KLM Golf

Lady Jags could be in contention - The Augusta Chronicle, Wednesday, May 4, 2011

 

 

Kevin McPherson stood on the practice range Monday afternoon as Christine Duschek-Hansen hit balls toward him.

The Augusta State women's golf coach measured her distances and later gave her the results. Distance control is the name of the game, and McPherson is hopeful his players can use this data to make up one shot a round.

"Stats don't lie," the third-year Lady Jaguars coach said. "We're only 3 1/2 shots higher than being one of the elite teams in the country."

Augusta State will try to prove itself as one of the nation's better teams when it opens play today in the NCAA East Regional at the LPGA International Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. The 54-hole event runs through Saturday.

The top eight of 24 teams in the field advance to the NCAA Championships in two weeks. The Lady Jaguars are seeded 18th in the regional, but McPherson firmly believes his players have a chance to make history and become the first Augusta State women's squad to advance to the finals.

"If we play well, we won't just be in the top eight, we'll be in contention," said McPherson, whose sister, LPGA player Kristy McPherson, will serve as volunteer assistant this week.

Augusta State is returning to postseason play for the first time since 2006, when Trelle McCombs led the Lady Jaguars to their first-ever regional. That year, the team missed the NCAA Championships by four shots.

Now, the team is brimming with optimism.

"Our ultimate goal at the beginning of the year was to make postseason play," McPherson said. "Now that we're in, we're probably one of those teams that's a little dangerous."

"I'm kind of nervous," sophomore Marit Bjerke said. "I feel like we have a good team and can do well."

This season, Augusta State recorded five top-five finishes in 10 events, including two runner-up showings. Casey Kennedy leads the team with a 74.6 stroke average and five top-20 finishes. She won the Kinderlou Forest Challenge and the Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate this spring.

Natalie Wille, who's second with a 75.33 average, posted all three of her top-three finishes in the fall. Wille struggled in the spring, but in the past month she's worked on simplifying her swing.

"Natalie's stepped up her game," McPherson said. "I think she's back."

Bjerke (76.22) has had a strong spring, with three top-20 finishes. Kirsty Rands (77.20) also owns three top-20 finishes, while Duschek-Hansen (77.83) has one

 

Bailey meets her hero, Kristy McPherson Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Six-year-old Bailey Warren of Fultondale, Alabama met her hero, 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson, on Wednesday at theAvnet LPGA Classic. Bailey suffers from the same arthritis that McPherson, who was diagnosed at age 12, deals with every day of her life.

Bailey was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the age of two and spends more time in doctors' offices and hospitals than playing outdoors. Her juvenile arthritis has also affected her vision causing Uveitis, an inflammatory condition that left untreated can lead to blindness. Through all the tests, chemotherapy drugs and hospitaliztions, Bailey has an infectious smile and spirit.

McPherson recently sent a letter, photo and autographed cap to Bailey from the Kraft Nabisco Championship. In the letter McPherson wrote, "And Bailey, you can, like me, be among the best in the world at whatever you want to do and wherever your heart and passion leads you." Bailey promptly grabbed her toy golf club and went outdoors to practice. Three weeks later, she was in Mobile to meet her new hero. Bailey’s mother and father, Kim and Steve Warren, and her two-year-old brother, Brody, joined her at Magnolia Grove to chat with McPherson.

“For someone like Kristy to do this, you’ll never know how much this means to us,” Kim Warren said. “It’s not just her being here today. It’s her agreeing to work for this cause and bring awaren

 

 

 

 

Conway High School honors its best, Thursday, April 07, 2011

A professional golfer and two former teachers will be inducted into the Conway High School Hall of Fame at the CHS Educational Foundation's annual awards banquet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Sidewheeler in Conway. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at Conway High School or from foundation board members.

The recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award is Kristy McPherson. Jewell Carmichael will receive an Outstanding Educator Award, and an Outstanding Educator Award will be presented posthumously to the family of Jackie Lee, who died last November.

McPherson, an accomplished professional golfer, is the daughter of David and Janice McPherson. At 11, she was diagnosed with Still's Disease, a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Told by doctors that she could no longer take part in team sports that required excessive activity, she gave up softball and basketball, which she loved, and turned to golf.

At Conway High she lettered in golf four years, earned all-region honors, was the team's most valuable player her senior year, and played with the teams that won the South Carolina High School Championships in 1997 and 1998. At the University of South Carolina, she was SEC champion in 2001 and 2002 and the first team All-American in 2001 and 2002. In 2010, she was inducted into the USC Hall of Fame. She presently plays professionally on the LPGA tour.

Lee, also a CHS graduate, taught mathematics there for 31 years. A devoted member of North Conway Baptist Church, she was involved in numerous activities there, especially with youth and children's ministries.

A daughter of Velma Ree Doyle of Conway and the late Charlie Doyle, she was married to Timothy Lee. She was a loving mother to their children, Timmy Lee and April Singleton, and a loving grandmother to Gracie and Trey Lee, and Luke and Mark Randall Singleton.

She graduated from Baptist College of Charleston, earned a master's degree from USC and later received National Board Certification. In 1998, she was Conway High and Horry County's Teacher of the Year.

Carmichael was Conway High School's girls' basketball coach and a faculty member from 1951 to 1964. She later taught in Florence, went to the South Carolina Department of Education in 1965 as assistant supervisor and later became consultant for Distributive Education until 1983.

She had a master's of science degree in marketing and distributive education and was one of two initial inductees in the DE Hall of Fame. She served on the Advisory Board of South Carolina State Employees Association, served as Secretary on Winthrop Alumni Board for two years, and received the Distinguished Alumni Award in Physical Education at Winthrop in 2002. She has served as regent of DAR and governor of the S.C. District of Pilot International.

Foundation board members are Aaron Butler, Boyd Gainey, Pam Hughes, Debbie Johnson, Charles Jordan, David Jordan, Davis Inabnet, Porter Kennington, Ann Long, Berns Massey, Marshall Sasser, Brandon Sessions and Mary Ann Stalvey.

Sponsors of the event are Peoples Underwriters, Inc., Palmetto Chevrolet and Hyman Vineyards.

 

 

Arthritis National Research Foundation, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, CureArthritis.org

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

 

Kristy McPherson joins Arthritis National Research Foundation

LONG BEACH, CA -- Kristy McPherson, LPGA Tour Professional, is the newest member of the Board of Directors for the Arthritis National Research Foundation, based in Long Beach, CA.  Kristy is an inspiration to the 300,000 kids in America with juvenile arthritis. Kristy takes control of her Still’s Disease, a rare form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (jRA), instead of having it control her. At age 11, she was confined to her bed and told that she would never play competitive sports again, much less be a champion. Instead, she beat the odds to compete at the highest level in pro golf.

Kristy’s success as an LPGA Tour pro golfer is even more incredible in light of her jRA. She is currently ranked #8 in the U.S., #38 in the world and about to begin her fifth season on tour.  She has fought hard for her success and wants other kids and adults who suffer with arthritis to have the chance for productive, pain-free lives.

To champion the cause that is so close to her heart, Kristy recently joined the Board of Directors for the Arthritis National Research Foundation. “Research is the key to finding new treatments and cures,” says Kristy, “and we concentrate our efforts only on research.”

Kristy brings a whole new dimension to the Arthritis National Research Foundation.
Her international visibility as a golf celebrity and her personal story of faith and victory over her jRA will inspire not only children, but adults who suffer the pain of arthritis every day.  The organization is honored to welcome Kristy to our board of directors. She will play an integral role to increase the public’s awareness about arthritis, the fact that kids get arthritis too, and about the critical need for research to eventually cure these diseases.

“We need you to join our team in the fight against arthritis,” Kristy said recently.  “This organization deserves your support.”

STYLE WATCH: McPherson plays in comfort, LPGA.com

LPGA.com sat down with Kristy McPherson to talk about a piece of her wardrobe that most golfers might not think about too often, SOCKS.

 

How important are socks to your golf wardrobe?

Socks are our livelihood. We are on our feet all the time. I'm not just saying this because Kentwool is my sponsor but it is the best sock out there. All of girls out on Tour that have tried them will tell you. When you are on your feet all the time you better be comfortable. I think everybody has played with a blister or two and sees that it affects your golf game and you can avoid that.

What's the difference between the Kentwool sock and a regular sock?

It's the only sock that goes straight from sheep to sock. They spin it right there. Mark Kent the owner who is making the sock was asked what price range and he said, "I don't care. Make the best sock you can." And that is what he's done. They've made the best sock. It's got padding, cushioning and made from the best material. The cushioning is in all the right spots. You don't think a sock can really make a difference but it does.

Do you think socks are the forgotten accessory?

I think when people get blisters they remember that they probably should've worn good socks. People might not think about it until something bad happens. I've been with Kentwool for two years and I've never worn anything different since then.

 
 

Conway's Kristy McPherson ready to see green again, Wed. Feb. 16, 2011, The Sun News

 

 Sports-Golf

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011

  

Conway star returns from recovery

 

 

 Kristy McPherson anticipates the start of every LPGA Tour season with fervor.That's a product of playing a game for a living and having a passion for her profession.

 Yet the Conway native learned over the past couple months that her eagerness can even be enhanced.

Surgery on her left elbow on Dec. 10 made the offseason break a little longer and a lot less active for McPherson, who begins her fifth LPGA season Thursday in the first round of the tour's season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi, Thailand.

"Coming out of every offseason you get excited about the season starting, but having taken a month off I'm really excited about getting back out there," McPherson said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how much better I can play without having to worry about my elbow."

McPherson went a full month without touching a club following surgery - her longest complete break from the game since she was 12.

She began chipping and putting about Jan. 8, and over the past month she has worked her way up to full swings. She was still trying to get to the point she was swinging at full capacity last week before leaving for Thailand.

"You'll always get a little nervous when it's a month before the season and you haven't hit a golf ball yet," said McPherson, who didn't play a full 18 holes until Jan. 20. "It's going to definitely take a little time to get my feel back."

McPherson takes medication, receives physical therapy and exercises to limit the effects of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which was diagnosed at age 11, when she was hospitalized for three months and bedridden for about a year.

Most of McPherson's aches and pains can be attributed to the disease, so whenever she felt discomfort in her left elbow last year, she essentially dismissed it, until one week last August while at the house she bought for her parents in Murrells Inlet.

"I don't really know when I got the injury," McPherson said. "I was in South Carolina, and all of a sudden my elbow started swelling up and giving me fits. It ended up being a chipped bone in my elbow that got caught in the wrong spot."

McPherson considered having surgery a couple of weeks before the Dec. 2-5 LPGA Tour Championship, but because recovery from the bone chip was only expected to take up to four weeks, she waited until the 2010 season was complete.

When the surgeon took a closer look, he also discovered tennis elbow, which had likely been the source of mild elbow pain for years. "So I got a two-for-one surgery," McPherson said.

The procedure to release tennis elbow involved more scar tissue and inflammation so more recovery time was required, pushing McPherson's rehab to the brink of the season.

McPherson rehabbed at Lowcountry Physical Therapy into mid-January, returned to her home of the past year in Tampa, Fla., to practice in warmer weather, made appearances for sponsors at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in late January, and caught up to friends and fellow tour members at a get-together in Colorado. McPherson asserts that she avoided the ski slopes.

"They all went skiing, but I just watched them ski and hung out," McPherson said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm good enough I probably wouldn't have fallen. But if I did, I just didn't want to fall on my left side and hurt it any further. I made a lot of people promises that I wouldn't [ski]."

McPherson planned to use last week's Australian Women's Masters as a warm-up to the LPGA's two opening events in Asia - the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore is next week - but she withdrew about three weeks ago.

"I wasn't sure if I'd be ready and be able to make it three weeks in a row," McPherson said. "I pulled out to make sure I'd be strong enough to play both Thailand and Singapore."

The third tour event is in Arizona from March 18-20. The limitation McPherson has been working through is mainly in the extension of her backswing, and regaining range of motion has been a painful process. "I can get it around but probably need one extra club right now," McPherson said late last week.

McPherson said she's not concerned about recapturing her smooth swing. She's been one of the tour's better ball-strikers and ranked in the top 30 on tour in both fairways and greens hit in regulation last year.

But she was outside the top 60 in putts per round, putts per green in regulation and sand saves, and worked extensively on her short game and putting when she was unable to fully swing.

"I think it's going to be a blessing in disguise," McPherson said. "Everybody knows short game is where it's at and that's where you win and lose tournaments. ... That's where I needed the most work anyway. Short game has been what has let me down."

McPherson has gone back and forth between belly putters and traditional-length putters over the past few years, and is starting the year with the shorter Odyssey Black Series Blade she used in the second half of 2010. She recently received putting lessons from a few friends, and the results were enough to elicit praise from her father, David.

"If daddy says that then obviously it looks a lot better," McPherson said. "I feel I've done a few things in my putting already to be a little more consistent."

After two consecutive years of improvement in results, scoring average and earnings, McPherson regressed last season. Her scoring average went up a full stroke from a career-best 71.25 in 2009 and she finished 27^th on the money list with $418,000 in official earnings, down from 16^th in '09 with $816,000 earned.

Perhaps the most dramatic drop-off came in the tour's four major championships. After recording three top-seven finishes in 2009, including a tie for second in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, McPherson failed to finish inside the top 18 in a major.

She managed to record her third runner-up finish in the past two years at the CN Canadian Women's Open to account for one of her four top-10s in 2010.

McPherson hopes to relive one of her most gratifying experiences in golf by making her second consecutive U.S. Solheim Cup team. The 12th Solheim Cup, pitting a team of 12 U.S. players against a dozen European standouts, will be played Sept. 23-25 at Killeen Castle in Ireland.

Ten U.S. players qualify on points and there will be two selections by team captain Rosie Jones. McPherson is currently 10th in points, and points are garnered for top-20 finishes through the Aug. 19-21 Safeway Classic.

"My main goal for this year is to make the Solheim Cup team," McPherson said. "...I want to get on that team, get my first win, second, third and fourth wins and all that to come, but I really want to improve from last year. I didn't put myself in contention as I did the year before and didn't contend in majors as I did the year before."

Whatever McPherson accomplishes this year, it appears she'll do it with a former Grand Strand resident by her side. Matt Gelczis, a New Jersey native and Pittsburgh resident who lived on the Strand from 1999-2004, is her new caddie.

McPherson's caddie for the second half of last season, Jon Yarbrough, was hired by long-hitting PGA Tour member Gary Woodland, who already has a pair of top-five finishes in four 2011 events. "You can't blame the caddie, that's where they all want to get," McPherson said. "I think I would go caddie on the PGA Tour if I could with the purses they have."

Gelczis had been caddying for LPGA Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak for the past two years, but Pak is playing a limited schedule and they parted ways.

"I've always liked his style and his work," McPherson said. "Any time you can be on a Hall of Famers bag and stay on it for a couple years you must be doing something right.

"Clearly he's a vocal guy for sure. He's not going to hold back what he thinks. He always seems like he enjoys it. Anytime I get a new caddie I want to find someone I enjoy being with on the course for six consecutive days. The main thing is you always try to get a personality that matches."

When he learned he would no longer work with Pak, Gelczis immediately targeted McPherson, whom he often read and heard about while at the beach and was paired with a few times in recent years. He contacted her friend, Brittany Lincicome, and McPherson offered him a job less than two weeks later.

Gelczis managed The Wine Shoppe in North Myrtle Beach for a couple years, and it was there he met then-Little River resident Angela Buzminski, who has bounced between the developmental Futures and LPGA tours for several years.

He first caddied for Buzminski in an unsuccessful attempt to Monday qualify for an LPGA event in 2003, and has been on the LPGA Tour full-time since 2004. Prior to Pak, Gelczis looped for players including Kelly Cap, Grace Park, Jane Park, Sun Young Yoo and Amy Yang.

 "It's been just a lot of climbing the ladder with better bags and better bags," Gelczis said. "...I purposely held myself back because when I did get a good player who was capable of winning I wanted to make sure I wasn't holding them back. After Amy Yang [early in 2009] I was ready to go after better players."

After several runner-up finishes with a few players, Gelczis got his first win with Pak last May in the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala.

"I was excited even more than Se Ri was," said Gelczis, who was so ecstatic he embraced Pak both before and after the awards ceremony. "She said 'You like this, huh.' She hadn't won in three years but it was her 25th tour win so she was used to winning."

Gelczis has been on tour long enough to know what he's got in McPherson, who has shown her resolve since she was 11.

"I've always been a fan of hers because she plays with such confidence and determination," Gelczis said. "I've worked for other players and sometimes it's just human nature that some players quit. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that about Kristy. There's no quit in her.

"We're both excited about what can happen this year and beyond."

McPherson more so than any previous season-opening week.

Top LPGA golfers fill 2010 field for Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational - Wednesday, November 17,2010

 

By JERRY STEWART
Herald Correspondent

Posted: 11/17/2010 01:32:29 AM PST

Updated: 11/17/2010 11:11:17 AM PST

Spyglass Course

 

Back in June, we saw European Graeme McDowell break through with a big win at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Now, it may be the ladies' turn.

Starting Thursday, the 39th annual Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational, which annually features stars of today and tomorrow from the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Nationwide tours, tees off at Del Monte Golf Course, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach.

Coming into this year's tournament, the last and only female to ever win the event was Juli Inkster in 1990.

Like McDowell snapping the Euros' U.S. Open skid, it could be time for the ladies to end their Invitational drought.

In what is one of the most female-stacked Invitational fields in years, the LPGA contingent will feature among others legend Annika Sorenstam, 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship winner Brittany Lincicome, star Natalie Gulbis, 2009 SBS Open winner Angela Stanford, CN Canadian Women's Open runner-up Kristy McPherson, 2009 U.S. Women's Open runner-up Candie Kung, local LPGA rookie Mina Harigae of Monterey, 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship winner Morgan Pressel, Hana Bank Championship runner-up Vicky Hurst, veteran Jill McGill, up and comer Sandra Gal and Inkster, who's currently No.29 on the LPGA money list.

The strong presence of LPGA players this year is the result of a schedule change. In recent years, the LPGA Championship has conflicted with the Invitational.

"With the calendar move of the LPGA Championship, we have secured 7 of the top 30 in the

current world rankings," tournament director Bill Sendell said.

Not surprisingly, Sorenstam is excited, not just for the ladies' chances, but also her own. While officially retired, the record eight-time Player of the Year still competes in a number of charity events and still has game.

"I haven't seen the full field for this year's Invitational yet, but I heard it is strong," said Sorenstam, who in 1999 came within a stroke of winning the title. "The fact that there is no LPGA tournament opposite us this year should mean we have a lot of talented ladies playing. I look forward to competing with and against them and hopefully one of us can break the trend."

