Cristie Kerr

Cristie Kerr was in the zone on the range before the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic and even a double bogey on the 12th hole didn’t cause her to lose focus. “Yeah, I think it’s maturity,’’ the 33-year-old Kerr said Saturday after shooting a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Catriona Matthew heading into the final round. “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.

A year after meeting for the Sybase Match Play Championship, defending champion Suzann Pettersen and Cristie Kerr are in the same position on the LPGA Tour. The two veterans are ranked in the world's top five. And they are in the mid-teens in earnings. Yet they're both doing something neither expected in May — looking for their first win of the year. Pettersen and Kerr will try to break into the win column this week when 64 of the tour's top players gather at Hamilton Farm Golf Club for a four-day grind and a $375,000 top prize.

Cristie Kerr is ready to defend her LPGA Championship title at Locust Hill Country Club. The quest begins Thursday. Last year the course was lengthened and narrowed to make it worthy of a major championship. That seemed to help Kerr’s game — she led after every round and shot 19-under 269. That matched the lowest score in relation to par in a women’s major. Kerr closed with a 6-under 66, giving her a 12-shot margin of victory over Song-Hee Kim. That tied for the second-largest margin in the history of major championships.

Japan's Ai Miyazato shot a 2-under 70 on Friday in difficult wind conditions to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship. The seven-time LPGA Tour winner had a 10-under 206 total at Ko Olina. She said the wind blew from basically the same direction for the third consecutive day. "But it's still tough to play out there," Miyazato said. "I said to myself to just stay focused. " Cristie Kerr and Spain's Azahara Munoz, tied for the second-round lead with Miyazato, were second.

Cristie Kerr is halfway home to her second career major, and she’s making it look easy at the LPGA Championship. Relying on her chipping and near-perfect putting to overcome several errant tee shots, Kerr shot a 6-under-par 66 yesterday to take a five-stroke lead at 10 under in Pittsford, N.Y. The 2007 US Women’s Open Champion opened the day in a three-way tie for the lead, then took control by consistently scrambling out of trouble to...

Mi Hyun Kim was trying to figure out the speed of the practice green yesterday when she glanced at the scoreboard early in the first round. Fresh off a victory last week, Kim saw evidence that the River Course at Kingsmill was there for the taking in the first round of the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va. So Kim, and many others, took and took some more from the surprisingly receptive 6,306-yard layout. Of the 144 players, 69 shot par or better. Sarah Lee tied the course record with an 8-under-par 63, and Kim was one back after a bogey-free 64 in wind-free conditions and...

Cristie Kerr rallied from a two-shot deficit in the final eight holes yesterday to beat Annika Sorenstam by two shots and win the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic in Broken Arrow, Okla. The 28-year-old Kerr shot a final-round 3-under-par 68 to finish the three-round tournament at 14-under 199, the lowest score since the event moved to Cedar Ridge Country Club in suburban Tulsa in 2004. Sorenstam shot 69 in the final round. Kerr's 38-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th gave her the lead and she sealed her victory with an 18-footer for birdie on one of the course's toughest...

Cristie Kerr soared to a 12-stroke victory at the LPGA Championship yesterday in Pittsford N.Y., in one of the most lopsided wins at a major, leaving her in position to become the first American ranked No. 1. Kerr closed with a birdie for 6-under-par 66, finishing at 19-under 269 and leading all four rounds. This was her second major title, the other coming at the 2007 US Women’s Open. “To play here well on a golf course this tough and to win by that many shots in a major championship — that’s just unreal,’’ she said.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng won what could be the final LPGA State Farm Classic on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 68 to hand Cristie Kerr her third straight second-place finish. Tseng, from Taiwan, had a 21-under 267 total on the Panther Creek course for her seventh tour title in four years. She also won the season-opening LPGA Thailand and three other worldwide events this year. In the 208 tournament, Tseng led by a stroke with a hole left, but flew the green, made bogey then lost to Ji Young Oh in a playoff when she three-putting the first extra hole.

Cristie Kerr claimed her third tournament of the year, overcoming a shaky final round and a strong challenge from Christina Kim to win the State Farm Classic yesterday in Springfield, Ill. Kerr, who held a four-stroke lead entering the fourth round, squandered her advantage but regained the lead with a birdie at the 17th. She recovered from a bad tee shot at No. 18 by getting up and down from a greenside bunker, finishing at 3-under-par 69 for a tournament record total of 24-under 264. Kim birdied No. 14 and made eagle at the par-5 15th to move into a tie for the lead.

