Cristie Kerr (born October 12, 1977) is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She has 20 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $20 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings for three time periods in 2010. She is naturally left handed but plays golf right handed.
Amateur career Kerr was born in Miami, Florida, and started playing golf at the age of eight. She had a successful amateur career, winning the 1994 Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship and the 1995 Women's Western Amateur. She was the 1995 American Junior Golf Association Junior Player of the Year. In 1996 she played in the Curtis Cup and was the low amateur at the U.S. Women's Open. She graduated from Miami Sunset High School in West Kendall, Florida.
Professional career Kerr's first win in a professional tournament came in April 1995 in the Ironwood FUTURES Classic on the Futures Tour, which she played while still an amateur.
She turned professional in 1996 at age 18 after graduating from high school, playing on both the Futures Tour and Players West Tour. In October 1996, she tied for sixth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to gain exempt status for 1997. Her LPGA career started fairly slowly; she broke into the top fifty on the money list in her third season in 1999, but did not win until her sixth season. In 2002, she won her first LPGA event at the Longs Drugs Challenge in California. By 2004, she was one of the leading players on the tour, with three tournament victories, and a fifth-place finish on the money list. She won two tournaments in 2005 and moved up to third on the money list. She tied for second at the 2000 U.S. Women's Open, matched by her performance in the 2006 Women's British Open. Her first win of 2006 came at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship where she posted a tournament-record score of 19 under par. In 2006, she was the only American to win more than one event on the LPGA Tour, winning three times. She won the 2007 U.S. Women's Open, her first major championship. She was also a member of the United States Solheim Cup team in 2002, 2003, and 2005.
The hallmarks of Kerr's game are putting; she finished in the top five on the LPGA Tour in putts/greens hit in 2005 and 2006 and iron play. She was fifth in greens-in-regulation in 2005. In 2005, Kerr finished in the top 10 in half of the tournaments she entered, and ranked second in the LPGA in scoring average, trailing only Annika Sörenstam.
In 2010, Kerr won two of the first 10 tournaments on the LPGA Tour, including the LPGA Championship, which she won by a record-breaking 12-stroke margin over the second-place finisher Song-Hee Kim. As a result of this finish, she went to the top of the Women's World Golf Rankings on June 28, 2010. Kerr held the position for three weeks before Ai Miyazato again regained the top ranking by a margin of 0.0006 average points.
In 2015, Kerr won the CME Group Tour Championship by one shot over fellow American Gerina Piller and South Korean Jang Ha-na. That year she made 24 cuts out of 25 events, captured her 17th career victory at the Kia Classic and posted a 3–0–1 record at her eight Solheim Cup, helping the U.S. team to victory.
In 2016, she recorded four top-10 finishes, including a tie for seventh at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship. She was also on the victorious U.S. team at the UL International Crown, where she posted a team-best 3–1–0 record. In 2017, Kerr recorded her 19th and 20th career wins, moving her into a tie with Laura Davies for 26th all-time on the LPGA career wins list. That year she also participated in her ninth Solheim Cup for the U.S., posting a 3–0–1 record, thereby surpassing Juli Inkster for the all-time lead in points recorded by a U.S. player in Solheim Cup history (21). In 2018, Kerr recorded two top-10 finishes, with a season-best finish tied for second at the Kia Classic
Breast cancer activism Kerr is actively involved in fundraising for breast cancer research. The LPGA and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation awarded Kerr the 2006 LPGA Komen Award due to her dedication to find a cure for breast cancer through the foundation that she founded called Birdies for Breast Cancer. Kerr donates $50 per birdie. As of August 2009, she has raised over $750,000 through donations and an annual charity event. Kerr created the foundation in honor of her mother, Linda, who has been her inspiration. The foundation was created in 2003, the year that her mother Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kerr also founded Curvature Wines, which helps to raise money for breast cancer charities.
Personal life and off-course activities Kerr is in height. In 1999, she weighed , a weight that caused her to have back spasms. Her parents, who are divorced, are both diabetics, and her mother had a heart attack when Kerr was in the ninth grade. After her weight peaked, Kerr began exercising regularly and went on a diet. By 2002, she had lost , and weighs .
Kerr made an appearance on an episode of the third season of Donald Trump's television series The Apprentice in 2005. In 2006, Kerr married businessman Erik Stevens. Kerr and Stevens maintain a residence in Scottsdale, Arizona. One of her sponsors is Mutual of Omaha, which donates money to her breast cancer research foundation every time she places third or better. On December 8, 2013, she and Stevens welcomed their first child, a son named Mason, via a surrogate. Kerr welcomed a second boy, Griffin, on August 28, 2018.
On December 4, 2020, Kerr and her caddie Matt Gelczis were injured in a collision between golf carts before sunrise prior to the start of the second round of the Volunteers of America Classic at the Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. The two were sent to an emergency room at a local hospital, and released later that day. Kerr withdrew from the tournament. After completing the first round of the 2020 U.S. Women's Open, in which she shot a 71, she described what happened: Kerr and Gelczis struck another cart head-on, having been blinded by its headlights, which the cart Kerr was riding on didn't have; she and Gelczis were using a flashlight to try and find their way to the driving range, where the other cart had been coming from. The two were thrown from the cart; Kerr landed on her chest, suffering three dislocated ribs, and bruising on her arms; in order to get through her first round at the U.S. Women's Open, she regularly took pain medication. According to Kerr, Gelczis's injuries were far less severe, receiving only a "bump on the head", and whiplash.