Still, the competition will be tough. On the PGA Tour side, the field includes five 2010 winners: Ryan Palmer (Sony Open), Matt Bettencourt (Reno-Tahoe Open), Derek Lamely (Puerto Rico Open), Cameron Beckman (Mayakoba Golf Classic) and Bill Lunde (Turning Stone Resort Championship). There's also defending champion and three-time winner Mark Brooks, 2009 Bob Hope Classic winner Pat Perez and recent Kodak Challenge winner Troy Merritt.

 

From the Champions Tour, there's 2007 and 2008 winner Tommy Armour III, former First Tee Open champ Scott Simpson and defending First Tee Open champ Ted Schultz.

The Nationwide Tour, meanwhile, will be represented by 2010 money leader and 2011 PGA Tour rookie-to-be Jamie Lovemark, Stevenson alum Nathan Smith, Hunter Haas and Tommy Gainey, who finished 3rd and 4th on the money list, respectively, and Daniel Summerhays, who finished 5th on the money list. Others include 2007 U.S. Amateur champion Colt Knost and Jason Gore, who entered the final round of the 2005 U.S. Open in second place.

One of golf's most unique events, the tournament uses an innovative tee-placement system based on the average length of shots on each tour to make things fair.

While a change of pace for the players, the Invitational is also a one-of-a-kind event for fans. Along with free admission, spectators are granted "inside the ropes" access, meaning they can follow their favorite players directly down the fairways.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, play will be held simultaneously at Del Monte, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach. Following the third round, a cut will be made with the low 10 amateur teams and low 40 pros advancing to Sunday's final round at Pebble Beach.

Last year, Brooks, winner of the 1996 PGA Championship, birdied three of his final four holes to hold off Rickie Fowler and become the first player ever to win the Invitational three times.

Recently, Callaway Golf extended its sponsorship of the event through 2014

LPGA Player Headlines HOF Day- Tuesday, September 21, 2010

LPGA Player Headlines HOF Day.

Shared Success- McPherson quick to support charities, family - by Alan Blondin - The Sun News, Friday, September 17, 2010

By Steve Jessmore sjessmore@thesunnews.com - Kristy McPherson with her dog Trooper and her parents' dogs Allie and Max. McPherson was inducted into the University of South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday

 

MURRELLS INLET -- People always say that when a hometown kid makes it big, they hope it doesn't change them.

Predictably, the fame and relative fortune that Conway native Kristy McPherson has gained in her four years on the LPGA Tour have certainly changed her behavior and spending habit

 

 

_{By Steve Jessmore sjessmore@thesunnews.com - Kristy McPherson's father David (left) insisted she stay and play the U.S. Open after he suffered a stroke earlier this year. The two share a round together when they can.}

 

But they haven't changed her character. She's been spending wantonly, all right, but often on others.

McPherson's success at the highest level of women's golf has allowed her to become more selfless and generous.

When McPherson left the Grand Strand on Thursday bound for Columbia to attend festivities surrounding her induction into the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, she did so from the new spacious Murrells Inlet home she bought her parents, and pulled out of the driveway past the new Buick Enclave she bought her mother, Janice.

"She's become an even better person," said her father, David. "She's pretty cool, you know. She's been great to us and everybody else. She's helped all her friends out. It's just amazing how generous she really is, just helping people out. And one thing about her, Kristy's friends will always be her friends."

What McPherson does now is a job, but she hardly considers it work. She knows what she's got and how she got it. So she instructed her parents to pick out a house so they could move from the modest Conway home they lived in for 28 years. Only at their behest did she first buy herself a home in Tampa, Fla., a couple of years ago.

"I'm pretty lucky to get to play golf for a living, so if you can repay and help the ones who helped you get there, that's the first thing I wanted to do was take care of them before I take care of me," McPherson said. "Because it's not easy when you have kids breaking you, running around playing junior golf and [needing support to] get started on the Futures Tour, so I wanted to give them something nice they deserved and could enjoy. Plus Momma cooks for me when I come home."

She has also bought other family members cars and her father an 18-foot McKee fishing boat. Her parents' home includes an air-conditioned dog house for family pets Max, a Rottweiler, and Allie, a yellow Lab.

The generosity extends well beyond the family. She has helped numerous friends, donated thousands to the women's golf programs at Augusta State and Charleston Southern, where her brother, Kevin, and former teammate Kory Thompson respectively coach, and is a donor to her alma mater, South Carolina. She also participates in numerous charity events each year.

"She's gone from being a little girl who was a money grubber to being a giver now," David McPherson said.

"I liked money," explained Kristy, who has won $1.67 million on the LPGA Tour. "I'd rub your feet for an hour for a quarter. I wanted to work, and I wanted money."

Earning hall induction

McPherson, 29, is being honored tonight for when she played for free. She is being inducted along with seven other athletes for her collegiate success at USC. She was a three-time First-Team All-American in her final three years and two-time SEC individual champion. "I feel like I got better every year," McPherson said. "My goal was always SEC Player of the Year and my senior year I finally got that, so I felt I was going out on a high note."

Seven years after her graduation, McPherson is still an ardent Gamecocks fan. She has USC football season tickets, though she's only been able to attend one game in the past two years because of her playing schedule. "Bu my brothers are enjoying them," she said

 

 

 

^{The Associated Press file photo - Kristy McPherson never missed a cut}

 ^{on the Duramed Futures Tour, the LPGA Tour's proving grounds.}

 

She watched much of the first half of last Saturday's game against Georgia while being worked on in the tour's physical therapy trailer before the second round of the P&G NW Arkansas Championship, where she tied for fourth, then received updates on the course.

"I had about eight guys following me around and they gave me play-by-play," McPherson said. "After I knew they won on the sixth hole, I told my caddie, 'Now we can concentrate on golf.'"

McPherson bought the Tampa home a couple of years ago in part because she was playing mini-tour events there in the offseason. The lack of a state income tax was also a bonus. But her ties to the area, the Gamecocks and her family will likely bring her back in the near future.

"I want to get back up here so I can be closer to family and friends, and get to see the things I've missed out on in the past," said McPherson, who is considering buying a home in Charleston, Columbia or Myrtle Beach. "I don't know if I'll keep the place in Florida or not, but I definitely want to get back this way."

Professional progression

After graduating from USC, McPherson spent 31/2years on the developmental Duramed Futures Tour. She didn't miss a cut in 60 tournaments but also didn't win until her third full season, when she won twice to finish in the top five on the money list and earn 2007 LPGA Tour status.

"Three-and-a-half years was a lot longer than I wanted to be out there, but I needed every bit of the 31/2 years," McPherson said. "It took me my third year out there to learn how to win. It was frustrating at the time, and every year leaving Q-School without a card makes you want to quit golf, but ... it taught me a lot I needed to know to get to the LPGA."

McPherson improved in each of her first three LPGA seasons. She finished 97th on the money list with $79,724 earned and one top-25 finish as a rookie, and in 2008 she improved to 47th on the money list with $407,000 earned and six top-10 finishes in 26 events.

Last year, she moved up to 16th on the money list with $816,000 earned. She finished second at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and fifth at the McDonald's LPGA Championship - both majors - second at the Wegmans LPGA and third at the LPGA Tour Championship.

The season was capped by McPherson's participation on the 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team, which defeated a team of international stars. "Making it once, you never want to miss another team again," McPherson said. "That's obviously my goal."

McPherson's lighthearted personality was said by captain Beth Daniel and team members to be a bond that helped develop team unity. "I feel I can go out to dinner and have a drink with just about anybody on tour, and I would hope they would say the same," McPherson said. "It's people you see 30 weeks out of the year so you'd better get along or learn to get along. You can't really be a girl about it or you're going to have a long year."

Heating up

After raising the bar in 2009, McPherson got off to a slow start in 2010, recording just one top 10 through her first 14 events. But in her last two tournaments, McPherson tied for second at the CN Canadian Women's Open, where she closed with a 66, and tied for second in the P&G NW Arkansas Championship, where she shot consecutive 68s in the final two rounds.

The combined $206,000 she's won in the past two events allowed her to climb to 23rd on the money list with nearly $358,000 earned. "I think the last couple weeks have kind of saved the season a little bit and made it at least a decent season," McPherson said.

A three-week break beginning this week in the LPGA schedule comes at an inopportune time. "That's my own fault for figuring it out a little late in the season," McPherson said. "You'd like to figure it out in about February. It's frustrating, but definitely if I could play the next three weeks I would because I'm getting a little run going."

She intends to play in six of the remaining seven events on the 2010 schedule, skipping Malaysia but playing in Korea, Japan and Mexico.

McPherson is still seeking her first LPGA win. Her closest call came at the 2009 Kraft where she took a one-shot lead to the 18th tee but watched friend Brittany Lincicome hit a hybrid to 3 feet to make eagle and win by a shot.

"It's tough to win; it's tough to put four good days of golf together," McPherson said. "A bad day of even par ain't gonna cut it. You'd better be under par all four days, and it's getting tougher and tougher. Obviously we have a very international tour, and the girls are good out there.

"I feel like I've been close, but I don't feel like I've done what I need to do to win yet."

A season of change

McPherson parted ways before the season with caddie Thane Aalyson after 11/2 years and hired longtime LPGA Tour caddie Jon Yarbrough, who worked for Morgan Pressel before moving to the PGA Tour and working with John Mallinger for the past two years.

"I think we just kind of got comfortable," McPherson said of her relationship with Aalyson. "I feel [Yarbrough] pushes me a lot and knows when to go for it and when to take our medicine. I feel we're making better decisions on the golf course."

McPherson has worked a minimal amount with instructors, but she worked briefly on the range at the U.S. Open with Angela Stanford's instructor, Mike Wright. She liked what he had to say enough to visit him a couple of times in Fort Worth, get a putting tip from him two weeks ago and send him a video that he quickly critiqued.

"I've always hit one shot: a right-to-left draw," McPherson said. "I feel like I can go out and hit different golf shots now. I feel I can hit any shot you want me to. I think that's what you need in order to give yourself chances to win out there. If you only have one ball flight then you take away a lot of the golf course. ...

"I feel I'm hitting the ball the best I have my four years out there, and I'm still learning a lot more about the game and learning a lot more about the golf swing."

Though she's working on it, putting has never been McPherson's strength. She switched back to a regulation-length putter from a belly putter following the LPGA Championship in late June, and tied for 10th the next week at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

She believes she hit it well enough in Canada to win by several strokes. "When you have 6- to 8-footers for birdie every hole and you make three or four a round, it drives you nuts," McPherson said.

Dealing with illness

McPherson would have gladly accepted missed putts as a nagging concern when she was 11 and stricken with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The painful condition kept her in the hospital for three months and bedridden for nearly a year, and she still combats the affliction, also known as Still's Disease, with daily medication, stretching and physical therapy.

She also receives occasional cortisone shots. "Just keep shooting me up until we make it through," McPherson said. "People don't think golf is tough, but golf will beat down your body."

Hip and elbow ailments are the injuries du jour. "I think I'm a little more prone to injury, and at the end of the year I get kind of beat down," McPherson said. "It's a long year traveling and it's been tough lately with the body falling apart."

Although McPherson has dealt with her own illness since childhood, her father's illnesses have been perhaps harder to accept. The most recent setback was a stroke in July.

McPherson was on her way to pick up family members at the airport in Pittsburgh the Monday before the U.S. Women's Open when she received news of the stroke. Kristy told him she was going home to Murrells Inlet. "It was very fortunate he didn't lose his speech," McPherson said. "That was the only reason I didn't come home and decided to play, because he could yell at me and tell me, 'No, you're staying right there.'"

Golf remains a strengthening bond in the McPherson family. Kristy and David have played together since she was 12, sometimes playing from dawn until dusk at Pineland Country Club in Nichols.

David caddied for Kristy in numerous tournaments, including the 2003 Futures Tour Championship with a broken femur bone in his left leg caused by a large cancerous tumor. A titanium rod now takes the place of the bone, David's left hip is porcelain, his left kidney was removed because it was cancerous, and the muscle from his left buttocks was removed. The stroke has left the right side of his body largely numb, but he gets around fine with a cane. "I'm just glad to be alive," David said.

The McPhersons have made family vacations out of treks to watch Kristy play, but those trips have been limited to one this year, in March in California. A second organized for Atlantic City was canceled when McPherson's maternal grandmother died, and the third was the U.S. Women's Open.

"I can't stand it," said David, who is planning to attend the Navistar LPGA Classic in Alabama in three weeks. "We haven't had our golf fix this year."

Lang tames Oakmont leads by one, McPherson in hunt, Friday, July 9, 2010, AP Press

Conway native McPherson tied for 8th

The Associated Press

 

 

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Temperatures were in the 90s. Michelle Wie was in the 80s. On a demanding day when tough old Oakmont Country Club illustrated again that playing par golf can be an achievement, only Brittany Lang was in the 60s.

Lang withstood Oakmont's slick, sun-browned greens and the unrelenting heat to shoot a 2-under 69 on Thursday and take a one-shot lead over 2008 champion Inbee Park, amateur Kelli Shean and three others in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open.

"You said it couldn't be done, but on any golf course you can shoot a low number," Lang said. "If you're hitting the ball good, you can for sure shoot a low score out here. But if you're not on your game you can shoot a big one."

 

Rolling in a 40-foot putt on the 442-yard No. 15 to seize a two-shot lead before giving up a stroke at difficult No. 18, Lang managed to shoot the round of the day at a time of the day - late afternoon and early evening - when Oakmont's greens were chewed up and as unpredictable than ever.

Shean, a South Africa native who was pushed to become a world-class golfer by idol Ernie Els, and South Korea's Park were joined at 1-under 70 by two other Korean golfers, M.J. Hur and Amy Yang.

Cristie Kerr, America's first world No. 1-ranked golfer following her monumental 12-shot win at the LPGA Championship two weeks ago, was among a more-than-crowded group of 14 that included Conway native Kristy McPherson at 1-over 72. She was glad to be there, too.

McPherson began with a bogey, but quickly dropped to 1 under with birdies on three and four. She bogeyed 12 and 18 coming home.

Conway's Kristy McPherson peaking at right time as Open dawns, By Alan Blondin, The Sun News, Thursday, July 8, 2010

 

_{Conway native Kristy McPherson finished tied for 10th last week, her first top-10 finish of the season}

Kristy McPherson has had an admittedly disappointing year to this point in the LPGA Tour season.

The Conway native has improved her finishes on the money list from 97th as a rookie in 2007 to 47th in '08 to 16th last year with $816,000 in winnings. She has fallen to 44th this year with less than $98,000 earned midway through the schedule.

But there are several reasons for optimism entering today's U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh.

McPherson is coming off her first top-10 of the year last week as tweaks to her swing are starting to come together, a hip injury that has been nagging her is improving, she's excited about her putting after switching back to a short putter for the first time in two years, and the Open and Oakmont require the kind of golf she enjoys and has excelled playing.

"I'm happy where I am," McPherson said Wednesday after playing 12 practice holes at Oakmont. "It has been frustrating. After a good year last year you set your goals higher and have higher expectations, and I haven't been able to score. I've played very average starting off.

"But I've been working on my golf game and working on my swing so I can be a better player overall. Sometimes you have to go backwards a little bit to become a better player. ... It's getting better. I'm not afraid to hit different shots on the golf course and I feel I can control my golf ball and make shots for a U.S. Open."

McPherson's tie for 10th last week in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic was her first top-10 in 10 events this season, and she was coming off consecutive missed cuts in the LPGA State Farm Classic and LPGA Championship, ending a streak of 17 consecutive cuts dating back to last July.

She has been working on weaning off her dependency to hit the slight draw that has characterized her ball flight since childhood, and that has taken time to develop this year.

"I've always hit a draw and I'm working to get out of that, to hit it left or right any time I want to handle courses like this," McPherson said. "For a long time last year I was getting to where I was playing my best shot when I could hit the left to right shot and control shots going into greens. You get out of that when your body gets beat up, and this offseason I wasn't able to work as much."

McPherson has been bothered by a labrum injury in her right hip that has flared up periodically for the past 18 months. The injury is likely exacerbated by McPherson's Rheumatoid Arthritis

Though she's still looking for her first LPGA Tour victory, McPherson has excelled in majors. She had three top-seven finishes in four major appearances last year, including a tie for second in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, with the only exception a tie for 34th in the U.S. Open in her second career Open appearance. She also qualified in 2005.

In majors this season, she has the missed cut at the LPGA Championship and tie for 34th in April's Kraft Nabisco Championship. She was bothered by the hip at the Kraft.

"That's always been my strength: keeping it straight, keeping it in play and making pars," McPherson said. "In the Kraft I was not as healthy as I wanted to be and was missing fairways. Now I'm hitting the tee ball the way I want and it's encouraging. I like the tougher golf courses, the tougher conditions that make you grind for 18 holes."

Grinding will definitely be necessary at Oakmont, renowned as one of the toughest courses in the country. It is being played as a par-71 measuring approximately 6,600 yards.

Angel Cabrera won the last men's U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2007 with a 5-over 285, though Patty Sheehan won the only Women's Open at Oakmont in 1992 with a 4-under 280. The course features nearly 200 menacing and penalizing bunkers, including the famed church pew bunkers between the third and fourth fairways.

"Everybody that's played it said it's the hardest course they've every played, and I can't argue with that," McPherson said. "Before I got here everybody always said if you can get through holes one, two and three you'll be all right, but it doesn't get much easier after that. It makes you pay attention for 18 holes."

Oakmont's greens are perhaps its best defense, and McPherson said they are rolling at a treacherous 14.5 on the Stimpmeter. "Every U.S. Open they're going to get them rolling quick, and they're definitely the fastest greens I've played," she said. "You would hate for this to be your first Open coming here, it would scare you to death."

The green speeds aren't necessarily a bad thing for McPherson, though she's only in her second week of putting with a regulation putter again for the first time in nearly two years. She wanted to make the change from an offset putter face, and decided to go with a regulation-length putter shaft to do it. "The putter was good [last week] I was just leaving it short, so I'm kind of happy to be playing on 14.5 greens," McPherson said.

The confidence McPherson gained by finishing 16th on the 2009 money list, putting herself in contention for major titles and helping the U.S. win the Solheim Cup hasn't dissipated with McPherson's early-season mediocre play.

