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ADT CHAMPIONSHIP

November 20, 2004

Cristie Kerr

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

DANA VON LOUDA: We'll go ahead and get started.

CRISTIE KERR: The 6th hole I hit it about 5 feet and made that, lob wedge.

And then the 14th hole, I hit 9 iron to about 10 feet, and made that. That was my day.

Q How far was the putt?

CRISTIE KERR: About 5 feet. I played well today. I had some chances today that I could have converted on, but if you're putting for birdie a lot and tapping in for par, that's great on this golf course. That's what I've done.

Q Talk about the conditions, how much more difficult it was to play today?

CRISTIE KERR: I think the pins were tougher today and the wind was up a little but more, and I noticed that the greens were a little bit faster. The combination of getting some short putts with a lot of break on them, I'm not surprised the scores were higher today. I felt like 2 under was a really good round. I felt I hit it a little bit better today, and that's what I've been hoping for, just a little bit better every day. That's what I'm going to strive for tomorrow, nothing fancy, nothing flashy, just good solid golf.

Q I was glancing at your stats. I think you've missed no more than two greens in a round all week. Am I right on that?

CRISTIE KERR: I don't know. I haven't been really paying attention.

Q Is this about as consistent as you play in terms of fairways and greens as you have all year?

CRISTIE KERR: I feel like, yes. I haven't been hitting exactly the way I want to, but at the same time, you can't complain if you're kind of hitting where you're looking, approximately where you want the shots to end up, even if it doesn't feel great. That's golf. You kind of have to play with that. I'm going to go out and try to do the same thing tomorrow.

There's no pressure on me at all, as far as I'm concerned, and it's just really, really special spending this time around my family, because they're here with me this week.

Q A lot happened today on the leaderboard. How much were you trying to pay attention?

CRISTIE KERR: I pay attention very little to that. I think I glanced at it on the back nine maybe once, but I think in the past it would have bothered me, my position, but it doesn't bother me that much anymore. I think I'm more comfortable. Even though I've only one four tournaments, I've played with Annika lots. I've played with her probably 25 times maybe, maybe more than that. I don't know the exact number.

But when you play with a player of that caliber, in this case, the best player in the world, you learn a lot from them. I'm pretty comfortable. I'm going to go out and play my own game.

Q You were in a very similar position last year going into the final round of this tournament. Talk about what a different player you are. You touched on what you have learned, but how better prepared are you going into this situation this week?

CRISTIE KERR: I'm a year older and have a lot more golf under my belt. I've been in contention a lot this year, and I'm very thankful for that. I've worked really hard for it. I just try and keep going doing the same thing, keep putting myself in contention. I think only having won four tournaments, but even before I won my first tournament at Longs Drug at Sacramento, I was in contention a lot there, too.

You just learn a lot from those situations, and I feel like mentally, being mentally prepared, I think I'm right where I want to be.

Q You said there's no pressure on you at all. Is that because of what you are doing this year?

CRISTIE KERR: I think that's part of it. Maybe that's why I've had success this year, I've stopped putting pressure on myself. It's a culmination of things, really. My mom getting sick last year, my parents getting older. You put things into perspective. It's not live and die out here. It's a game you play for a living.

We are very fortunate to do this, and I've just gained a lot more perspective about my whole life in general in the last year. I'm pretty comfortable knowing that I'm okay with whatever happens.

Q What did you learn in all those rounds with Annika?

CRISTIE KERR: How to win, because she wins so many times in front of you. That's something I can't really put into words. You watch mannerisms, the way they handle themselves. The one thing about Annika, she's really, really patient. She's not really in a rush to set a house on fire. She's the best player in the world. I aspire to be that.

Sometimes she gets out of the gate strong, but most the time she's really, really patient, and she knows she has so many wins under her belt, she knows she can do it. She's just so patient out there. She doesn't force the issue so things happen for her. That's kind of what I've taken away from that.

Q Was there a time you would have been intimidated with her?

CRISTIE KERR: Absolutely. No question, most players out here are intimidated by her. I don't know if I'm totally over that, but I am probably 99 percent less than I used to be. I call her friend. She's an unbelievable person. I think we've grown a little bit closer this year. Just everything evolving to a new level, it's really pleasing for me to see.

Q You sort of touched on that. When there's less of a mystery about a player like that, is it easier to go out and beat her maybe?

CRISTIE KERR: I think so. If you're kind of familiar with the game you're up against, you have to be on the top of your game to win, especially on this golf course. So I'm going to go out and I'm going to try to be patient. I just hope I'll get the ball rolling on the green and they go in.

Q Do you wish you were playing with her tomorrow? And how much of the leaderboard will you watch tomorrow?

CRISTIE KERR: I think on Sunday you watch the leaderboards a little bit more. I'm going to stay away from that until I need to look at them to see what's going on. Is Jennifer playing with her tomorrow?

Jennifer and Annika are playing together tomorrow. I like my position. Who am I playing with tomorrow? Maybe "Laura."

Q (No microphone).

CRISTIE KERR: She did? You don't wish that on anybody, because you know how it makes you feel. I like my position. That's where I was today, and I made a little bit of a move today. Hopefully I can be as consistent as I have been this whole week and not try to force the issue, and chip, chip, chip away at it.

Q (No microphone.)

CRISTIE KERR: No, it's something I had to learn. I've had to learn that through being in contention a lot with Annika and failing and winning. You gain a lot of perspective from being in those situations. So it's definitely a learned behavior, I think, because when the world around you is kind of not exactly where you want it, you've got to know that you've just got to say, hey, it's okay, it's all right, and then you just try to do your own thing.

End of FastScripts.

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