Kerr partnered with Pride Mountain Vineyards in Napa, California, to launch her Curvature wine label with the 2006 vintage. She has also launched a new wine venture, Kerr Cellars, with winemaker Helen Keplinger, beginning with a 2013 vintage. The label now produces Pinot noir and red and white Bordeaux blends. In 2013, she passed the Court of Master Sommeliers level I test.
Professional wins (25) LPGA Tour wins (20) Legend Major championships (2) Other LPGA Tour (18) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-upWinner'sshare ($)1Apr 21, 2002Longs Drugs Challenge66-72-67-75=280−81 stroke Hee-Won Han135,0002Apr 17, 2004LPGA Takefuji Classic69-67-73=209−7Playoff Seol-An Jeon165,0003Jun 20, 2004ShopRite LPGA Classic66-68-68=202−111 stroke Paula Creamer (a) Giulia Sergas195,0004Sep 5, 2004State Farm Classic69-63-63-69=264−241 stroke Christina Kim180,0005May 8, 2005Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill68-68-68-72=276−85 strokes Jill McGill330,0006Aug 28, 2005Wendy's Championship for Children68-67-66-69=270−181 stroke Paula Creamer Annika Sörenstam165,0007May 7, 2006Franklin American Mortgage Championship67-69-66-67=269−192 strokes Pat Hurst Lorena Ochoa Angela Stanford165,0008Aug 13, 2006CN Canadian Women's Open67-70-74-65=276−121 stroke Angela Stanford255,0009Sep 10, 2006John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic70-61-68=199−141 stroke Annika Sörenstam150,00010Jul 1, 2007U.S. Women's Open71-72-66-70=279−52 strokes Lorena Ochoa Angela Park560,00011Aug 24, 2008Safeway Classic71-67-65=203−13Playoff Helen Alfredsson Sophie Gustafson255,00012May 10, 2009Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill (2)69-63-66-70=268−162 strokes In-Kyung Kim330,00013Jun 13, 2010LPGA State Farm Classic (2)67-67-63-69=266−221 stroke Na Yeon Choi Anna Nordqvist255,00014Jun 27, 2010LPGA Championship68-66-69-66=269−1912 strokes Song-Hee Kim337,50015Nov 11, 2012Lorena Ochoa Invitational67-69-67-69=272−161 stroke Inbee Park Angela Stanford200,00016May 5, 2013Kingsmill Championship (3)66-71-66-69=272−12Playoff Suzann Pettersen195,00017Mar 29, 2015Kia Classic67-68-68-65=268−202 strokes Mirim Lee255,00018Nov 22, 2015CME Group Tour Championship68-69-66-68=271 −171 stroke Jang Ha-na Gerina Piller500,00019Apr 15, 2017Lotte Championship71-69-62-66=268 −203 strokes Chun In-gee Jang Su-yeon Lydia Ko300,00020Oct 29, 2017Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia70-63-65-71=269 −151 stroke Jacqui Concolino Shanshan Feng Danielle Kang 270,000
LPGA Tour playoff record (3–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12004LPGA Takefuji Classic Seol-An JeonWon with par on seventh extra hole 22004ADT Championship Annika SörenstamLost to bogey on first extra hole32008Safeway Classic Helen Alfredsson Sophie GustafsonWon with birdie on first extra hole42008 Navistar LPGA Classic Candie Kung Lorena OchoaOchoa won with par on second extra holeKerr eliminated by par on first hole52013Kingsmill Championship Suzann PettersenWon with par on second extra hole 62017Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Haru NomuraLost to birdie on sixth extra hole
Futures Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-upWinner'sshare ($)1Apr 3, 1995Ironwood Futures Classic71-67=138−63 strokes Stephanie Comstockn/a^ ^ Won as an amateur, top professional (Comstock) earned $4,500.
Ladies European Tour (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Oct 8, 2017Lacoste Ladies Open de France−17 (62-64-68-69=263)4 strokes Lin Xiyu
Other wins (2) 2010 (1) Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge (with Hunter Mahan) 2011 (1) Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge (with Hunter Mahan)
Legends of the LPGA wins (1) 2025 LPGA Legends Championship
Major championships Wins (2) YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up 2007 U.S. Women's Open −5 (71-72-66-70=279) 2 strokes Lorena Ochoa, Angela Park 2010 LPGA Championship −19 (68-66-69-66=269) 12 strokes Song-Hee Kim
Results timeline Results not in chronological order. Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Chevron ChampionshipCUTT35U.S. Women's OpenCUTT36LA60CUTT2Women's PGA ChampionshipCUTCUTT5WDdu Maurier ClassicCUTT54T17CUT Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Chevron ChampionshipT66T3T11T5T3T35T20T21T2T5U.S. Women's OpenT4T32T13T27T10T281T13T3T17Women's PGA ChampionshipCUTT41T34T17T33T5T18T10T311Women's British Open ^CUTT29T14T11T5T2T336T8T5 Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Chevron ChampionshipCUTT22T19T4T41T457T30T52T32U.S. Women's Open3T9T20CUTCUTT8T19T52CUTT23Women's PGA ChampionshipT3T12T12T17T19T50CUTT49T60T37The Evian Championship ^^ CUTT67T53T39T18CUTCUTNTWomen's British Open ^T14T1316WDT1372T59T28CUTCUT Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025Chevron ChampionshipT28U.S. Women's OpenCUTWomen's PGA ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTThe Evian ChampionshipCUTWomen's British Open ^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001 ^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.
LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew NT = no tournament T = tied
Summary