"Obviously it's been a frustrating start to the season, but I haven't lost any confidence knowing it's a frustrating start because I'm doing things to try to become a better player," McPherson said

LPGA Tour Player Kristy McPherson Named Honorary Chair for EWGA 2010 ‘Women Who Lead’ Awards Program / GolfClubBusiness.com / Monday, June 14, 2010

 

 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., June 15, 2010 – LPGA Tour and Solheim Cup player Kristy McPherson has been named the Honorary Chair of the 2010 ‘Women Who Lead’ Awards program of the EWGA (Executive Women’s Golf Association). She will play a round of golf with three of the award winners at the April 2011 EWGA Conference in Amelia Island, Florida.

Introduced in 2008, the annual EWGA ‘Women Who Lead’ Awards are designed to recognize outstanding performance and outstanding results among EWGA chapter volunteer leaders in 10 distinct categories. The categories include overall leadership, spirit, change agent, membership recruitment, golf education, golf events, golf leagues, sponsorship, making connections and community impact.

From nominations from members, finalists in each category are selected and then the 10 award winners are chosen. The award recipients will be honored at the EWGA conference, receive a commemorative gift and entered in a drawing to win one of the three playing spots with Kristy at Amelia Island Plantation.

“It is such an honor to be named Honorary Chair for the EWGA’s 2010 Women Who Lead Awards Program,” says McPherson. “Golf has been a huge part of my life since a young age and I have been fortunate enough to be able to follow my dreams and play on the LPGA Tour!”

“I am truly blessed each and every day to be able to play this crazy game that we all love. I am grateful to all of the amazing women that have made it possible and hope that I can have a positive impact on other young girls and women who share my passion for the game,” she continued. “I look forward to playing a round of golf with the women of the EWGA who are leading in a variety of ways that make a difference for women of today and those to follow.”

Diagnosed at age 11 with Still’s disease, a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Kristy began playing golf and competed on her high school boys’ golf team. She received a golf scholarship to the University of South Carolina, earning her degree in Sports and Entertainment management and SEC Player of the Year honors in 2003.Turning pro after graduation, Kristy played on the Duramed FUTURES Tour through 2006 and never missed a cut in 60 events. Competing on the LPGA Tour in 2007, her best finish was a tie for 18th at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger. Kristy recorded six top-10 finishes in 2008. In 2009, she posted career-best ties for second at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Wegmans LPGA, and qualified as one of three rookies on the victorious 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team.

Since its founding in 1991 as the Executive Women’s Golf Association, the EWGA has enriched the lives of more than 100,000 women connecting them to learn, play, and enjoy golf for business and fun. This tax exempt association delivers a wide range of golf, social and networking activities for both new and experienced golfers at over 125 local chapters throughout the United States and international chapters in Canada. The EWGA is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. For more information, see www.ewga.com

Conway native Kristy McPherson wins first match at LPGA match play event / AP Press / Friday, May 21, 2010

By John Nicholson - The Associated Press

 

 

^{Conway native Kristy McPherson tees off on the first hole during her match Thursday}

 

 

GLADSTONE, N.J. -- Michelle Wie smacked herself on the rear end after three-putting for her lone bogey in the first round of the Sybase Match Play Championship.

"I was angry," said Wie, a 2-up winner over Stacy Prammanasudh on Thursday at Hamilton Farm. "I do that so that I get angry and forget about it and move on.

"I just said, 'It was a stupid error, a stupid mistake.' I get mad at myself for a little bit, so I don't take it to the next tee box and I'm completely over it."

It worked.

After falling behind with the bogey on the par-3 eighth, Wie birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to regain the lead. Prammanasudh birdied 15 to tie it, but Wie pulled ahead with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th and won with a conceded birdie on 18.

"It was a fight. She played extremely well," Wie said. "It was one of those matches where you had to make birdie to win, so kind of with that mindset, I went out and grinded and just tried to make birdies."

The eighth-seeded Wie will face Hee Young Park, a 19-hole winner over Ji Young Oh, in the second round Friday.

Another golfer who fell behind early was Conway native Kristy McPherson. McPherson, the 18th seed, was down 2 after six holes but rallied for a 3 and 2 victory over 47th-seeded Meena Lee, closing her out with a birdie on the par-3 16th.

Inperfect, cloudless conditions after rain soaked the hilly course Tuesday, Shin beat Kyeong Bae 3 and 2, and Miyazato, the winner of three of the first six events of the season, topped Jeong Jang 4 and 3. Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairways.

On the 515-yard 18th, Wie laid up and hit a wedge shot to 8 feet. Prammanasudh hit her second shot into a bunker about 80 yards from the green, sent her third over the green and conceded after failing to reach the putting surface with her fourth shot.

"It's match play, you never know what is going to happen," Prammanasudh said. "I played my best. ... I hit great shots all day and unfortunately hit one bad one."

Playing in the last group of the day, Wie and Prammanasudh teed off a little over 30 minutes late because three of the first four matches went to extra holes.

They still got off to a fast start, with Wie holing out from 50 feet for the first of her seven birdies after Prammanasudh hit her second shot to 3 feet.

"She put it in 3 feet and that's the only thing I had," Wie said.

Inkster made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to force extra holes, then finished off Pettersen with a 4-foot par putt on the par-3 third.

"I was never up in the match all day, so it's just match play, it's weird," Inkster said. "I don't think we both played our best golf, but that's the thing with match play. Even though you're playing the third-best player in the world, if you make a few putts and hit a few good shots here and there, you have a shot."

Se Ri Pak, a playoff winner last week in Mobile, Ala., dropped out with a 3-and-2 loss to Azahara Munoz, and 62nd-seeded Beatriz Recari upset Brittany Lincicome, the match-play winner in 2006

 

LPGA players tee it up for Houston Boys & Girls Clubs / The Woodlands Villager / April 21, 2010

By Charlie Bier  

Updated: 04.21.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Forty-six players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association are going to tee it up in The Woodlands during the 21st annual Randalls for Kids Charity Golf Tournament.

The event, which takes place Monday at Canongate at The Woodlands, raises money for programs and operating expenses of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. The clubs provide guidance-oriented, after-school programs for youth from ages 7 to 17.

The tournament, underwritten by Randalls, raised $247,316 in 2009, and nearly $4 million over its 20-year run.

“With the economy the way it is, we are finding more and more kids and families need our services, and to have a partner like Randalls that’s so strong, increasing their support when (securing) funding sources can be more difficult … is amazing,” said Angela Hodson, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston.

Teams will play on both the Panther Trail course and The Oaks course located at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center.

Among the LPGA Tour players scheduled to play the four-person scramble — a pro will anchor each team — are Stacy Lewis of The Woodlands and Kim Bauer of Houston. Other golfers include Angela Stanford, Hilary Lunke, Michelle McGann, Cindy Figg-Currier of Austin and Sarah Lynn Sargent.

“It’s great lineup of LPGA players that are coming in to support the event,” Hodson said.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston has 10 clubs in Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Waller counties.

Alan Blondin on golf: Conway native Kristy McPherson laments loss of LPGA's top player / Saturday, April 24,2010

Conway native Kristy McPherson knew Lorena Ochoa's days on the LPGA Tour were numbered, but she was hoping it would be weeks, months or years rather than actual days before she hung up her golf spikes.

Ochoa's announced exit this week marks the second time in three years the LPGA Tour is losing one of its top two players. Annika Sorenstam retired two years ago.

"We all kind of knew it," McPherson said Friday. "You could see a different Lorena out there playing. But it was a lot sooner than we thought. Any time you lose the No. 1 player it's tough for the tour. It leaves a big hole. The rest of us just have to step it up. Lorena will still be a big part of the LPGA Tour, as Annika is now, but not having her out there playing is still going to leave a big hole."

Sorenstam and Ochoa have left the tour both at relatively young ages and on top of their games to focus on other endeavors, including having families. It's an inherent issue the LPGA and its players will wrestle with forever. Though playing golf and raising a family aren't mutually exclusive, it's difficult to dedicate enough time to do both well.

"It's obviously something most of us want out here," McPherson said. "That's the biggest challenge playing the LPGA Tour and traveling so much, you're never settled and it's hard to have relationships and families. I think that's a challenge I've thought about down the road. That's a challenge women have the guys don't have, so it's a decision all of us will have to make at some point."

McPherson, like Ochoa, is 28. She'll be 29 in May. "I know eventually I want a family, but I want to play golf as well," McPherson said. "That's a decision I'm going to have to make, and I'm getting up in age so it's coming up soon, but there's a process that goes with that and you still have to meet someone first."

A number of players have returned to the tour following childbirth and played exceptionally well, most notably Nancy Lopez and Juli Inkster. Others include Pat Hurst and Laura Diaz. But family circumstances aren't always favorable for travel, and the tour's heavily international schedule doesn't help.

"You have a handful that just took enough time off to have kids then came back to playing, but they're fortunate to have their husbands in the game or around the game and can be out there," McPherson said. "You don't get too many Hall of Famers who have come back and then won a bunch of tournaments. Juli is the perfect role model for balancing her family and career."

The MOJO 6 / About Golf.com /Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wednesday April 14, 2010

 

 

The Mojo 6, the type of tournament normally seen during the so-called "silly season" but appearing now during a gap in the LPGA Tour schedule, takes place Thursday and Friday in Jamaica. CBS will air the results May 1-2.

While the tournament is an unofficial event on the LPGA schedule (earnings don't count toward the money list; the winner is not credited with an LPGA win, and so on), it's a good chance for the tour to experiment with a new format.

That format, created by The Mojo 6 tournament organizers, is called "Raceway Golf." It involves 6-hole, points-based matches, with players picking who they want to play.

The Mojo 6 has a 16-player field. One of those players is 15-year-old amateur Mariah Stackhouse, a tournament invitee; another is LPGA rookie Bea Recari, who won a fan vote for the final spot.

At a pairings party Tuesday night, the first matchups were selected. Suzann Pettersen went first and, not surprisingly, chose to play Stackhouse. Here are the pairings for Thursday's initial 6-hole matches:

• Sophie Gustafson vs. Amanda Blumenherst
• Song-Hee Kim vs. Morgan Pressel
• Na Yeon Choi vs. Brittany Lang
• Anna Nordqvist vs. Kristy McPherson
• Yani Tseng vs. Brittany Lincicome
• Cristie Kerr vs. Beatriz Recari
• Suzann Pettersen vs. Mariah Stackhouse
• Angela Stanford vs. Christina Kim

As noted, each of the matches is only six holes in length. Over those six holes, players accrue points based on 1 point for winning a hole, a half-point for halving hole; the winner of the match gets an additional one point.

The players are then re-ranked based on points earned, with the Top 8 players getting to choose their opponents for next set of matches. On Day 1, there are three sets of 6-hole matches. At the end of Day 1, the bottom eight in points are cut.

The Top 8 move on to Day 2, continuing to play 6-hole matches but playing straight-up match play through quarterfinals, semifinals and a championship match. So Day 2 is fairly typical aside from the 6-hole length of the matches.

For more on The Mojo 6, visit the tournament Web site.

2010 Hootie and the Blowfish 'MAM' Celebrity - Pro-Am / Tuesday, April 13,2010

By Conan Gasque
Published: April 13, 2010
Updated: April 13, 2010

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — D.J. Trahan was not among the golfers who competed in the 2010 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club this past week.

The former Clemson standout did not receive a green jacket or even have the opportunity to land a shot on the green.

But on the day after the tournament concluded, he walked away a champion.Trahan led the six-person group that won the 16th-annual Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament at The Dye Club at Barefoot Resort and Golf.

The PGA Tour golfer and his playing partner, country music singer Steve Azar, led their group to a round of 18-under par, one stroke ahead of the field.

But for Trahan and the other pro golfers and celebrities in the tournament on Monday, winning wasn’t the main goal. The annual tournament, hosted by Hootie and the Blowfish, is about raising money for education and junior golf.

“It’s nice to come out and support an event that raises so much money for charity,” Trahan said. “These guys have been doing this for a lot of years now and have raised a lot of money for the state of South Carolina. So it’s a great event and certainly something you want to be a part of.”

Proceeds from the tournament go to the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation, which supports the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation and children’s educational needs in South Carolina. In its history, the event has raised over $4 million for the cause.

The tournament draws some of the top names in golf and entertainment. Some of the competitors in this year’s event included former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, PGA Tour veterans Jim Furyk and John Daly, and Hollywood actor Tom Berenger.

But the field is also filled with folks who have local ties, like Bishopville native Tommy “Two-Gloves” Gainey and former Coastal Carolina golfer Dustin Johnson, who just completed the Masters.

Johnson, whose group was among five teams to tie for second at 17-under, says the tournament holds a special meaning to him because of its proximity to his Myrtle Beach home.

“Well, it’s a good chance for me to come out and play for some of my fans here in Myrtle Beach and hang out with some of my buddies,” he said. “I get a lot of support from my community and I like to give back or come out and play for them. It’s great.”

Hootie and the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker’s group, which included Furyk, was also among those tied for second.

Rucker felt the event was successful — not because his group finished second, but because the celebrities and pro golfers showed their support.

“That’s what makes the tournament work is getting those guys to come out every year and do something special for us, and play golf and come to the parties and play the shows,” he said. “That’s what makes it special and makes people come out.”

Rucker and the other members of Hootie and the Blowfish attended USC, but they weren’t the only ones representing the Gamecocks. Former USC receiver Sterling Sharpe and 1980 Heisman Trophy winning running back George Rogers also teed off in the event. So did LPGA golfer Kristy McPherson, a Conway native who played at USC.

“It’s always a tournament and event that’s special to my heart,” she said. “It’s good to be back near home and having a good time and getting the hometown crowd and raising money for some good causes.”

Monday After the Masters / SC Now.com / Monday, April 12, 2010

Golfers steal show at Monday After the Masters / WMBF News.com /April 13, 2010

By Justin Felder - bio | email

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Even with Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and former world champions like professional wrestler Ric Flair, it was those who played golf for a living who got much of the attention at the 16th annual Hootie and the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am.

The event raised money for a variety of charities, all helping youngsters across South Carolina.

Each team had one professional golfer, one celebrity and several sponsors. Included among those golfers garnering a lot of attention was Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson, who traces his golf roots back to Monday After the Masters.

"I remember growing up as a little kid. I think I might've even caddied in it one time when I was younger," Johnson recalled.

 

 

 ^{Dustin Johnson}

 

 

 

^{Kristy McPherson} 

Another local product in the spotlight was Conway native Kristy McPherson, who says even though she isn't totally comfortable being called a celebrity, she's happy her career on the LPGA Tour is finally taking off.

"It's a tough road," she said. "I took the long road there, to start seeing some success on the LPGA and seeing some success out there, it's very rewarding."

As for the biggest golf name, it would probably come down to two players.

 

 

 

^{John Daly} 

 

 

^{Darius Rucker} 

John Daly, serenaded fans with a rendition of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Jim Furyk, who was teamed with tournament host Darius Rucker, was happy to get to a relaxing tournament after missing the cut at The Masters.

Furyk did look back fondly on his hole-in-one during The Masters Par 3 Contest.

"That was the only highlight of my Masters week," said Furyk. "I shot 80, 76... there wasn't a lot of highlights in there."

Furyk and Johnson's teams were two of the five teams tying for second in the tournament. The winning team was led by PGA Tour golfer D.J. Trahan. His group shot -18 for the round.

Players participate in 2010 Betty Ford Invitational Pro Am

On Monday, April 5, just a day after competing in their first major championship of the season at the Kraft Nabisco Championship,  17 Tour members participated in the 24th Annual Betty Ford Invitational Pro-Am at The Club at Morningside in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The event benefits the Financial Assistance Program at the Betty Ford Center - a non-profit, comprehensive addiction hospital.

Front Row: Liselotte Neumann, Angela Stanford, Jimin Kang, Julieta Granada, Leta Lindley, Alena Sharp, Juli Inkster
Back Row: Heather Bowie Young, Catriona Matthew, Kristy McPherson, Stacy Prammanasudh, Brittany Lincicome, Commissioner Mike Whan, Susan Ford Bales, President and Betty Ford's daughter, Michelle Ellis, Sherri Steinhauer, Nicole Castrale, Pat Hurst

(Photo courtesy of Marc Glassman Photography)

 

Players pose with Susan Ford Bales, President and Betty Ford's daughter, after she received a $10,000 donation for the Betty Ford Legacy Fund from The Val Skinner Foundation & LIFE (LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer) in honor of LIFE's 10-year national honorary chairman Mrs. Betty Ford. Mrs. Ford’s support and service to the women served through LIFE’s national outreach campaign, Komen on the Go and the clinical services through the LIFE Center at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is valuedby all of LIFE’s partners, participants and LPGA professionals.  They made the gift in the name of Christian J Plumeri a beloved son of one of LIFE’s supporters and friend’s Joe Plumeri.

 

Taking Augusta National for a test drive / The Forecaddie / Golfweek / March 19, 2010

The Man Out Front challenges anyone to find a looping gig that rivaled working for Anna Rawson last week. The LPGA player/model teed it up at Seminole and Augusta National before crossing the country to Kona, Hawaii (and Hualai) to prepare for her first LPGA event of the season in San Diego. "Don;t hat," she tweeted on Twitter. Hey, with 14 inches of snow still on the ground at The Forecaddie's winter castle, we'll try our best.

Rawson wasn't the only LPGA player testing the turf at Augusta before the men get there. Angela Stanford and Kristy McPherson took the storied trip down Magnolia Lane on March 9. This marked Stanford's first time playing Augusta; it was McPherson's third.

"You've got to have something to do for three weeks," joked Stanford, referring to a gaping hole in the LPGA's schedule.

Actually, the round was a "thank you" gift from the Augusta State women's golf program, where McPherson's older brother, Kevin, is head coach. McPherson understandably, is a big supporter. Stanford one-upped her by giving $1 more to the program to garner honors as top donor. (And you don't think these LPGA gals are competitive?) Both players' names are on a plaque at the J.Fleming Norvell Golf House.

The two Solheim CUp teammates were joined by McPherson's father, David and Norvell, a huge supporter of the Jaguar golf programs. Oh and he happens to be an Augusta National member.

Both LPGA players played the members tees, with Stanford shooting even-par 72 and McPherson 73. Each made four birdies.

McPherson posted an Augusta trivia question on Twitter: Which U.S. president has the original desk and telephone sitting in the library of the Augusta National clubhouse?

She offered a National hat to the first person to tweet the correct answer.

The Man Out Front's answer: Ike.

Pass my new hat, please.

