Golf-Family stress gives Kerr unexpected weight loss bonus
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
RANCHO MIRAGE, California, March 30 (Reuters) - Having to contend with various family illnesses is hardly an ideal way to prepare for a new season but for American Cristie Kerr there was one beneficial outcome.
The world number two had set her sights on losing at least five pounds in weight before starting her 2011 campaign and she ended up around 12 pounds lighter after being worn down by all the family stress.
“I wanted to lose about five or seven pounds and I ended up losing 12 or 13, so that’s good,” Kerr told reporters on Wednesday on the eve of this week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.
“I didn’t have any alcohol for about six weeks in the off-season and I trained twice a day. I got all of the processed carbohydrates—white bread, white flower and all that kind of stuff—out of my diet. I feel great.”
Kerr, who won last year’s LPGA Championship by a record 12 shots for her second major title, conceded her off-season had been tough with several family members becoming sick.
“Both my grandparents on my father’s side had triple- or quadruple-bypass surgery,” she said. “My mother and father both had issues.
“My mom had 10 inches of her colon taken out and re-sectioned due to a severe diverticulitis infection and then my father, same period of time, had prostate cancer.
“So stress probably helped me lose those extra five-odd pounds but everything’s all right now.”
CLOSE CALLS
Kerr has made a strong start to the 2011 season with top-10 finishes in her last three tournaments and would dearly love to win her first Kraft Nabisco Championship title after several close calls in the past.
She has recorded five top-fives in the opening women’s major of the year and has taken a leaf out of former world number one Annika Sorenstam’s book in a bid to break into the winner’s circle here.
“When you finish in the top five, it’s rarely more than five shots that you lost out winning the tournament by,” Kerr said. “If you compute that, that’s roughly a shot a day—or half a shot a nine.
“So if you can save one shot a nine, whether it’s hitting one more fairway, making one more putt or being (more) mentally in it, that’s what makes a difference
“And that’s what Annika did really well for so many years. She just beat the field by a shot or two a nine.”
Kerr, who tied for fifth here last year, has always relished competing on the tree-lined, par-72 layout at Mission Hills.
“The course is in fabulous shape,” said the American, who won her first major at the 2007 U.S. Open. “It’s playing kind of soft in the fairways and kind of firm and fast on the greens, which is how a major usually plays.
“I’ve always loved this golf course and I’ve had a lot of close calls here. So I am ready for the challenge to try and play every day the best I can. Hopefully this week it will add up to some good things.” (Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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