News

Even in abbreviated first round, Kerr distinguishes herself

July 07, 2011

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- There is nothing like a weather delay at a golf tournament to set the mind musing on matters from the mundane to the magnificent. With the stars of our show at the U.S. Women's Open locked away in secluded safe houses at The Broadmoor, unavailable for comment, members of the media gaze at each other like desperate members of a journalistic Donner Party, hungry for a story idea. There is, for Perry White's sake, a news hole to fill.

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.