Darius Rucker, Jack Ingram + More Join Hootie Golf Event / March 17, 2010 / The Boot- by Alan Conaway

March 17, 2010 by Alan Conaway - The Boot

Darius Rucker will team up with his old bandmates next month when they will host the 16th annual Hootie and the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jack Ingram, Steve Azar and Colt Ford will join Darius and his band as well as other PGA Tour players who will be in attendance, including Jim Furyk, John Daly, Woody Austin, Rich Beem, and LPGA player and Myrtle Beach resident Kristy McPherson. Other celebrities and athletes participating in the event will include "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair,

NASCAR drivers Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip, NFL Hall of Famer and Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers, Bernie Kosar, Jim McMahon, Kordell Stewart, and NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason.

"Country music artists and country radio have really embraced me, so it's great to see so many of my new friends joining us in an effort to raise money for the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation," says Darius.

"Each year, the list of great athletes and celebrities continues to grow," the singer continues, "and to know we come to Myrtle Beach to have fun and raise money for a great cause is without a doubt one of the things I look forward to doing every spring."

Tickets to the event, to be held on April 12 at the Dye Club at Barefoot Resort & Golf, went on sale last month and are close to being sold out. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the Barefoot Resort & Golf pro shops and all Ticketmaster outlets. Children under 12 years of age and younger are admitted free. All ticket proceeds benefit the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation. Last year's event recorded its fourth consecutive sell-out and raised $155,000 for various South Carolina charities.

MOJO 6 Golf Tourney for Jamaica

BY DANIA BOGLE Observer staff reporter

Monday, March 15, 2010

The MOJO 6

The Caribbean's number one rated golfing destination -- Jamaica -- will stage the inaugural MOJO 6 Raceway Golf tournament at Cinnamon Hill Course in Montego Bay from April 13-16.

This is the first time in 20 years that Jamaica will host an event sanctioned by the Ladies Professional Golf Association, (LPGA).

The MOJO 6, which was launched at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club yesterday, will boast 15 elite female golfers, including six of the world's seven top-ranked players.

Paula Creamer, Cristina Kim and Suzann Pettersen have already confirmed their participation, while fans will be invited to vote to select a 16th player to compete for the US$ 1 million dollar purse. Fifteen-year-old Mariah Stackhouse has also been invited by the tournament's organisers to compete.

Raceway Golf is played over two days with 16 golfers playing six-hole matches. The top eight will go on to the Championship on day two and will compete in a bracket single-elimination where three match victories crown the champion.

The tournament will be broadcast on network television on CBS on May 1 and 2 and is expected to attract viewers in over one million households world-wide.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who was keynote speaker at the launch, said he was pleased about golf's return to the Olympics at the 2016 event in Rio de Janeiro and said that six years would not be too short a time to bring high profile attention to the sport locally.

"The kind of attention that it is going to bring to Jamaica, the exposure, the publicity that it is going to give us is far beyond the value of the prizes that are being awarded," he said.

Jamaican female golfers such as local champion Jodi Munn and junior player Vittoria Marley will also be able to display their skills in the amateur section.

Olympic medal winning swimmer, Ed Moses, who is part of the organising committee, was optimistic about the new format of the sport as well as the event and what it has to offer.

"We really believe it's gonna shock the world and we want this to be one of the most viewed events for the LPGA this year," Moses said.

Three LPGA Stars experience the magic of Augusta / USA Today /March 12, 2010

 

 

By Steve DiMeglio,USA TODAY

 
<sup>The 13th green at Augusta National Golf Club. Recently a trio of LPGA stars, Angela Stanford, Kristy McPherson and Anna Rawson, got a shot at playing the hallowed course.

By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY</sup>

 

 

 

Angela Stanford shot even-par 72 with four birdies. Kristy McPherson had four birdies, too, and shot 1-over despite a double-bogey. Anna Rawson made two birdies but lost track of what her score was on the back nine.

An LPGA tournament last week? Not quite.

In a happenstance moment, the three LPGA tour players ended up in the same place for a memorable 18 holes of golf.

At Augusta National Golf Club.

"What an unbelievable place! It lives up to all the expectations!" is what Rawson tweeted on Twitter shortly after finishing her round at the home of The Masters,where Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watsom Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods all have left lasting imprints. And don't think the three didn't soak in that 7,445-yard stroll through the Hall of Fame.

"One for the books," is what Stanford tweeted about a day between the Gerogia pines under sunny skies with barely a hint of wind. "Amazing day at Augusta National! 1 over with a double on 13 :( but 4 birdies on the front! A pretty spectacular day!" is what McPherson tweeted.

Some 48 hours after they drove down Magnolia Lane to head home, the three were still bustling with memories.

"God was having a really good day that day" when the course was designed, Stanford remembered thinking as she walked down the 11th fairway and saw the heart of Amen Corner. A few moments later, she chipped in for birdie on the 11th hole, which triggered the caddies to start chanting, " Larry Mize," in reference to Mize's tournament-winning, 140-foot chip-in to stun and defeat Greg Norman in a playoff in the 1987 Masters.

A few moments after that, the golf gods struck back as Stanford, ranked No. 11 in the world, dumped her tee shot into Rae's Creek at the famous par-3 12th where winds swirl and tee shots go to die.

"All I wanted to do was hit it at the middle of the green because the Sunday pin placement (far right) was there and you don't go at that flag," said Stanford, who made birdies on the sixth, 11th, 15th and 16th holes. "I remember yelling at the TV in last year's Masters when Phil (Mickelson) hit it into the water. All he had to do was hit the middle of the green. But I fanned it to the right with a 6-iron. Made double."

McPherson, ranked No. 20 in the world, made double on the par-5 13th when she also dumped a shot into Rae's Creek. The "7" marred a scorecard that revealed birdies at the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth but came far from spoiling the day in which she played with Stanford and her father as a guest of an Augusta National member.

McPherson had played the course twice before as a collegiate player. This time, however, she and her dad and Stanford also got in nine holes at the par-3 short course. Her favorite place at Augusta National, however, is some 50 yards from the first tee.

"I just love standing on the back porch" of the clubhouse, McPherson said. "It's pretty cool to be standing there looking out at the course as the sun sets. Even though I knew how special it was to play there because I had already played there twice, I was still excited to play again. You just don't get very many chances to play in such a spectacular, special setting."

Rawson, who played the revered Seminole Golf Club in North Palm Beach, Fla., prior to arriving at Augusta National, was in a different group on the course than Stanford and McPherson — but was left with the same lasting impressions. Her course favorites were the bridges — the Hogan Bridge at the 12th, the Nelson Bridge at the 13th and the Sarazen Bridge at the 15th.

"I lost track of my score on the back nine and was more focused on embracing the whole experience," said Rawson, who made birdies at the 4 and 12. "I bogeyed a bunch of holes on the back nine. I had a lot of close putts but couldn't quite get the speed of the greens."

She isn't the first person to mention the world famous, challenging greens at Augusta National. And she certainly won't be the last.

"The feeling I got when walking the course was amazing," Rawson said. "I couldn't stop thinking about how I had got to this position. I began to get emotional and realized I was there because of the opportunities that my Dad had created for me in life. The fact that he introduced me to the game of golf and gave me every opportunity to succeed in whatever I chose.

"I kept thinking how much he would have loved to have been there."

Catching up with Kristy McPherson / March 2010-LPGA Video/YouTube

LPGA.com caught up with Kristy McPherson to talk about what she's been doing during the off-season, what part of her game she's been working on, and her goals for 2010.

 

 

 

McPherson to play in Hootie & Blowfish Monday after the Master's Pro-Am / Thursday, February 25, 2010

Kristy is among the list of golfers and celebrities scheduled to appear at the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters celebrity pro-am tournament.

Others who have commited ,Major championship winner Jim Furyk and former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst for CBS Boomer Esiason will make their first appearances this year in the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament, according to tournament organizers.

The event will be held April 12 at The Dye Club ar Barefoot Resort.

Furyk has recorded 13 PGA Tour victories, including the 2003 U.S. Open.

Norman "Boomer" Esiason quaterbacked the Cincinnati Bengals and played 14 years in the NFL, and now is an analyst for The NFL Today show on CBS Sports and morning co-host of the "Boomer and Carton Show" on WFAN Radio in New York.

Esiason was named the NFL's "Most Valuable Player" in 1988 and the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 1995.

Other PGA Tour player scheduled to attend this year include John Daly, Woody Austin and Rich Beem.

Other celebrities and athletes scheduled to participate include wrestler Ric Flair, NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, and NFL Hall-of-Famer and Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers.

Hootie MAM tournament tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the House of Blues, Barefiit Resort pro shops and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are $ 15 and children 12 and younger are admitted free.

All proceeds benefit the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation, which supports the educational needs of children in South Carolina and the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation.

Volunteers are needed to assist with various duties associated with staging the event.

For more information call 843-881-2532, or visit www.HootieGolf.com/volunteers.asp.

 

 

 

KENTWOOL TOUR the World's Best Golf Sock Promo / Thursday, February 18, 2010

Watch this Video and learn how the World's Best Golf Sock is uniquely constructed to provide the unexpected edge for the serious golfer.

Featured: LPGA's Kristy McPherson & Nationwide Tour's Dustin Bray explaining how the foot technology system makes a real difference in their games.

 

 

Elite Field of 15 Golfers to Play The MOJO 6 Jamaica LPGA Invitational / PR Newswire / Wednesday, February 10, 2010

PR Newswire

Feb.10, 2009

 

Elite Field of 15 Golfers Scheduled to Play Inaugural The Mojo 6 Jamaica LPGA Invitational

......................................................

Fans Invited to select 16th Player to Compete for share of $1 Million Purse

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- As of today, fifteen elite women golfers, including six of the top-seven female golfers in the Rolex World Golf Rankings, are committed to participate in a field of 16 in the inaugural The Mojo 6 Tournament (www.themojo6.com), a unique golf tournament being held in Jamaica, and broadcast on CBS, May 1 & 2, 2010.  And, in yet another "first" for LPGA golf, the creators of The Mojo 6 are inviting fans to select the 16th contestant, who will compete for a share of $1 million purse and is guaranteed at least $25,000.

Six of the top seven female golfers in the world, Cristie Kerr, Anna Nordqvist, Suzann Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Paula Creamer and Yani Tseng will be joined by fellow LPGA players Amanda Blumenhurst, Na Yeon Choi, Christina Kim, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Kristy McPherson, Morgan Pressel and Angela Stanford.  And last week, the creators behind The Mojo 6, Mojo Marketing & Media, offered the 15th spot to 15-year-old golfing phenom, Mariah Stackhouse, compared by many familiar with the game to being the "next Tiger Woods."

"I'm delighted to play in The Mojo 6 in Jamaica," said Paula Creamer.  "It'll be exciting to be part of an LPGA sanctioned event with such a unique format.  Being able to pick my opponents, and the one-on-one-match-ups will make the competition even more intense, and more thrilling for the players and fans alike, and especially for newer fans of the game."

These golfers will also be the first to play Raceway Golf ™, a new, innovative golf format introduced by Mojo Marketing & Media. "We created the Raceway Golf format with the sport and its fans in mind," commented Joy Stephenson, co-founder of Mojo Marketing & Media.  "We created something that showcases the intense competition and rivalry in golf that goes beyond the players themselves and helps take the sport to a new level.  Our goal is to give fans a feeling of involvement in the sport and help expand the sport's appeal to a wider audience."

Played over two days, Raceway Golf™ pits 16 top players against each other to battle out a series of six-hole matches to crown a winner.  On the first day, each golfer has three separate six-hole matches to accumulate points to establish a Day One ranking from 1 to 16.  The top eight golfers move on to Day Two, Championship Day, and compete in a tournament bracket single-elimination, where three match victories crown the champion.  The new format is designed to draw out the competitive personalities of LPGA pros through intense showdowns.   "We knew this stage was going to be intense and demanding on the players, but at the world's best level, it's something that top competitors thrive on.  Having this amazing field for the inaugural play reinforces our belief that the time is right for Raceway Golf," said Ed Moses, Olympic champion and co-founder of Mojo.  "We let the fans vote, we let the fans play, we make the fans cheer!"

To give fans an even bigger stake in the tournament's outcome, the creators of The Mojo 6 are inviting fans to select the 16th competitor.  Starting today, fans can visit www.themojo6.com to vote for their favorite player among a group of 12 players once a day, every day through March 15.  The winner will be announced March 16, and will be invited to compete in Jamaica for her share of the $1 million dollar purse.

"Mojo is thrilled to have such 'marquee' players added to our roster for the first The Mojo 6 tournament," said Moses.  "And we can't wait to see who the fan selects as our 16th competitor.   Bringing people closer to the sports they love is just one part of what we hoped to accomplish when we launched Mojo last year.  We wanted to create a platform that puts the game back into the hands of the fans, while also inspiring people to reach for their dreams, and help others do the same."

Mojo will package The Mojo 6 in Jamaica for CBS broadcast with additional original content that is not typically aired in conjunction with a professional sporting event.  Additional coverage is set to include in-depth interviews with players highlighting what it takes to be among the world's best female athletes, performances by some of Jamaica's and the Caribbean's best-known entertainers, and exclusive "behind the scenes" footage of what it takes to stage an international golf event.  

As with all Mojo Marketing & Media properties, The Mojo 6 in Jamaica, and all future The Mojo 6 tournaments, will include activities designed to increase awareness about the importance of charitable giving.  Since no two markets are identical, this element of each The Mojo 6 tournament will reflect the unique character, needs and opportunities for charity involvement of its host market.  

For more information about the event, or to view a roundtable discussion about the event featuring Paula Creamer, Christina Kim and Suzann Pettersen, please visit www.themojo6.com.

Whitehouse interview with DFT writer,Lisa Mickey/ Friday, January 22, 2010

by Lisa Mickey, DFT Sr. Writer

 

The winning 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team made a special visit to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, January 12th to meet President Barack Obama.

The squad met the President in the Oval Office and was given a tour of the White House.  

U.S. Solheim Cup Team Captain Beth Daniel, along with assistant captains Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins, led the 12-member team. Also joining the group was LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan and John Solheim of PING Golf, the event's sponsor and son of the late Karsten Solheim, for which the Solheim Cup was named and founded.

After touring the White House, the U.S. team was greeted by special guests at a reception at the University Club in Washington. The next day, the squad visited the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon.

Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna Kristy McPherson of South Carolina recently spoke to duramedfuturestour.com senior writer Lisa D. Mickey about her experience of meeting the President. Here's what she had to say:

DFT: Did you ever think you would be standing in the oval office talking to the leader of the free world?

KM: It was pretty cool - pretty special to have that opportunity. It's something I never thought I'd get to do. When I got on the LPGA Tour, somebody told me that the winning U.S Solheim Cup teams go to Washington, but I didn't know that one of the perks of winning was getting to meet the President of the United States.

DFT: Were you more nervous on the first tee of the Solheim Cup or walking in to meet the President?

KM: Actually, I thought I might be more nervous than I was when we met the President. Some of the girls on the team said they had sweaty palms. But he was great. He shook our hands. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Hi Kristy. I'm very proud of you. Thanks for coming to see me." He welcomed each of us into the Oval Office. Everybody walked in together in a certain order. Truthfully, we had rehearsed the order because we knew where we all would stand when we had the picture taken of the team with the President.

DFT: Describe that visit and what you will remember about the day.

KM: Just being in there for 10-15 minutes with the President and having him really engaged with us. To have the President of the United States say he's proud of how we represented the country was just really special. I have great respect for this guy and I just wanted to soak it all in. He gave each of us a golf ball with the Presidential seal with a stamped autograph on it.

DFT: What kind of things did President Obama ask or say about golf?

KM: He was just really laid back and it was cool to see him on a different level. He asked us how he could get his girls involved in golf? Angela Stanford told him to just make sure he played golf with them. We all told him we got started when we went to the golf course with our dads and they let us drive the golf cart. We would drive the carts and watch our dads, and then after a while, we also wanted to play. The President told us that on his Christmas trip to Hawaii, he hit a 2-iron from 250 yards to eight feet and made the putt. His staff was giggling, so I'm not sure if he was pulling our leg or not. It might have been his only birdie on the Hawaii trip, but that's OK. And he also asked when our season started [on the LPGA Tour] and where it started? He seemed to know a lot about the PGA Tour and their schedule.

DFT: Did you invite him to come to an LPGA Tour event?

KM: We did. We said to bring his girls out to one of our tournaments and they will see women playing a high level of golf.

DFT: Is it true that the normally effusive U.S. Solheim Cup team member Christina Kim was as quiet as a church mouse on this trip?

KM: [Laughter] She was pretty quiet! In fact, I'm not sure I heard her say anything all weekend. We also went to the September 11th Memorial at the Pentagon and she was quiet there, too. I guess it was a lot to take in.

DFT: Golf has taken you to many interesting places. How does this rank?

KM: To get to go to Washington, D.C., and meet the President and have him shake my hand - wow, it's pretty cool that golf allowed me to do that! Hopefully, there will be other opportunities to meet more U.S. Presidents in the future. This was the fourth President that [2009 U.S. Solheim Captain] Beth Daniel had met. Angela Stanford met President George W. Bush from the last Solheim Cup. He was really into golf and he took the team down to the putting green and talked about golf for 45 minutes. We talked a little golf with President Obama, but he got called into the "Situation Room" right after we left because of the earthquake in Haiti. It had just happened and the White House staff was pretty busy that day.

DFT: This must be a nice closing chapter to the 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team's time together.

KM: It was. The coolest part was the experience of knowing that you can only win one of these things with 11 other players and the captains. You can't win the Solheim Cup as one person. Our team got to reap the rewards together and it was great to be together again as a team. We had a nice reception on Tuesday night after meeting the President and we relived our Solheim Cup moments. It's a different type of bonding and friendship that happens on a Solheim Cup team than from what happens at regular LPGA golf tournaments. It's something really special. And something I'll never forget.

Season Finale - LPGA Tour Championship / AP Press / Tuesday, Novemeber 24, 2009

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009
LPGA Championhip: Nordqvist takes title, Ochoa player of year
By Chris Duncan - The Associated Press

^{LPGA Tour Championship- Final Round:NOVEMBER 23: Kristy McPherson hits her tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the LPGA Tour Championship presented by Rolex at the Houstonian Golf and Country Club on November 23, 2009 in Richmond, Tx.}

RICHMOND, Texas --

Anna Nordqvist got the win.

Lorena Ochoa got her fourth consecutive player of the year award.

And Kristy McPherson got a strong finish to a breakout season, though not quite the result she was looking for in the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship at The Houstonian Golf and Country Club on Monday.

 The Conway native took a one-shot lead into the final round of an event that was extended to Monday and shortened to 54 holes because of rain. But her 2-under 70 Monday came up three shots shy Nordqvist and one shy of Ochoa, who snatched the player of the year award from Jiyai Shin with a birdie on the 18th hole.

