So while we have a dip in our Rocky Mountain high, this might be a time to celebrate the fact that there has emerged a clear best-American-woman-golfer, although I do admit I feel a little like Waite Hoyt filling a rain delay at a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. But bear with me on this: What else are you going to do -- watch golf on TV? Look at the top of the leader board frozen by the suspension and you'll see the name Cristie Kerr. You may also see it there Sunday -- or Monday -- when this tournament ends.
Certainly, it should come as no surprise that the last American player to top the LPGA money list is in the field at the U.S. Women's Open. This is, after all, the national championship. What may surprise some, however, is that the player in question is 55-year-old Betsy King, who took home the most bucks on tour way back in 1993. Yup, two years before Alexis Thompson was born.
That King made it through a qualifier in Arizona to get to the Broadmoor, where she finished tied for third in the 1995 Women's Open, speaks to her incredible competitive drive. It also makes a comment about the depth of the field in a U.S. Women's Open. Truly, three-quarters of the 156 players dealing with the dangerous greens and 7,047 yards of the East Course have no chance of lifting the trophy Sunday evening -- King among them.
But among the three dozen or so players very much in the running is Kerr, the 33-year-old Floridian who left high school to go right to the LPGA and has quietly -- well, Cristie does nothing quietly -- become the best American player of her generation. With three holes to play when a brutal thunderstorm suspended play during Thursday's first round, Kerr was two under par on a day when only five players were in red figures when play was stopped -- and none better than Kerr.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Kerr, who has finished no worse than third in her last four LPGA events, still has a chance to catch Yani Tseng for the money title, especially if she were to pick up the $585,000 first prize here this week. Kerr is currently in second place, trailing Tseng by $431,453. Cristie also has a chance to do something no American has done since Beth Daniel in 1994 -- be the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year. She is tied for third with 72 points to Tseng's 169.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Kerr has been compiling a resume that may one day land her in the World Golf Hall of Fame -- and that will be an acceptance speech well worth the price of admission. One of Cristie's endearing qualities is that she speaks her agile mind unencumbered by an edit button, a trait not all appreciate but one that should be celebrated as refreshing in an era of ghost tweeters.
For seven consecutive years now, Kerr has won at least once on tour, including the 2007 U.S. Women's Open and the 2010 Wegmans LPGA Championship. With those two majors among her 14 career victories, Kerr has 16 of the 27 points the LPGA requires to gain entry to the Hall of Fame, perhaps the toughest standard in all of sports.
With her relentless consistency, fierce competitive drive and perhaps the best putting stroke on tour, Kerr shows no signs of slowing down. Twenty wins, three majors and a Player-of-the-Year Award would give her the 27 points she needs to get to the WGHOF. Don't bet against it. She is one tough cookie. A Kerr-bler elf.
While American golf fans wait for the next great home-grown star -- 21-year-old Michelle Wie was seven over-par through 17 holes when play was suspended at The Broadmoor and 16-year-old Alexis Thompson was five over through 15 -- they should embrace Kerr as the best they have right now.
The only American even remotely close to Kerr is Paula Creamer, 24, who has nine LPGA victories, including last year's U.S. Women's Open. They are to American woman's golf what Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson used to be to American's men's golf -- No. 1 and No. 1-A.
There is a bit of a renaissance going on in women's among Americans right now. Kerr, Creamer and Stacy Lewis have won three of the last six majors. But for now, the title of best-American on the LPGA clearly belongs to Cristie Kerr. And that's food for thought -- especially when there is nothing else to do during a weather delay at the U.S. Women's Open.
-- Ron Sirak
But among the three dozen or so players very much in the running is Kerr, the 33-year-old Floridian who left high school to go right to the LPGA and has quietly -- well, Cristie does nothing quietly -- become the best American player of her generation. With three holes to play when a brutal thunderstorm suspended play during Thursday's first round, Kerr was two under par on a day when only five players were in red figures when play was stopped -- and none better than Kerr.
(Photo by Getty Images)Kerr, who has finished no worse than third in her last four LPGA events, still has a chance to catch Yani Tseng for the money title, especially if she were to pick up the $585,000 first prize here this week. Kerr is currently in second place, trailing Tseng by $431,453. Cristie also has a chance to do something no American has done since Beth Daniel in 1994 -- be the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year. She is tied for third with 72 points to Tseng's 169.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Kerr has been compiling a resume that may one day land her in the World Golf Hall of Fame -- and that will be an acceptance speech well worth the price of admission. One of Cristie's endearing qualities is that she speaks her agile mind unencumbered by an edit button, a trait not all appreciate but one that should be celebrated as refreshing in an era of ghost tweeters.
For seven consecutive years now, Kerr has won at least once on tour, including the 2007 U.S. Women's Open and the 2010 Wegmans LPGA Championship. With those two majors among her 14 career victories, Kerr has 16 of the 27 points the LPGA requires to gain entry to the Hall of Fame, perhaps the toughest standard in all of sports.
With her relentless consistency, fierce competitive drive and perhaps the best putting stroke on tour, Kerr shows no signs of slowing down. Twenty wins, three majors and a Player-of-the-Year Award would give her the 27 points she needs to get to the WGHOF. Don't bet against it. She is one tough cookie. A Kerr-bler elf.
While American golf fans wait for the next great home-grown star -- 21-year-old Michelle Wie was seven over-par through 17 holes when play was suspended at The Broadmoor and 16-year-old Alexis Thompson was five over through 15 -- they should embrace Kerr as the best they have right now.
The only American even remotely close to Kerr is Paula Creamer, 24, who has nine LPGA victories, including last year's U.S. Women's Open. They are to American woman's golf what Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson used to be to American's men's golf -- No. 1 and No. 1-A.
There is a bit of a renaissance going on in women's among Americans right now. Kerr, Creamer and Stacy Lewis have won three of the last six majors. But for now, the title of best-American on the LPGA clearly belongs to Cristie Kerr. And that's food for thought -- especially when there is nothing else to do during a weather delay at the U.S. Women's Open.
-- Ron Sirak
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