who called it "a dream performance". Erik, in a text he sent shortly after the win, simply called it amazing.
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images North America)