McPherson, seeking her first LPGA win in three years on tour, tied Na Yeon Choi (64) for third at 10 under to record her fourth top-five finish of the season. With her $88,000 payday, McPherson finished 16th on the 2009 LPGA money list with $816,000 earned. She earned less than $500,000 combined in her first two years on tour.

"Nobody is playing for second out here," McPherson said. "I knew that I had a lot of work to do, and unfortunately couldn't make any birdies."

It was another close call for McPherson, who tied for second at both the Wegmans LPGA in June and Kraft Nabisco Championship in April, where she held a one-shot lead on the 72nd hole of the major but was beaten by Brittany Lincicome's eagle.

McPherson birdied the par-4 third hole and par-5 16th Monday while playing with Nordqvist, who shot a 7-under 65 that included five consecutive birdies on holes 8 through 12. McPherson was unable to hit her approach shots close much of
the afternoon, and when she did on the par-3 15th, she missed a 4-foot birdie putt. A 24-foot birdie putt on the 16th
pulled her into the tie for third.

"I never got anything going," McPherson said. "I didn't make any bogeys, but that doesn't help a lot if you can't make any birdies. I ran into a buzz saw with Anna out there. She got on a nice little run and I couldn't put any pressure on her."

The 22-year-old Nordqvist also birdied the 14th and 15th holes following a bogey on the 13th to finish 13 under. Ochoa won the top player honor when Shin couldn't chip in from the front of the 18th hole.

"I always say that I want to stay on top as long as I continue playing, so this is just a great year for me," Ochoa said. "It's been tough in many different ways, but the important thing is I'm at the top."

Shin led Ochoa by eight points (156-148) in the race entering the tournament. Once Ochoa secured second place, Shin had to finish no worse than seventh to win the player of the year award. Shin settled for a par on the last hole and finished tied for eighth at 6 under, giving Ochoa the player award by a 160-159 score. Point totals are based on top-10 results.

The 21-year-old South Korean fell short in her bid to win the rookie and player of the year awards. Nancy Lopez remains the only player to sweep both titles, in 1978. The good-natured Shin was still smiling after coming up short.

"I learned a lot from this year," she said. "I need more focus, concentration, and everything. I really made my goals. I just missed player of the year, but I still had a good year."

Ochoa also won her fourth straight Vare Trophy, honoring the season's lowest scoring average. Ochoa and Shin were separated by decimal points in that race entering the tourney.

Nordqvist, meanwhile, earned her second career victory and made it through the season without missing a cut in 15 starts. She also won the LPGA Championship this year.

"I definitely tried to be aggressive," Nordqvist said. "It was pretty tight up the leaderboard, so you were really going to have to shoot low in order to pull it off. I'm just very, very happy that I did."

McPherson leads finale by a stroke / AP PressWire / Sunday, November 22, 2009

_{Sunday, November 22, 2009}

_{By Chris Duncan - AP Writer}

 

 

 

^{AP Photo - Richmond, Texas}

^{Kristy McPherson reacts after missing a birdie putt on the ninth hole during the second round of the LPGA Tour Championship golf tournament Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009}

   

 

 

McPherson leads LPGA Tour Championship

 

The sky cleared and Lorena Ochoa and Jiyai Shin were left with one day to settle their dual for LPGA Tour Player of the Year.

Kristy McPherson took the lead at 8 under in fading sunlight at the LPGA Tour Championship on Sunday before the second round was suspended because of darkness. Shin was one stroke back with two holes to play in her second round, and Ochoa two back with one hole left.

Players were set to resume the second round Monday morning, and the top 70 and ties would immediately begin the final round.

Shin is trying to become the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to sweep the money title, rookie and player of the year, and the Vare Trophy. She led Ochoa by eight points for player of the year entering the tournament.

"I have a good shot at it," Shin said. "It's going to be very close. It will be the most important day of my life."

For Ochoa to win her fourth straight player of the year title, she must win the event or finish no worse than third and then hope Shin places out of the top 10. The two are also decimal points apart in the race for the Vare Trophy, awarded for the season's lowest scoring average.

"Tomorrow, everything will be answered," Ochoa said. "I am very excited."

The 28-year-old McPherson is merely looking for her first LPGA Tour victory. She picked up five birdies without a bogey in her second round after a 69 on Thursday.

McPherson is one of the few players who completed two rounds without interruption.

"Our goal was to get in before the sun went down, so we were happy to do that," she said. "We were fortunate to get through."

Before Sunday, rainy weather had been the big story.

Heavy downpours swamped the Houstonian Golf and Country Club on Friday and Saturday, forcing organizers to cut the event to 54 holes. The fairways were still water-logged Sunday, so players were allowed to lift, clean and place.

Shin was four shots behind Ochoa after the first round, but picked up four birdies in a seven-hole stretch Sunday to tie her. She holed a birdie putt on the par-5 16th, her last shot of the day, to move one shot ahead of her rival.

"The course conditions were really wet, the
greens were really soft," Shin said. "That was a big help to us. We could be more aggressive. There was no wind - the conditions were perfect."

Ochoa hit the first shot of her second round a full 72 hours after sinking a 15-foot birdie putt to wrap up a first-round 66 on Thursday. She dropped a shot on her front nine Sunday, then birdied Nos. 14 and 16 to move to 7-under par.

Ochoa hit into a greenside bunker with her tee shot to the par-3 17th, just before the horn sounded. She decided to finish, took a bogey and headed straight to the practice green.

As the rain lingered over the weekend, players raised concerns about the availability of flights leaving Houston with Thanksgiving approaching.

Michelle Wie dropped out Thursday because of a sprained left ankle after shooting a 72, and five others withdrew between Friday and Sunday.

CME Global Financial Group Pro-Am /Napels, FL / Wednesday, November 4, 2009

On Wednesday, November 4th, 20 players participated in the CME Group's Annual Global Financial Leadership Conference Golf Outing.

Pro-am golf tourney closes out GFLC on relaxed note

After two days of immersion in the future of the finance industry, the Global Financial Leadership Conference closed out on a much more relaxed note - out on the links. Approximately 100 attendees participated in the CME Group Pro-Am Golf Tournament. Each group of four was paired with one of 20 golf pros from the LPGA, including Annika Sorenstam, participating in her first round of golf since giving birth during the summer. The LPGA pros "were some of the nicest hosts you could possibly have," said Terry Duffy, Executive Chairman of CME Group. It seemed every golfer shared the sentiment. "Our pro was just great," said a pleased Craig Broderick, Chief Risk Officer of Goldman Sachs, who was among the earlier groups to check into the clubhouse at the Greg Norman-designed Tiburon golf course here in Naples, Fla.

The tournament began with a demonstration of technique and golf prowess of LPGA pros Brittany Lincicome, Mhairi McKay and Morgan Pressel at the driving range. Then the 20 groups made their way through the picturesque curse, marked by a number of water features and native plants amid 800 acres. The course was generally felt to be challenging but fair, with those who played poorly blaming it on too much enjoyment of the NASDAQ OMX sponsored after-party on the Naples beachfront last night.

The golf pros weren't the only athletes to provide a welcome break from conference business. The prior day NFL legends Mike Ditka and Dan Marino posed for photos answered questions from guests during a luncheon, including a series of questions by billionaire T. Boone Pickens about his beloved Dallas Cowboys. Marino and Ditka were generally positive in their thoughts on the NFL and players. Among their thoughts: Michael Vick is deserving of his second chance after having attoned for his mistake in running a dogfighting ring; Jay Cutler will end up being an excellent QB for the Chicago Bears; and Peyton Manning is hands down the best QB in football right now. A question on the New York Jets brought out old rivalries, however. Marino, long the bane of the Jets during his distinguished career simply smirked and said 'too bad' to a questioner who asked about the prospects for Gang Green, while Ditka nearly spat fire discussing rookie head coach Rex Ryan. "He's a lot like his father in that he pops his mouth off a lot… I say talk softly and cary a big stick. You ain't won nuthin' after three games."

McPherson signs endorsement agreement with T-3 Soultions / GSM, Scottsdale, AZ / October 9, 2009

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (Oct. 9, 2009)

 Kristy McPherson, a member of the victorious U.S. Solheim Cup team, has signed a two-year endorsement contract with T-3 Solutions. She will wear the T-3 Solutions logo on her left chest. Gaylord Sports Group Vice President Eddie Smith manages McPherson and brokered the agreement.

Based in Martinez, Georgia, T-3 Solutions provides information and intelligence support primarily to the US Special Operations Command, US Central Command, Joint Special Operations Command and the US Army Intelligence and Security Command.

Recognized for her outgoing personality and weekly interaction with fans on the LPGA Tour, McPherson joined the LPGA Tour in 2007 and qualified for the Solheim Cup as quickly as was possible. She has five top-10 finishes on tour this season, including three of seventh place or better in major championships.

"We were looking for a player who exemplified a person of good character," said T-3 Solutions founder and CEO Mark Tuley, "a player our employees could relate to and enjoy following throughout the season. Kristy's level of commitment to the fans, peers and her country were in full display during the Solheim Cup and was exactly what we were looking for."

Soarin to new LPGA heights / Golfchannel.com / Tuesday, September 22, 2009

_{Soaring to new LPGA heights
RANDALL MELL, Senior Writer, GolfChannel.com
Posted 09/22/2009, 1:29 PM EST}

Kristy McPherson didn’t sign up to jump off a cliff, but she was the first one over the edge at Torrey Pines last weekend.

She can thank her pal Brittany Lincicome for that.

When Lincicome signed up to paraglide after the third round of the Samsung World Championship on Saturday, she signed up McPherson, Angela Stanford and a number of other LPGA pros to go.

“Brittany just told everyone they were going with her,” McPherson said.

McPherson is frightened of heights, but she went anyway. In fact, she was the first one buckled up and ready to go. An expert paraglider pilot was fastened behind each player as a guide.

“He told me to just keep running until I ran off the cliff,” McPherson said. “You’re thinking all kinds of things, like `What if the wind dies down when I jump?’ It was an unbelievable feeling.”

It was a fitting flight to new heights for McPherson. The third-year pro of Golf Channel Big Break fame, McPherson has reached new heights on tour this season. Making the American Solheim Cup team and the elite 20-player Samsung field represents a step up to an elite level.

“Unfortunately, I’m still short one of my goals, to win, but it’s definitely been a big improvement this year,” McPherson said. “I consider it a successful year.”

McPherson invited to Samsung World Championship/ The Sun News, Sports / Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Green Reading, The Sun News, MB, SC
by : ALan Blondin
Monday, September 1, 2009

McPherson invited to Samsung World Championship

_{Team USA's Kristy McPherson reacts after missing a putt on the 18th hole during a four-ball match at the Solheim Cup golf tournament Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, at Rich Harvest Farms.}

Conway native Kristy McPherson is one of 20 players invited to participate in the prestigious Samsung World Championship based on her standing of 14th on the 2009 LPGA Tour Official Money List. The event has a $1 million purse.

The elite field includes 11 major championship winners, two Hall of Fame members and four past winners of the Samsung World Championship.

Headlining the list of players participating at the Torrey Pines South Course in La Jolla, Calif., from Sept. 17-20 are 2009 leading money winner Cristie Kerr, Rolex Women's World Rankings leader Lorena Ochoa and Samsung defending champion Paula Creamer.

In addition, the winners of this year's LPGA majors earned automatic berths into the field. Ten weeks after giving birth to her second child, Catriona Matthew of Scotland secured her place in the field after claiming victory at the 2009 RICOH Women's British Open.

Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea birdied the final hole of this year's U.S. Women's Open to claim the victory, and Anna Nordqvist of Sweden qualified by capturing the McDonald's LPGA Championship.

Brittany Lincicome of Seminole, Fla., won the first major of the 2009 season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, when she eagled the final hole to defeat McPherson and Kerr by a shot.

Past Samsung World Championship winner Sophie Gustafson qualified by leading the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit, while Karrie Webb made the field by being the leading player in the top 30 on the LPGA Official Money List who is also an active LPGA Hall of Fame member. Hall of Fame member Juli Inkster accepted the sole sponsor exemption.

Rounding out the 10 remaining spots are leading money winners McPherson, Jiyai Shin of South Korea; Ai Miyazato of Japan; In-Kyung Kim of South Korea; Yani Tseng of Taiwan; Suzann Pettersen of Norway; Angela Stanford of Saginaw, Texas; Song-Hee Kim of South Korea; Lindsey Wright of Australia; and Na Yeon Choi of South Korea.

Kudoes to U.S. Solheim Team / The Post & Courier / Monday, August 24, 2009

The Post & Courier

Blog: Lowcountry Links
By Tommy Braswell
Monday, August 24, 2009

Kudoes to U.S. Solheim team

Just returned from vacation and was unable to post until now this Q&A with Charleston native Beth Daniel that took place before this past weekend's Solheim Cup. I watched as much as possible, and the matches were riveting. Daniel's selection of Michelle Wie as a captain's pick certainly worked out well, and a lot of pundits believe this will be a breakthrough for Wie (or perhaps a breakaway from her sometimes overbearing parents). Hope you enjoy. Tommy

How much fun has the Solheim Cup been? “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s also a labor of love. It was fun, except for a 72-hour period last week at the British. The worst part of a captain’s job is telling people that aren’t going to make the team. And I had eight people I had to go talk to and tell them ‘No.’ And two people I told ‘Yes.’ It’s heart-breaking because they’ve worked two year. And I’ve been there where I’ve been a pick and I’ve been there when I haven’t been a pick. More often that not, I was a pick. I’m happy about that.”

You’ve played in how many Solheim Cups? “Eight. Juli (Inkster) is tied. She has a better record. She’s tied for the most points with Meg Mallon. She’ll probably surpass Meg, and Meg’s one of the assistants, so it’s kind of funny. Meg’s also played eight. Meg and I are tied for the most U.S. Solheim Cups. And Meg is tied for the most points. And Juli’s going to tie us and pass for most points. It did come up in conversations. Kelly Robbins, the other assistant, said ‘Do you realize if you pick Juli, she ties you two for most Solheim Cup and she’ll probably pass Meg for most points?’ We’re doing what’s best for the team.”

Did you ask players who they would most like to see on the team? “Yes. At the U.S. Open and Evian, I asked pretty much every player that’s on the team: “If you had to pick two people right now who would you pick to be on the team? Pretty much all said Juli Inkster. I told Juli this is a great tribute to you. They want you there. They respect you, and they do.”

Michelle Wie. Was that a difficult pick or was it easy to justify? “For the three of us, it was a no-brainer, If you look at everyone’s record, and we pulled the stats…I was getting daily stats on putts per green, birdies in regulation, all of that. So the last four tournaments I had been getting their daily stuff. If you look at the yearly stuff, if you look at finishes, points, everything, from 11 to 21, there only three players that have made any kind of real moves as of late. Michelle was one of them. The other two didn’t end up being a pick. To me, she was a no-brainer. If people use the argument that she’s been given everything her whole life and she’s never won anything … I’ve even read she won’t be able to handle the pressure. I would argue that this kid’s been under pressure ever since she picked up a golf club. And, granted, she hasn’t won anything since the Publinx when she was 13 years old. But she has a lot of experience and she’s been under the microscope. That’s what she’ll have to do here. Plus, if you look at the stats on our team, she’s averaging four birdies a round. That’s wonderful for match play. The thing that’s held her back in stroke play is she’ll make a triple every once in a while. Match play, she loses one hole and goes on to the next one. So her game, to me, sets up perfectly for match play.”

Your thoughts on the LPGA and what’s going on now. What’s happened to Lorena Ochoa? There’s no dominant player right now. “It’s anybody’s game. It’s good and it’s not good. I think people want somebody to cheer for or cheer against. Somebody’s who’s No. 1, you either like them or you don’t. You have that person you’re cheering for them all the time or your cheering against them. Because you want somebody to knock them off the pedestal. In Lorena’s case, it’s funny. Some people can stay up there. After Annika, everybody expected that the next person who was No. 1 would stay there forever. And it doesn’t happen that often. What was remarkable about Annika’s career is she stayed on top as long as she did. Look at Karrie Webb before her and Se Ri Pak before her. They were both up there for a few years and they kinda’ went down. That’s how golf goes. It goes in cycles, it goes in waves. And Lorena’s just on a wave right now, she’s playing good but not good enough to be up there all the time. And we’re not used to seeing that from her. I don’t think anything’s wrong with her. I think she’s just in a little bit of a down cycle right now. She’ll come back. But, you don’t have a face now to put with the LPGA. When you say LPGA, there’s not that…Lorena’s face isn’t there now, not in the news every week. So you don’t associate it with that. It’s probably not great for the Tour, but in some ways it’s good because you have a lot of new faces coming up that people can start cheering for.”

What about American golf? You mentioned the quality of American golf is pretty good right now. “I think it is. Who’s the leading money winner on Tour? Cristie Kerr, an American. Paula Creamer’s had a pretty good year, not great by her standards, but pretty good.” (Health issues?). “She’s had some pretty big health issues. First, she had some intestinal issues which they did all kinds of tests. It lingered for a long time. She’s doing better now. She had the thumb issue, which is fine now. Then you’ve got Kristi McPherson who’s up there. Angela Stanford, she’s kinda’ fallen off lately, but her Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She’s really having a tough time dealing with that … Her mom’s her best friend. It’s kind of a double whammy for her. It’s not only her Mom, but her best friend going through this. American golf is good. Look at this rookie class, which is pretty outstanding rookie class all the way around. Jiyai Shen is phenomenal. This girl is so good. You have three Americans, Stacy Lewis Vicky Hurst and Michelle Wie. Then you also have Anna Nordqvist., who won the LPGAChampionship. There’s so many good players in this rookie class, it’s unbelievable.”

Thoughts on the LPGA in general, and Carolyn Bivens. Was getting rid of her as commissioner something that needed to happen? “I’m not so sure. Carolyn Bivens, from a business standpoint, which she was hired to do, from a business standpoint, she did a very good job. The tour was bringing in more income than it ever has. Where her downfall came, there are three things a commissioner has to do to keep their job. One is to communicate well with the players. One is to communicate well with the sponsors. And the other is to communicate well with the media. And she , unfortunately, did not have a good relationship with any of the three. Whether it was right or wrong, how it happened, she didn’t have a good relationship, and you’re never going to remain a commissioner if you don’t do that. The players, when they started losing all these tournaments. The tournament owners and tournament sponsors talk to the players. So they’ll say commissioner didn’t try hard enough here and there, and the players start buying into that. And that’s kind of what happened. I don’t blame Carolyn for saying I’ve had enough. I’m going to step down. And that’s pretty much what happened.”