COLORADO SPRINGS - Hee Kyung Seo has a chance to carve her own special place in history. Not simply as a US Open winner, but as a US Open winner who won it without hitting a single shot on the final day. In a strange, storm-infested tournament that doesn’t want to end, Seo did just about everything she could to win her first major, except control the weather. She shot a pair of 3-under-par 68s yesterday to finish at 3-under 281 for a one-shot lead over her South Korean rival, So Yeon Ryu, who had three holes remaining when darkness halted play.

Hee Kyung Seo has a chance to carve her own special place in history. Not simply as a U.S. Open winner — but as a U.S. Open winner who won it without hitting a single shot on the final day. In a strange, storm-infested tournament that doesn’t want to end, Seo did just about everything she could to win her first major except control the weather. She shot a pair of 3-under 68s on Sunday to finish at 3-under 281 for a one-shot lead over her South Korean rival, So Yeon Ryu, who had three holes left when darkness halted play.

Cristie Kerr is ready to defend her LPGA Championship title at Locust Hill Country Club. The quest begins Thursday. Last year the course was lengthened and narrowed to make it worthy of a major championship. That seemed to help Kerr’s game — she led after every round and shot 19-under 269. That matched the lowest score in relation to par in a women’s major. Kerr closed with a 6-under 66, giving her a 12-shot margin of victory over Song-Hee Kim. That tied for the second-largest margin in the history of major championships.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng won what could be the final LPGA State Farm Classic on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 68 to hand Cristie Kerr her third straight second-place finish. Tseng, from Taiwan, had a 21-under 267 total on the Panther Creek course for her seventh tour title in four years. She also won the season-opening LPGA Thailand and three other worldwide events this year. In the 208 tournament, Tseng led by a stroke with a hole left, but flew the green, made bogey then lost to Ji Young Oh in a playoff when she three-putting the first extra hole.

Cristie Kerr was in the zone on the range before the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic and even a double bogey on the 12th hole didn’t cause her to lose focus. “Yeah, I think it’s maturity,’’ the 33-year-old Kerr said Saturday after shooting a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Catriona Matthew heading into the final round. “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.

Cristie Kerr soared to a 12-stroke victory at the LPGA Championship yesterday in Pittsford N.Y., in one of the most lopsided wins at a major, leaving her in position to become the first American ranked No. 1. Kerr closed with a birdie for 6-under-par 66, finishing at 19-under 269 and leading all four rounds. This was her second major title, the other coming at the 2007 US Women’s Open. “To play here well on a golf course this tough and to win by that many shots in a major championship — that’s just unreal,’’ she said.

Annika Sorenstam had two hours to wait after finishing play to see if the Kingsmill River Course that had frustrated her again would help keep her in the Michelob Ultra Open by doing the same to others. "We'll see. It's a long day left," she said. Not long enough. With a second straight 2-over-par 73 yesterday, the top player in women's golf missed the cut for the first time since 2002. She finished in a tie for 72d, with the top 71 players continuing into today on the 6,306-yard layout in Williamsburg, Va. Sorenstam had made 68 consecutive cuts before enduring a second straight day with a balky putter,...

Annika Sorenstam's cut streak is safe. Now, about that winning streak. With four birdies in a five-hole span yesterday, Sorenstam rebounded from a rough start at the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va., and got back into contention for a record sixth straight tournament victory. She's at 1 over with 36 holes to play today. "I just needed a few birdies to get me going," said Sorenstam, who shot a 4-under-par 67. "A few more would have been great to get on the leaderboard and tell them I'm still here.

Holding an eight-stroke lead and 18 holes away from a second major title, Cristie Kerr wasn’t about to declare victory in the LPGA Championship. “I can sit here and say, ‘Give me the trophy now.’ But it’s not going to happen,’’ Kerr said after shooting a 69 yesterday in Pittsford, N.Y. “I’ve got one more round of golf to play.’’ Kerr is at 13-under-par 203, and her advantage tops the previous largest entering the final round of the LPGA Championship — Mickey Wright led by seven in 1961 on her way to the title.

Cristie Kerr is halfway home to her second career major, and she’s making it look easy at the LPGA Championship. Relying on her chipping and near-perfect putting to overcome several errant tee shots, Kerr shot a 6-under-par 66 yesterday to take a five-stroke lead at 10 under in Pittsford, N.Y. The 2007 US Women’s Open Champion opened the day in a three-way tie for the lead, then took control by consistently scrambling out of trouble to...