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Cristie Kerr was on the phone trying to talk golf while her son Mason was getting a haircut. Every once in awhile, she’d pause to weigh in with the stylist about gel.
Something so routine wouldn’t have really registered in the past. But with salons still not open in some parts of the U.S., their outing in Scottsdale, Arizona, seemed noteworthy.
Ahhhh. A bit of normalcy.
“Go get a lollipop,” Kerr told her son before they left the salon.
Haircuts are ordinary things that Kerr, a mother of two boys, misses out on sometimes in the hectic life of a touring pro. While the bonus time with family has been sweet, 42-year-old Kerr is ready to get back inside the ropes as much as anybody.
She recently played in an exhibition to raise money for the Fairmont Grand Del Mar employees in San Diego alongside PGA Tour players John Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Emiliano Grillo. Charley Hoffman was involved too, but Kerr wasn’t in his group.
“I think we raised six figures,” she said.
Course members paid to ride in carts – socially-distanced apart – to watch the pros.
“It was nice to get the juices flowing again honestly,” said Kerr. “I hit this beautiful, low draw 5-iron into this par 4 to 5 feet and then I just pushed the absolute crap out of the putt and I was like, ‘man, I was nervous over that!’ It’s been a while.”
Rahm is a member at Kerr’s club in Scottsdale, Silverleaf, which was open throughout the spring. Kerr said she didn’t want to ramp up her practice too early without knowing when the LPGA would resume tournaments. She’ll play the occasional 18 holes but has otherwise focused on her wine business.
“We’ve been busy,” said Kerr of her wine label, Kerr Cellars. “We actually had a pretty good first quarter. At least we were deemed an essential business in California. If this would’ve happened during harvest it would’ve been a nightmare.”
She’s spent plenty of time in the kitchen trying new recipes. Bought a new mixer to bake bread. But that’s all changing now that she started a diet to shed the extra six or seven pounds brought on by quarantine life. That’s also where the new elliptical comes in to “get in shape for the rest of my life.”
Kerr’s at-home setup also includes a net and putting mat. She’ll really get cranking on practice six or seven weeks out from competition, but for now mostly plays around on the BirdieBall mat with her kids while enjoying a glass of wine.
On Saturday, the Golf Channel will air a replay of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, where Kerr clipped Lorena Ochoa and Angela Park by two strokes. The 75th U.S. Women’s Open in Houston was originally scheduled for this week but has been pushed back to Dec. 10-13 due to COVID-19.
Kerr actually enjoys a long history at Pine Needles, taking a share of fourth in 2001 and earning low-amateur honors there in 1996 when she tied for 36th.
“Kellee Booth and I were duking it out for low amateur honors,” recalled Kerr. “We were tied, and they put it up on the board where we stood. I had like a 30-footer on the last hole to make to win low-amateur honors, and I walked that thing right in the hole.”
Kerr can’t wait to have that feeling again. Fans can’t wait to see it.