Any idea who the new commissioner is going to be or how long it’s going to be before a replacement is named? “They say they want to hire one by the end of the year. Juli Inkster and Helen Alfredsson are the two players on the search committee, along with couple of board members. I know Juli had a conference call in England during the British because I was having dinner and she was late to dinner because she was on the conference call with the search firm. I haven’t heard anything. The only thing is what I’ve read someplace. Cindy Davis has said she’s not interested, and I didn’t think she would be because she’s got such a phenomenal job with Nike now. Donna Orlender, her husband was president of the PGA of America. Her name actually came up in the search that found Carolyn Bivens. She ended up going to the WNBA. Hopefully, there will be some good candidates out there. But for somebody looking out there, they may be thinking, ‘Why do I want to take this job?’ Marty Evans has come in, the interim, and from everything I’ve heard, she’s doing a really good job. She’s opened up the communication lines. With sponsors, that kind of thing, that’s what needed to happen right now.”

Jump way back. How did you become Solheim Cup captain? “There’s a committee of five people. It’s the commissioner, the president of the board, And the president of the LPGA Tour Players Association, and the two past captains. They get together and there is a formula that is used to pick the captain. First of all, you have to have Solheim Cup experience. It just so happens every captain has also been a member of the Hall of Fame to this point. That won’t continue, probably. They sort of go by age, although Lopez, believe it or not is younger than I am. We both were born the same year, but she’s months younger than me. She was named before me because she had kinda’ stopped playing and I was still playing. Betsy’s older. I would think the next three in line, and Betsy King and I will be on this committee. The next three in line should be Inkster, Rosie Jones and Meg Mallon. And then Dottie Pepper would also have to be mentioned in that group. Those would be the four that would be the next. Pat Hurst would be a captain, I would think. It will be interesting because I have never served on the committee. The committee meets without anyone knowing and the next captain gets a call.”

The Beth Daniel Junior Azalea and Kristy McPherson? She won the South Carolina Junior Golf Association’s Beth Daniel Player of the Year and now she’s playing for you. “She was player of the year the first two years we had player of the year. I’m so proud of her, the way she’s overcome adversity (early in life, she was diagnosed with a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and couldn’t walk for almost a year). She’s playing so well. It’s just really fun to watch her play golf right now. She has an unbelievably great personality. A lot of people on the team didn’t know her because she sorta’ keeps to herself. We had our first practice after the LPGA Championship, and she was like the life of the party. So everybody was ‘I want to play with Kristy. I love her spirit.’ Everybody want to play with her. She’s just fun. She cracks me up. I’ve never seen this side of Kristy before and I’m loving it. It’s been a joy getting to know her and watch her play so well.”
You’ve been doing a lot of traveling. Where were you the past weekend? “I was home for two days (before coming to Charleston for the Beth Daniel Junior Azalea. That was enough time for me to do five loads of laundry. When you go overseas you can’t do laundry. They don’t have laundromats like we do. So I just always pack a ton of clothes. I had clothes I’d left at home. I spent two days doing laundry. I flew to Charleston (Sunday). I was in Chicago. We flew the whole team to Chicago after the British. We practiced two days. We were there Monday night and Tuesday night, had two days of practice, and everybody flew home on Wednesday except I stayed to do some media stuff in downtown Chicago. I got home Thursday night late, had Friday and Saturday at home.”

What’s the craziest thing about being the Solheim Cup captain that we don’t know? Decorating rooms? “That’s what we’ll be doing this upcoming weekend, we’ll be decorating rooms. We have somebody in the LPGA office…she goes out every Fourth of July and buys everything on sale that’s all red, white and blue. We have pillows, blankets, all kinds of stuff that we decorate their rooms with. I’m going to have three rookies on this team. You just have to see their face. It’s like a kid in a candy store. They walk in their room and their room decorated in red, white and blue. Their golf bag is sitting there. They have gifts. Each night we put a gift in their room, so each night they go back and they have a different gift. I have a budget for that. It’s just fun. Some are serious gifts, some are not. Some are really serious. One of the things I’m giving them is a piece of jewelry. They don’t know about it. I’ve done some fun stuff. One of the things, I wrote a ton of letters asking people to wish the team good luck. I’ve probably got about 20 letters, and we have a photo album, but on each page we’ve got a letter. I’ve put together a couple of fun videos. I have access to The Golf Channel videos and one of the producers is a friend and she’s making two videos no captain has ever had. The LPGA always does two videos, but it’s too much inhouse. I’ve solicited some help. I have a really good friend that works in media for the PGA Tour, so I solicited some help from her. It’s kind of a special treat. At the end, they’re going to freak out.”

Do you have to get into rah-rah-rah coaching? “The thing I need to do, especially at home, I don’t need to rah-rah them. The crowd’s going to do that. I need to make sure they’re laughing, relaxed, having fun. In the team room, we have a ping-pong table, a pool table. We’re putting in a Wii system and we’ll have Rock Band. So they’ll be playing Rock Band at night. They all just hang out and have fun together. And that’s what we do. My other job is to have everything so organized we don’t have to think about anything. That’s been done already. All the menus are picked out. Every meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, it’s all been done. I told the players I wanted them in on Sunday, which is a little bit early, but I’m doing an All-American cookout on Sunday with just the players and the caddies. We’re going to grill burgers, brats and chicken. We’ll have potato salad. We’ll do a cookout. Everybody will hang out, unpack and get organized. Then Monday, they’re going to go out and maybe just play nine holes. On Monday afternoon, I’ve got a spa day set up for them. They can get a pedicure, manicure or a massage. They’ve already picked which one they want. We’ll do stuff like that, all on my budget.”

The Beth Daniel Junior Azalea. How much does it mean, and how much time are you able to devote to the tournament? “Early on in the spring, I was able to devote a lot more time. As of late, I have not been able to. But we got enough stuff organized. I got in contact with Ashworth and they donated volunteer shirts again. I helped them out with some of the gifts we gave the kids. Because that’s right up my alley now, that’s what I’m doing. I put them in touch with who to order from. When they talk about I’m very hands on, I am. Because I want to know what’s going on. I want to know what the kids are getting, what’s happening. I’ll continue to be that way.”

Last year, there was nothing you could do about the weather (the final day was pretty much rained out). But do you see the tournament getting better and better each year? “We would like to have it ultimately be 40 girls and 40 boys. Right now, it’s hard for ust to get 40 girls, although we have more girls this year than last year. We’d like to hold it at that. I think for us to really step up to national recognition, the tournament needs to be 54 holes. We could cut after 36, and just play a few players the final day. Eventuall, I would like to see that done. But you’re asking the club to give up another day and that’s tough. For us to get this tournament on a national scale I’d like to see it and we need to do that. We have tried to reach out as much as possible and get a national field. Obviously, most of the players are from South and North Carolina, but we’ve tried to reach out and get some players from Florida. I have fun watching these kids. This is what I went through. I’m reliving my childhood.”

Conway's own McPherson joins US Solheim Cup Team/ GolfSC.com / Sunday, August 23, 2009

Golf SC.com
8.23.09

Conway's Own McPherson Joins US Team at Solheim Cup

The 11th biennial Solheim Cup is currently taking place and two women affiliated with the United States team have close ties to SC Golf. One of the team's outstanding rookies, Kristy McPherson, is one of Conway South Carolina's own, and the team's captain, the legendary Beth Daniel is a Charleston native; these two ladies are making quite a name for the state in the international golf world. Both ladies handle the pressure well, with McPherson playing a fun role as a newcomer that likes to keep the team involved in team building stunts and hysterical road antics, and Daniel leads the 12 member team with the poise and confidence that is to be expected from this amazing golf pro and World Golf Hall of Fame member. Recently these ladies sat down with reporters to discuss how they first met, their golf influences, challenges to the team, and how they handle the enormous pressure of representing the United States in this competitive match play event that pits Europe's best and brightest lady stars against the finest women's players in the states. This year the ladies intend to retain a win for the United States, who also won the last cup.

While this may be the first Solheim Cup for SC Native McPherson, the young starlet is in her third year as a pro, having joined the LPGA tour just three years ago. She came in the fourth position on the U.S. team's points list as she finished as the runner up twice this year and had three top seven positions in the 2009 majors. These significant standings come after the local girl spent three years on the Duramed Features Tour and at the University of South Carolina playing as a standout member of their distinguished women's golf team. A knockout both on the links and in the beauty department, McPherson always watched future coach, Daniel, as she was starting out as a pro. Daniel equally respected a young McPherson as she was coming up and, recognizing the talent that the young star had, she pushed Furman's women's golf coach, Nick Potter, to heavily recruit McPherson to her beloved alma mater. While Potter and Daniel did not succeed in getting McPherson to Furman, the golf standout continued to rise in the rankings and improve her game each year. Today, she has gained a place on the 2009 US Team at the Solheim Cup and she recognizes all of the hard work it takes to make it to an event of this magnitude.

Discussing her thoughts on her first Solheim Cup with Alan Blondin of the Sun News, McPherson talked about how Daniel has long been one of her favorite players of the sport, and she feels privileged to have such pressure on her to perform well in the Solheim Cup. "She was always my favorite player growing up in South Carolina, so it's been really cool that my first Solheim, my favorite player is our captain," McPherson said. There is no doubt that having the same SC Golf background has forged a special bond between this rookie player and her seasoned team captain. Daniel remarked about McPherson fondly in the same interview saying, "I've known her since she was a teenager[…]. She is like one of the most fun people I've ever met in my life […]. She's keeping the team really loose." Most of McPherson's teammates also agree that McPherson has helped the team to form an immense bond through her fun games and interesting moments. In fact, the 12 member team regularly competes against one another in not only golf but also ping pong tournaments and pool.
The Solheim Cup is a renowned international women's golf competition that began in 1990 to showcase the best of women's golf in Europe and the United States. Team placement is based on a point system and McPherson joins two other rookies, Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie, to round out the U.S. 2009 Team. After learning that South Carolina native and mentor, Daniel, was to be the coach of the 2009 team, McPherson worked very hard for a year to earn a spot on the team. "Since last year when they announced Beth as the captain, it's been a huge goal of mine—my No. 1 goal this year—to play and earn my spot on the team," she says enthusiastically.

GolfSC.com is very proud of these two local girls and we will be watching the 2009 US Team heavily this year in the hopes of catching McPherson at the top of her game while mentor Daniels watches on. There is no doubt about it: coastal South Carolina and the SC Golf Communities in and around Hilton Head, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and the wonderful areas in between are some of the best regions in which to grow up and play golf. Learn more about the fantastic Hilton Head Golf Courses, Charleston SC Golf Courses, and Myrtle Beach Golf Courses that these ladies grew up playing. GolfSC.com provides an extensive list of public and semi-private South Carolina Golf Courses throughout the best golf regions in the state, including Augusta, Columbia, Greenville and even the coastal courses near the Atlantic. Interested in Real Estate in South Carolina Golf Communities, or perhaps information on golf trip planning, we've got you covered.

Fan voices preparing ready for Solheim Cup / The Beacon News / Friday, August 21, 2009

The Beacon News

August 21, 2009

By JIM OWCZARSKI

 

 

Fans' voices in for a weekend workout as Solheim Cup tees off in Sugar Grove

Aluminum scaffolding now pierces the horizon at Rich Harvest Farms, waking the eye from the hypnosis that occurs from looking over miles upon miles of uninterrupted farmland in the distance. It's a not-so-subtle hint that something monumental is happening this week at the exclusive club in Sugar Grove, and if the U.S. Solheim Cup team has its way, that scaffolding and its bleachers will sway and shake to their foundations.

Golf isn't designed for rowdiness. That's not its nature. It's precise and scientific, the antithesis of unrestraint.

Not this week, however. Not at a Solheim Cup.

U.S. assistant captain Meg Mallon affectionately calls it "football golf," and an important part of an American victory would be to capitalize on its home-course advantage.
Unlike any other golf event, loud is good at a Solheim. Cheering an opponent's miss isn't frowned upon. It is truly battle golf.

"I remember in 2007 in Sweden we talked about how making the crowd quiet is a good thing for us," said Angela Stanford, who was part of the victorious U.S. squad in Halmstad. "So if we as Americans don't get out there and get ahead and play and give the home fans something to cheer about, it doesn't matter. So it can go both ways. I've never played on American soil, but I'm very aware that when the crowd goes quiet, that's not a good thing. It helps the other team when the crowd's not loud."

Getting the crowd to echo throughout Rich Harvest's unique layout will require a spectacular degree of shotmaking -- or the ability to recover from trouble quicker than an opponent.

Choose a path

Players on both squads were intrigued with the multitude of angles off every tee and the potential for both the most glorious of rewards and most magnificent of disasters.
"(It's) a challenging golf course at times and a fun, birdie-able golf course at other times," American Morgan Pressel said. "(On) a lot of the holes there's not one standard way to play it. It's going to depend on what the situation is in the match and how your opponent is playing. There are a lot of variables that are going to make this course very, very interesting."

Spaniard Gwladys Nocera, Europe's top point-getter and a two-time Solheim Cup team member, chuckled at how interesting the course is and how it will force shotmaking.

"It's a lot of different shots to play, a lot of draw or fade on the driver. It's fun to play. It's very different," she said. "We have to work together (as partners) and make sure we are going the right way, but I think there are some options and match play could be fun."

Captains for both teams will have interesting decisions to make in terms of partners in four-ball and alternate shot, as the course requires a combination of long, accurate drives with high ball flights on approaches.

European assistant captain Liselotte Neumann was impressed with the course's greenside bunkering and the challenge for players who find themselves in the thick rough off the tee.

"You have to hit the fairway," said European veteran Laura Davies, who has played in every Solheim Cup. "If you miss the fairway by an inch, you're probably laying up because if you miss the greens in the wrong spot, you're not going to get it up and down.

Europeans lean on experience

On paper, the Americans seem to be the team that will be able to do all that most efficiently. Every member of the team is in the top 50 of the Rolex Rankings, with Cristie Kerr (No. 3), Paula Creamer (No. 5) and Stanford (No. 8) in the top 10. The Europeans have two top-10 players in Suzann Pettersen (No. 6) and Helen Alfredsson (No. 10), but only eight of their 12 members are ranked in the top 100.
The Europeans are cognizant of that, as well as the fact that no American team has ever lost at home. They relish their underdog status but come in believing their edge in experience will be a difference.
Only Tania Elosegui, Diana Luna and Anna Nordqvist have not played in a Solheim Cup, but Nordqvist has already won a major by capturing this year's McDonald's LPGA Championship.

"We're coming to win, there's no doubt about it," Nocera said. "Its match play and we're all going to give our best and we'll see on Sunday. We know it's going to be hard but we're coming to win."

The other nine European team members have played in a combined 39 Solheims. Alfredsson also captained the 2007 team, making her the first professional -- man or woman -- to come back to play in a Solheim or Ryder Cup after serving as captain.

"I don't really think once the matches start that you're really thinking about, 'Will we win for the first time in the States?'" said Catriona Matthew, who sank the clinching putt in Europe's 2003 victory. "Everyone is just going out there to try to win their individual match, and if everyone can do that then obviously you're going to win in the end. I think you just have to go out there and concentrate on your match and try and win it. That's all you can do. You can't influence any other match. You just have to go out there and focus on your game."

Juli Inkster is the most experienced American player with seven Solheim Cup appearances, followed by Kerr's four. After that, Creamer, Natalie Gulbis and Stanford have played in two each while Nicole Castrale, Christina Kim, Brittany Lincicome and Pressel have played in one each. Kristy McPherson, Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie are Solheim rookies this year.

The U.S. team is trying to balance not only the perception that it's a favorite, but the pressure of trying to not be the first team to lose at home.

"We're very much aware of that," Kim said. "Europe has a very strong team. They've got a lot of girls with a lot of experience in the Solheim Cup and especially on a golf course like this, you never know what's going to happen. It's such a fantastic golf course and it's so demanding for match play that there's guarantee of what's going to happen, but we're here to win -- we're here to retain the Cup."

Weather watch
More rain fell on Rich Harvest Farms Wednesday night, further lengthening what is already the longest course in Solheim Cup history
"I thought it was long (Thursday) and I'm one of the longer hitters, and I had three 4 irons into greens today, which is unbelievable," said Lincicome, who is second on the LPGA Tour in average distance at 269.7 yards. "If I'm saying it's kind of long, it's a good challenge out there."

Soft fairways aren't the only factor -- the winds sweeping across the flat lands of Sugar Grove have presented challenges as well.

"I don't think we've played the golf course two times and the wind has been the same," Castrale said. "It seems to keep coming from different directions, and there's certain holes that we've played dead into it, downwind, left to right wind, right to left wind, and the golf course is soft."

On the rebound
Lincicome is making her third Solheim Cup appearance, but heading into the 2009 season the 23-year-old was slumping badly. After winning over $800,000 in 2006 and 2007, Lincicome fell into a deep slump in 2008. She missed 11 cuts and earned just over $110,000.
"It was very scary," she said. "I couldn't do anything right last year. I almost took off the whole year kind of halfway through. Nothing was going my way. I couldn't get anything going."

After she changed coaches at the start of the year he rebounded strongly this year and won the season's first major, the Kraft Nabisco, and is currently 16th on the money list.

"Something just kind of clicked, and I figured it out again," she said. "It's very scary because obviously I've only been on Tour very few years and didn't know how I was going to come out of it, if I would have come out of it, and thank God I did."

...................................................................................................................

UNITED STATES

Michelle Wie

This could provide the breakout everyone has been waiting for, as Wie can lean on her teammates while letting her pure talent shine. Arguably the most gifted player in the field, Wie has the ability to do everything and anything -- but she also has been shaky under pressure. It's been a long time since she's won (2003), so it will be interesting to see how she reacts to the charged-up atmosphere.

Kristy McPherson

A Solheim Cup rookie, there are no questions about her toughness and ability to compete. She has four top 10s this year and two near-misses. A solid ball striker (14th in greens in regulation, 15th in fairways hit), she would be an excellent partner for a longer hitter (75th in driving average). McPherson is a player that captain Beth Daniel would have no problem throwing into the fire in key singles matches.

Christina Kim

Perhaps the most colorful player on either team, Kim is an emotional player who you would think would ride the emotions of the home crowd. She was part of the victorious 2005 U.S. team at Crooked Stick and went 2-1-1 in her matches. But she's posted only two top 10s in 2009, and hasn't won since 2005. Will she get too down if things go wrong early? Or will her personality and tie for third on Aug. 2 at the British Open carry her to success?

EUROPE

Tania Elosegui

The Spaniard has six top-three finishes this year on the Ladies European Tour, including a victory. A solid player, Elosegui could become a star in this tournament.
She's fourth on the LET in rounds under par and greens in regulation and eighth in scoring average and total birdies. She is not a strong putter, however, and struggles with her accuracy off the tee.

Anna Nordqvist

She is one two Europeans to win a major title this year, but she hasn't done much since winning the LPGA Championship in June, with only two rounds in the 60s since. It will be interesting to see if her teammates can build her confidence back up and take advantage of her ability to keep the ball in the fairway (16th on LPGA Tour) and get her scoring again -- she has 12 rounds in the 60s this year.

Diana Luna

Not much is known about the Italian, who is the first from her country to play in a Solheim Cup. Luna has won twice and finished second in 2009 on the Ladies European Tour.
A Cup rookie, she's fifth in total rounds under par and 25th on the LET in greens in regulation, so she's a player who can make birdies

Red, White & Blue week for McPherson / The Sun News, Sports / Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Sun News, Sports, Myrtle Beach, SC
Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009
By Alan Blondin

Red, white and blue week for McPherson

Conway native brings more than game to America's team

_{AP - Team USA's Kristy McPherson hits a drive during a practice round for the Solheim Cup golf tournament Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. (AP}

................................................................................................

Kristy McPherson can't tell you if there will be more pressure or more fun involved in her first Solheim Cup.

That's because to her, they are one and the same on a golf course, so there will be loads of both this weekend at Rich Harvest Farms in suburban Chicago.

The Conway native is one of three Solheim Cup rookies on the 12-member U.S. team that is attempting to retain the Cup against a squad of European stars in the 11th biennial match-play competition.

Pressure is fun. That's what we live for, you know," McPherson said. "Billie Jean King spoke to us and said pressure is a privilege, and it will be this week. There will be a lot of pressure.

"You want to play well for yourself, the other girls on the team, the captains and the whole country."

McPherson, in her third year on the LPGA Tour, qualified fourth on the U.S. team's points list on the strength of a pair of runner-up finishes this year and three top-sevens in 2009 majors. She joins Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie as first-time members on a team captained by World Golf Hall of Fame member and Charleston native Beth Daniel.

Before this week, McPherson last sat down for a meal with Daniel in 1998, when she was collecting her second consecutive Beth Daniel Award as the girls junior player of the year in South Carolina.

"She was always my favorite player growing up in South Carolina, so it's been really cool that my first Solheim, my favorite player is our captain," McPherson said. "Since last year when they announced Beth as the captain, it's been a huge goal of mine - my No. 1 goal this year - to play well and earn my spot on the team."

Daniel encouraged former Furman women's golf coach Nick Potter to recruit McPherson to her alma mater before McPherson chose to attend South Carolina, and was one of the first players to congratulate McPherson after her graduation to the LPGA Tour in 2007 following three years on the developmental Duramed Futures Tour.

The two sang a country duet Tuesday on the Karaoke machine in the team activities trailer.

"I've known her since she was a teenager," Daniel said, "but probably because of that she's never really opened up to me, and she is like one of the most fun people I've ever met in my life. ... She's keeping the team really loose. So she's been great."

McPherson's presence has helped the team bond, something Daniel was admittedly apprehensive about.

"I think this team chemistry is pretty special," said teammate Cristie Kerr. "There's just something special about it this time. It's not like the other four I've played on haven't been special, but there's just something really special about this team this year."

McPherson has already shown her mettle in intrasquad evening ping pong and billiards matches. She and Brittany Lincicome have been ruling the doubles ping pong table, and McPherson was undefeated through her first seven games of pool, prompting teammate Juli Inkster to issue a challenge.

"I think she's pretty good so we'll see," McPherson said.

The last time McPherson played a match play format was probably before she turned pro in 2003. She can't quite remember, but she has always been fond of it.

"We don't get much match play out here, but I love it," she said. "I think it frees up your game a lot. Some of my mistakes come from trying to be too cautious. You worry about what could happen instead of what you're trying to do. I love the sportsmanship of it and competitiveness of it, and how it changes your approach to your game."

The Solheim Cup's format consists of morning best-ball matches followed by afternoon alternate-shot matches both today and Saturday, and 12 singles matches Sunday. Two of McPherson's best friends on tour, Brittany Lincicome and Angela Stanford, are teammates this week and both are among the eight U.S. players in the morning best-ball matches. McPherson's debut will likely come in the afternoon with a yet-to-be-named partner.

"I can play with anybody," McPherson said. "I respect all 11 girls' games and all of them will be an asset and a great partner. ... And I can go have dinner or have a drink with any of these girls."

The unique format, team activities, increased media attention and thousands of spectators each day this week have been reminders of the distinction of the event. "You're signing autographs between every tee and green," McPherson said. "Nine holes is taking 3½ hours. By the time you get through and sign, security guards have to push you through to the next hole."

Perhaps McPherson's most illuminating moment of the week occurred Sunday night when she transferred her clubs into her red, white and blue Solheim Cup golf bag.

"This week won't be just about my own game," McPherson said. "I'm playing for something bigger, playing for millions of fans who love golf and playing for our country.

"I don't think I've got a true feel for the pressure yet. It's an honor. It's like the Olympics for us. It's an honor to be here and have that kind of pressure on you. ... It's going to be a ton of fun."

McPherson reaching new heights on the LPGA Tour / CallawayGolf.com / Friday, August 14, 2009

_{Callaway Golf.com}

_{Friday, August 14, 2009}

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a coveted spot on the United States team in the mid- August Solheim Cup againt Europe, Callaway Staffer Kristy McPherson may have suddenly arrived on the scene in the eyes of some casual golf fans who tune in to those team matches. But nothing could be futher from the truth. The South Carolina native may be enjoying her best season as a professional, but make no mistake: there have been years of toil along the way.

Following a strong finish to 2008, when she recorded six top-10 finishes, McPherson has picked up where she left off. The 28-year-old has four more top-10 finishes this season in 17 starts and has earned more than $600,000. “I started playing well toward the end of last year,” she says, “In Arkansas last year I had the lead with five holes to go, but finished fourth. That got me enough money to make sure I had my full card for 2009. That kind of freed me up a bit and allowed me to play my game, and things took off from there.”

McPherson’s best LPGA result came at this season’s first major championship, the Kraft Nabisco in Rancho Mirage California, where she tied for second. The near-victory was tough to swallow, but made easier by the fact that she was beaten by one of her best friends on Tour, Brittany Lincicome, who eagled the final hole to win by a stroke. “Kraft was huge this year, to put myself in position to have a chance to win” McPherson says. “I played consistent, but nothing special. I’ve played well this year in three of the four majors. Obviously, I’m waiting on the first win, and then many more will come.”

So how difficult was it to come so close to getting her first career win in a major, only to be beaten by an eagle on the final hole?
“Every time I see Britt toss her hybrid when she gets mad at it, I say, ‘Where was that at Kraft?’” McPherson says laughing. “She hit an amazing golf shot. I found out since then that it was the first time any major has been won with an eagle on the final hole. You can’t get mad if you lose that way. It was comforting that I didn’t lose it, and she took it away from me.”

It figures to be the first of many chances McPherson will have to play for LPGA titles. Her dedication has been evident from an early age. Diagnosed at age 11 with Still’s Disease, a form of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, McPherson spent most of that year laying in bed, unable to walk. Forced to give up team sports, she focused on golf and had a highly successful junior career. After a stellar amateur career at the University of South Carolina, McPherson spent the 2003-2006 seasons on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. She won twice and posted 14 top-10 finishes in three and a half years, never missing a 36-hole cut in 60 tournaments played. Along the way, she enjoyed a stint on the hit television show Big Break VI, which she says “gets me a lot of fans on Tour.”

“K-Mac has one of the brightest personalities on the LPGA Tour, so it’s no wonder she has become such a star on and off the golf course,” says Callaway’s LPGA Tour Rep Johnny Thompson, who works with McPherson from week to week. “She has an amazing balance between work and social life and because of that has many friends across the country. If the LPGA Tour gave out superlatives, she would definitely win Miss Congeniality!”

 

Now in her third year on the LPGA Tour, the affable McPherson has hit her stride, which has allowed her to share her success with those who helped get her there. This year, she bought her dad the fishing boat he’s always dreamed of and watched with delight as she handed him the keys. “My dad has always had a little aluminum boat and I got him his first real fishing boat,” she says. “He said, ‘That’s a nice boat. Whose boat is that?’ I said, ‘It’s your boat, Daddy.’ He’s been out on it with my mom every day since then. He kept staring it and saying, ‘I got me a fishing boat.’”

“You’re not going to make it anywhere in golf without your parents,” McPherson adds. “It’s not cheap playing all these tournaments as you grow up. So it’s exciting to give them something they can do together.”

On the equipment side of things, McPherson has worked with Callaway’s Thompson to find the clubs that work for her, and she isn’t much of a tinkerer. “To make cuts consistently like K-Mac has done, you have to go back to the old golf cliché of fairways and greens,” says Thompson. “She has trusted her X-Series Irons and her Fusion Driver for the past two years and, to no surprise, has had the two best years of her career. Fairways and greens puts you to work on the weekends, but to be in contention frequently like she has been for the last two years, you also need to roll the onion. This year she switched to an Odyssey 2 Ball Mid Putter and the putts have started dropping.”

Callaway and Johnny have been great to me for the last couple of years,” McPherson adds. “He’s made any Odyssey putter I could use and told me to find what works. In college we were a Callaway school, and I played X-12 and X-14 Irons. When I started out on the LPGA Tour, Johnny fit me for the X-20s and once I find something I like, I stick with what works. They try to put me in the newer stuff and I understand I could get 10 yards more, but once I’m comfortable, I stick with it.”

She also plays the Tour i Golf Ball and the FT-3 Driver. “If my baby ever breaks, I might have some problems,” she jokes. 

In mid-August, McPherson will take her Callaway equipment to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Groves, Illinois, to compete in her first Solheim Cup, an experience she says will be “pretty special.” Fellow Callaway Staff Pro Morgan Pressel will be a teammate. McPherson is expecting a “different kind of pressure” than the kind that comes from playing tournaments as an individual. 

“This will be something I’ve never experienced and that a lot of people don’t experience in their career,” she says. “You’ll have 100,000 fans screaming at you. I’m so excited about it. I’ve never played any of the team stuff. This is the one chance you get in golf to play for 11 other players, three captains and a whole country.”

McPherson says her consistent style of hitting fairways and greens will make it easy to partner with anyone on the team, including Pressel. “Morgan and I would make a great pair,” she says. “Plus, we play the same golf balls, so we don’t have to play a different ball. Morgan and I play a lot of the same game, hit greens and hit fairways. We’ve practiced together some. I would be thrilled to death to play with her.”

“I’ll give you a prediction,” says Thompson. “No player on this U.S. Solheim Cup team will be more animated, pumped up, and ready to rock than Kristy McPherson. She is one is one of the most intense competitors I have ever seen, and she will be at the center of some of the biggest roars during the Solheim Cup.

Golf included in 2016 Olympic Games / LPGA.com / Thursday, August 13, 2009

Golf Makes Cut as IOC Executive Board Recommends Two Sports for Inclusion in 2016 Olympic Games

IOC’s Final Vote on adding sports to take place this October in Copenhagen

Berlin, Germany (August 13, 2009) –

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Golf is one step closer to being reinstated as an Olympic sport following the International Olympic Committee Executive Board’s recommendation to add golf and rugby sevens to the 2016 Olympic Programme.

The IOC’s final vote on whether to add as many as two sports will take place on October 9 at the 121st IOC session in Copenhagen, Denmark. While the membership of the IOC is not obliged to follow the Executive Board’s recommendation, the Board’s decision is based on an extensive review process of seven candidate sports that has included formal presentations, the submission of a Detailed Questionnaire and responses to questions raised by both the IOC Programme Commission and the IOC Executive Board. The IOC Executive Board announced its decision today following a meeting in Berlin, Germany.

“We’re obviously thrilled that the IOC Executive Board has recommended that golf should be added to the 2016 Olympic Programme,” said Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the International Golf Federation Olympic Golf Committee, which has been coordinating the Olympic bid. “We believe we have presented a compelling case as to why golf should be added and we look forward to the IOC’s final vote in October.”

Golf was last part of the Olympic Games in 1904, when the United States and Canada were the only competing nations.

Throughout the process, the IGF has stressed the unprecedented unified support by international golf organisations – including a commitment by those that conduct major championships to adjust their summer schedules to ensure that their respective tournaments won’t conflict or compete with the Olympic golf competition – as well as the resounding support of golf’s top-ranked male and female players.

Player support has been highlighted in various ways, including short films that have been shown to the IOC Programme Commission and Executive Board, a customised brochure detailing the bid that includes player quotes, a letter campaign in which international players sent the brochure with a personalised letter to IOC members from their respective countries, the participation by Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam as Global Ambassadors on behalf of the IGF’s bid, and the appearance by Sorenstam and 2010 European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie at the final presentation to the IOC Executive Board in June in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“We made it clear from the outset of the bid process that we absolutely needed support from the world’s leading players to have the best chance of being selected for the 2016 Olympic Games, and we have demonstrated that support,” said Peter Dawson, chief executive of The R&A and joint secretary of the IGF. “We also stressed the united support from the leading golf organisations throughout the world, as well as the universal nature of golf, with 60 million people playing the sport in more than 120 countries.”

The IGF’s Olympic Golf Committee, which originally included The R&A; European Tour; USGA; PGA of America; PGA TOUR; LPGA and the Masters Tournament, has been expanded to 19 organisations. It now also includes The Asian Tour; Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour; Canadian Professional Golf Tour; Japan Golf Tour Organisation; The Ladies Professional Golfers Association of Japan; Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association; Korean Professional Golf Association; Ladies European Tour; Ladies Asian Golf Tour Ltd; PGA Tour of Australasia; The Sunshine Tour and The Tour de las Americas.

The IGF has 121 member federations from 116 countries with the most recent additions of the Guam National Golf Federation and Cambodian Golf Federation.

In terms of Olympic competition, the IGF has proposed a format of 72-hole individual stroke play for both men and women, reflecting leading players’ opinion that this is the fairest and best way to identify a champion, mirroring the format used in golf's major championships. In case of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff is recommended to determine the medal winner(s).

The IGF has recommended an Olympic field of 60 players for each of the men's and women's competition, utilizing the official world golf rankings as a method of determining eligibility. The top 15 world-ranked players would be eligible for the Olympics, regardless of the number of players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players would be eligible based on world ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.

Under this proposal, and based on the current world rankings from both the men’s and women’s games, at least 30 countries would be represented in both the men’s and women’s competitions, from all continents.

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Quotes from LPGA players

Cristie Kerr

“The skill, endurance and physical aptitude that golf requires is often overlooked, which is why I’m thrilled that the International Olympic Committee has recognized the sport as a contender for the 2016 Olympic program.  I am optimistic that the October decision will bring positive news thereby providing golf with an international spotlight and encouraging the recognition it deserves.”

Michelle Wie

“Everybody I have talked to is quite excited about the idea of golf being incorporated into the Olympics, and today is a good step towards that.  It would just be a thrill to represent our country and to be a part of the Olympic experience, which I think is one of the highest pinnacles in sport.  Golf is such an international game – we see it on the LPGA every week with star players from all over the world – so I think it would be a natural fit for the Olympics and would be great for the game.  We’ll keep our fingers crossed for more good news in October.”

Ai Miyazato

“I really hope that golf becomes one of the sports in the Olympics because it is such an international sport, and is very popular among many people around the world.  This would be incredibly important to my country, as it is one of the candidates to host the Olympics in the near future.  Japanese people love golf and no matter where it is going to be held, it will be followed greatly.  Personally, I’ve had many chances to represent my country as a junior golfer, but doing so in the Olympics would definitely be one of the highlights of my career.  It would be a huge deal for the LPGA because it is a major international tour with players from all over the world.  Not only would the players represent their countries in the Olympics, but they would represent the LPGA and show its diversity.”

Suzann Pettersen

“It would be great if golf is approved, especially in markets where golf is small or non-existent.  For me, it is a dream to represent Norway in the Olympics, and I am sure it will benefit the game of golf in general, as well as in Norway.  Golf is about respect, partnership and sportsmanship – true Olympic values that will fit with what the LPGA and the game stand for.”

Karrie Webb

“The prospect of golf being an Olympic sport is very exciting. Australia is extremely passionate about Olympic sports and the games are held in the highest regard.  It would be an honor to play for my country. For Australia and even other countries that are emerging in golf, the distinction as an Olympic sport will provide greater opportunity for government and even corporate funding.  I think the distinction will represent long term growth and opportunity for golf worldwide.”

“In terms of the benefit to the LPGA, I think most people will be impressed by the depth of international talent that is represented on our tour. We are an international tour and the prospect of this announcement will only continue to showcase all that we have to offer at the highest level in sport.”

Solheim Cup "Football" type atmosphere / The Beacon News / Thursday, August 06, 2009

The Beacon News
August 6, 2009

By RICK ARMSTRONG
SUGAR GROVE -

 

U.S.Solheim Team Cup Captain Beth Daniel (from center, left) and players Brittany Lincicome, Kristy McPherson cheer with their American teammates after a press conference and team practice Wednesday at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, IL. (Heather Eidson, Staff Photographer)

The 'Football-type' atmosphere

Young, talented U.S team tunes up at Rich Harvest Farms

Solheim Cup is anything but typical.

"It's such a unique golf event," said Beth Daniel. "Just look at those bleachers on No. 1 (tee). They can seat 800 and it will be the loudest place on the golf course when people are teeing off.

It's the equivalent of playing golf in a football-type arena."

It wasn't any given Wednesday at Rich Harvest Farms, but maybe it was fitting the American team captain took on an Iron Mike tone as she met the Chicago-area media. Her newly assembled team had just completed two days of practice on the challenging course where they'll meet a team of Europeans in match-play competition Aug. 21-23.

Daniel did not say there was no "I" in team. But it was clear she wanted to talk about "we," more than Wie -- as in 19-year-old Michelle Wie -- the hot topic on many of the reporter's minds.

"I don't want this to turn in to the Michelle Wie Solheim Cup," Daniel said of one of her two captain's picks. "Because it's not about her. And she understands that. She can't win this on her own."

She noted that Wie could play in every possible match and win them all and the Americans could still lose the Cup.

"I need 12 players and I have 12 really, really good players," Daniel said. "It's amazing how good these players are."

She said there's no denying Wie's talent.

"She can hit any shot and she's gotten better in her short game," Daniel continued. "She's a remarkable talent.

"But there are also a lot of other players here that are remarkable talents and are a lot more accomplished in professional golf than she is that are on this team."

They include Paula Creamer, who will be playing in her third Solheim and led the automatic qualifiers making the team, and the other captain's pick, 49-year-old Juli Inkster, who will play in her eighth Solheim and has a 19-year-old daughter.

"I gave her (Wie) a bed check the last couple days (to make sure) she'd be on time, in bed and brushed her teeth," Inkster kidded.

"It's a very young team, which is great for the U.S. At Crooked Stick (in 2005), we had a very old team and now we have a very young team so that bodes well for U.S. golf."

Creamer likes the talent.

"We have such a diverse group," she said. "Once we get the right pairings, it's gonna be unstoppable."

Daniel thinks her team is the better one on paper, but she knows that doesn't dictate the outcome.

"The European team is sneaky good," she said. "On paper, yes, we're probably better. What you have to consider about them is that they play the foursome (alternate shot) format at lot. They're more comfortable with it. It's like a lost art in the U.S."

And because it's atypical, outside influences can become a distraction.

"There are things you don't see in normal golf, the patriotism, the emotion," she said. "It's all there. It's not like your normal subdued golf clap at a tournament. It's loud. People get into it, they really do." Solheim

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U.S. TEAM

Rank, Player Points

1. Paula Creamer 826.5

2. Cristie Kerr 735.5

3. Angela Stanford 579.0

4. Kristy McPherson 321.0

5. Nicole Castrale 314.0

6. Christina Kim 312.0

7. Brittany Lang 301.5

8. Morgan Pressel 277.0

9. Brittany Lincicome 250.0

10. Natalie Gulbis 201.0

Captain's picks

Juli Inkster, Michelle Wie

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European team

Rank, Player Points

1. Gwladys Nocera 200.50

2. Tania Elosegui 138.75

3. Diana Luna 126.80

4. Laura Davies 119.55

5. Sophie Gustafson 118.00

Rolex Rankings

1. Suzann Pettersen 6

2. Helen Alfredsson 10

3. Catriona Matthew 14

4. Maria Hjorth 35

Captain's picks

Becky Brewerton, Janice Moodie, Anna Nordqvist

Catching up with Duramed Tour Alumni Kristy McPherson / Wednesday, July 23, 2009 / by Lisa Mickey, Sr. Writer, DFT

_{Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2009
DuramedFuturesTour.com}

Interview with Tour Alumni Kristy McPherson

 

Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna KRISTY MCPHERSON of South Carolina, played on the LPGA’s developmental from 2003 to 2006, winning twice and posting 14 top-10 finishes in 3 ½ seasons. Never missing a 36-hole cut, she was the standard for consistency.

Now, McPherson, 28, is ranked 13th on the LPGA’s 2009 money list with season earnings of nearly $533,000 and more than $1 million in career earnings. She has three top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for second at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Champion and a tie for fifth at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, both majors. She also is poised to make the U.S. Team at this year’s Solheim Cup competition.

McPherson recently bought her first home in Florida and has sponsorship deals with Callaway Golf, Oakley clothes and eyewear, and Kentwool, a high-end sock company out of Greenville, S.C.

At the recent U.S. Women’s Open Championship, McPherson sat down with duramedfuturestour.com senior writer Lisa D. Mickey to discuss how her season is going and how she hopes it will culminate this year:

DFT: You have already posted three top-10 finishes this season with top-fives at two majors. This year is going pretty well for you.

MCPHERSON: So far, it’s been a great year. People still ask me, “When are you going to win?” I think they forget that I’m only in my third year out here. They don’t realize how hard it is.

DFT: Are you a stats watcher? What is the key to your strong performance in 2009?

MCPHERSON: No, not really. A big key for me was when I played well at our tournament in Arkansas last year [she tied for fourth, which was a career-best LPGA finish at that time]. By doing that, I knew I’d be back out here with my full LPGA card this year.

Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna KRISTY MCPHERSON of South Carolina, played on the LPGA’s developmental from 2003 to 2006, winning twice and posting 14 top-10 finishes in 3 ½ seasons. Never missing a 36-hole cut, she was the standard for consistency.

Now, McPherson, 28, is ranked 13th on the LPGA’s 2009 money list with season earnings of nearly $533,000 and more than $1 million in career earnings. She has three top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for second at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Champion and a tie for fifth at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, both majors. She also is poised to make the U.S. Team at this year’s Solheim Cup competition.

McPherson recently bought her first home in Florida and has sponsorship deals with Callaway Golf, Oakley clothes and eyewear, and Kentwool, a high-end sock company out of Greenville, S.C.

At the recent U.S. Women’s Open Championship, McPherson sat down with duramedfuturestour.com senior writer Lisa D. Mickey to discuss how her season is going and how she hopes it will culminate this year:

DFT: You have already posted three top-10 finishes this season with top-fives at two majors. This year is going pretty well for you.

MCPHERSON: So far, it’s been a great year. People still ask me, “When are you going to win?” I think they forget that I’m only in my third year out here. They don’t realize how hard it is.

DFT: Are you a stats watcher? What is the key to your strong performance in 2009?

MCPHERSON: No, not really. A big key for me was when I played well at our tournament in Arkansas last year [she tied for fourth, which was a career-best LPGA finish at that time]. By doing that, I knew I’d be back out here with my full LPGA card this year.

DFT: You won twice on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, so you already know how to win as a pro.

MCPHERSON: On the Duramed FUTURES Tour, you’re playing to win. You’re playing for your card and you are trying to win one of those top-10, and especially, top-five LPGA cards. You have to play to win. I learned how to win there. Obviously, I haven’t won out here yet, but the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Sunday is a little more intense than winning on a Sunday in McAllen, Texas, or Morgantown, W.Va., where I won.

DFT: You had a pretty amazing record on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. In three and a half seasons and a total of 60 tournaments, you never missed a cut. How did you do that?

MCPHERSON: Just by minimizing my mistakes. I learned how to control my emotions and how to keep from turning a bogey into a double-bogey. That’s why I made the cuts out there, but you’re just not going to make every cut on the LPGA Tour.

DFT: You crossed the million-dollar mark in career LPGA earnings at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship. That’s a lot different than your life on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

MCPHERSON: I don’t care if I cross the million-dollar mark this year. Money is not going to make me happy. It really is all about what you are. Sure, it was great to buy a house and to have a little more money to take care of my family. I want to buy them a house someday. But I’m just blessed to play the game. Out here, you have hundreds of people lined up for your autograph in practice rounds. We are lucky to do what we do.

DFT: At the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s tournament in Lafayette, La., this spring, you came and caddied for your buddy JENNY GLEASON. Why did you do that?

McPHERSON: She’s one of my best friends. I had a week off, so I wanted to go down there and see if I could help her. She was like, “No, you don’t have to caddie,” but I really like to see what it’s like on the other side of the golf ball. I want all of my best friends playing on the LPGA Tour. It’s tough to see your friends struggle and all of her best friends are on the LPGA.

DFT: Did you learn anything that week?

MCPHERSON: Well, Jenny still has one of the best short games I’ve ever seen in my life. I’d put her in the top five percent of any woman I know for her wedge play. ANGELA STANFORD is ranked No. 7 in the world, but if she had Jenny Gleason’s short game, she’d be challenging LORENA [OCHOA] and everybody else right now.

DFT: This is your third year on the LPGA Tour. How do you view the progress you have made?

MCPHERSON: Your rookie year out here is like being a freshman in college. Coming from the Duramed FUTURES Tour, you have to learn how to play four-day events on the LPGA from the three-day events [played on the developmental tour]. It’s a real learning process. My first year on the LPGA, I fell into the trap of watching the money list or just thinking about making cuts. My goal that first year was to make eight cuts and I made it on the number to get back out here. The second year, I finished tied for fourth and then I had six top-10s after that, so I made enough money to keep my [LPGA] card again. And this year, I’ve really learned that I play better in tougher conditions. I’m a good scrambler. Maybe it comes from having to grind.

DFT: Much has been written about your rheumatoid arthritis. How are you doing with it and has the condition affected you on the LPGA Tour?

MCPHERSON: People are always surprised to hear this, but getting sick was the best thing that ever happened to me. No way, would I have played golf. I probably would have gone to college and played team sports. I wanted to yell and scream and jump and run. I took up golf seriously because I was not able to run and slide like I wanted. It was truly a blessing in disguise. It changed my life. I still have pain, but mostly when it’s cold and rainy. It’s in my ankles, wrists, knees and sometimes my hips. I’ve learned how to deal with it. If I woke up and I felt perfectly fine, I wouldn’t know what to do.

DFT: Do you still take meds for your arthritis?

MCPHERSON: Yes, I now take Mobic, an anti-inflammatory, maybe moving toward another med for a shot once every other week to better manage it. Every morning, I need about a half hour of stretching before I can get moving and I’m in the physical therapy trailer on tour every day.

DFT: How do you feel about athletes being role models or positive influences for young people?

MCPHERSON: The number of people who write me on my Web site is kind of surprising. Fans are amazing. They come up and say stuff to me all the time. There are a lot of kids around and it drives me crazy when some players throw fits out here. I really try hard not to make an idiot of myself and I don’t take a single day for granted. Whether we like it or not, we are entertainers and there’s a lot more to our jobs than just playing golf. We have to make sure that fans enjoy their experience and that we show sponsors we appreciate them. We have some responsibilities and one of them is to represent the LPGA Tour well.

DFT: Now that some players wear microphones during rounds for TV, I guess you have to be careful what you say.

MCPHERSON: [Laughter] I was miked during the first round of Corning and to be honest, I completely forgot about it. It was kind of like being on the Golf Channel’s “Big Break” show. You say stupid stuff and people listen to what you say, but it’s cool for fans to see the competition from inside the ropes.

DFT: Speaking of the “Big Break,” people forget you were on that show in 2006 when you were still a member of the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

MCPHERSON: [Laughter] Yeah, people think I got out here because I won the “Big Break” or something. On that show, you basically get one chance to hit a shot and out here, you get 18 holes. But no, I did not win the “Big Break.” What I remember about that experience was being eliminated early and having to stay there until the filming of the show was over. When I left in June or July to go film it, I was No. 4 on the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s money list. While I was gone, I missed two tournaments and when I got back to the Tour after filming, I had dropped to No. 10. But it worked out. And people say something to me every day out here about that show.

DFT: This is a Solheim Cup year. How much do you want to be on the American team?

MCPHERSON: That is my No. 1 goal. I’m No. 7 right now in Solheim Cup points for the American team. It’s a chance to represent my country. I think that’s the best thing you can do. Plus, Beth Daniel was always my favorite player and with her as the U.S. Team’s captain this year, I’ve put myself in position to make her team. That would literally be a dream come true to play for someone I have admired for such a long time. And it’s something that would really make me feel like I belong out here. I want to be one of the best American players.

DFT: Other than Beth Daniel, who has been a positive influence on your golf career?

 MCPHERSON: I would say that ANGELA STANFORD has helped me a ton. She’s been out here for nine years and she’s taught me a lot about wanting to win. She knows I really want to make The Solheim Cup team and she told me, “Would you just stop trying to figure out how to make the team and start trying to figure out how to play to make the team win? I had been playing to try to finish in the top 20 and that was the wrong way to think about it.

 DFT: You were active in the Christian Fellowship group when you were on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. Is your faith something that is still important to you?

 MCPHERSON: That’s a whole part of getting rheumatoid arthritis. It taught me to give up control and to trust in something bigger than myself. Maybe things weren’t going by my plan, but everything has a plan. Getting R.A. made me realize that even if things don’t happen on your time, they’re still going to happen if they’re meant to happen.

DFT: Are you a plan-maker or a goal-setter?

MCPHERSON: I’m not really good at that, but I will say that finishing tied for second at the Kraft Nabisco Championship changed my career as far as having confidence on the golf course. That was the first time I held a lead after 71 holes in the first major championship of the year. Knowing that I can compete has made it a little bit easier and makes me want it more. And for my good friend Britttany [Lincicome] to eagle the last hole at the Kraft to win, well, that was rude, wasn’t it? [Laughter]

DFT: You know how it is at this time of year for players on the developmental tour to start stressing out as they try to earn one of the LPGA Tour cards for 2010. What would you tell them if you could?

MCPHERSON: There was a point after I missed my third LPGA Q-School when I was ready to throw in the towel and go get a job. Sometimes, it is really frustrating, but I would tell them to take advantage of this time to prepare themselves to be ready for the LPGA Tour. The competition on the Duramed FUTURES Tour is great and good players are there to become better players. It’s a steppingstone. And it’s another one of those faith things. I didn’t plan to be out there on the developmental tour for 3 ½ years, but as it turned out, I needed it. I still have a lot of good friends out there and I’m watching the Tour’s Real-Time Scoring every week to see what’s going on. I’ve been there. I know how encouraging words can help. I know how intimidating it can be to come out here on the LPGA Tour. The last thing I would tell them is that it’s important to have a good support group. You have to enjoy life. You have to keep it simple. You can’t do it on your own for 30 weeks by yourself and all you’re thinking about is golf. If you do that, you will drive yourself crazy and you won’t last long. You really do have to learn how to leave the golf course at the golf course and to not kick yourself over a three-footer you missed last week.

LPGA golfer is anything but par for the course / by Brian Vargo / Arthritis Today Magazine / August 2009

Kristy McPherson

By Adrienne Greer Foley and Bryan D. Vargo

LPGA golfer Kristy McPherson is anything but par for the course.

It’s one thing to play golf with Donald Trump, but it’s another to get to touch those trademark locks. That’s just what happened when Kristy McPherson first met “The Donald” while competing in The Golf Channel’s reality series, “The Big Break VI: Trump National” in 2007.

“When I met Mr. Trump, I had to be the first to touch his hair,” she jokes. “I have to admit it didn’t look real, but after a good run of the fingers, it’s definitely real!”

A self-described “born competitor,” Kristy first picked up a golf club at age 7. She faced her toughest opponent at age 11 when she was diagnosed with Still’s disease, now called systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Sidelined from playing softball, basketball and golf, the Conway, S.C., native spent much of that year in bed with high fevers, horrible rashes and stiff joints.

“Doctors told me that I should find something else to do other than sports,” she says. Instead, she turned to the game she could play with minimum pain.

“Golf wasn’t my favorite sport, but it looked like my only option, so I learned to love the game,” she says.

Since appearing on the “The Big Break,” the three-time All-American collegiate golfer has earned a spot on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour (LPGA). The 28-year-old competes nine months a year, yet still finds time to help support the Arthritis Foundation. For the past two years, she has helped raise funds for the Foundation’s Indiana Chapter golf event.

Arthritis Today caught up with Kristy on tour to find out more about playing golf with arthritis and why she thinks her diagnosis was a blessing.

What did you learn from “The Big Break”?

“I learned that every shot counts, whether it’s in golf or life.”

What was it like meeting “The Donald”?

“I enjoyed getting to hang out with Mr. Trump as much as I enjoyed the experience of being on the show. He’s a pretty good player himself and a really classy guy to hang out with.”

Other than Donald Trump, who else has challenged you on the links?

“Annika Sorenstam. She is the best woman to ever play the game. Two years on tour with her is something I’ll always remember.”

What’s the toughest part of the LPGA Tour?

“Traveling each week. But I love being competitive and staying active. I wake up stiff each day, but I stick with my daily medications and keep moving.”

How do you stay in shape?

“I’m in the gym three to four times a week. I ride a [stationary] bike, walk 30 minutes on a treadmill, lift weights and do core training for my golf swing and for stability. It can be hard to start up, but once I get in there, I feel tons better.”

What’s your favorite golf club and why?

“My favorite club in the bag right now is my putter. One good putt can save a lot of bad shots! Sometimes when my arthritis is bothering me, I will take an extra club to help hit the ball a little further. A lot of times I don’t get as much rotation as I would like to hit a full shot, but I’ve learned to work my way around those challenges.”

You were just a kid when you were diagnosed. How did you cope?

“Being a sixth-grader, if felt like it was the end of the world. I couldn’t go to school. I didn’t know what was happening. It all happened so fast - one day I was fine and the next I couldn’t move. But my family was so supportive and wonderful. My dad would pick me up and carry me out to the porch to hang out outside. He picked me up and carried me to the golf course. I’d ride in the cart and watch him play. I couldn’t do it on my own, but just being out there with him and around sports was exciting. Everybody was so supportive. They were just as scared as I was, but they didn’t show it. Not knowing what was going on was the scariest part.”

Why do you volunteer for the Arthritis Foundation?

“I just really want all of the kids out there (with arthritis) to know that they can do anything that they want to do. Sure, some days will be tougher, but this disease does not have to take away the things you are passionate about. I love to see their faces when I tell them that there is hope and they could still be professional athletes or whatever it is that they dream of being.”

What’s the biggest impact arthritis has had on your life (other than the pain and mobility issues)?

“I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Getting arthritis was the best thing that ever happened to me. It took my life in a completely different direction than I would have ever chosen for myself. It chose my career for me and it chose a lifestyle for me. At the time it was frustrating, scary and upsetting, but it was definitely a blessing in disguise.”

What’s the one thing that drove you to overcome the obstacles of your condition?

“Instead of letting it take control of me, I decided I was going to take control and live a life competing. Sometimes it’s really tough, but if you just keep persevering, it makes the great achievements even more rewarding.”

What would you be doing for a living if you weren’t golfing?

“Growing up I always wanted to be a garbage [person]. I thought it would be cool to hang off the back of a truck while somebody drove you around [LOL]. But really I’ve always loved kids. When I got sick, I spent so much time at the pediatrician that I wanted to be a pediatrician and just help kids. I want to have about a dozen myself! I guess I need to get started on that!”

Will you always golf?

“You never know, as far as health goes and injuries you can’t control. But I hope to stay out here for as long as I can be competitive. I think I’ll stay in the golf industry ­– maybe a college coach or teaching golf.

What advice would you give other golfers with arthritis?

“Some days are more difficult than others, but nothing is impossible. Having arthritis makes you enjoy the days on the golf course even more. Enjoy the game for just what it is – a game! I’m just lucky I get to play this game for a living!”

McPherson: Let's do what it takes to play / The Charlotte Observer / Thursday, July 9, 2009

Charlotte Observer
By Alan Blondin (MB Sun News)
Thursday, July 9, 2009

McPherson: Let's do what it takes to play

Kristy McPherson watches her tee shot at the par-3
ninth hole during the first round of the 2009 Wegmans
LPGA golf tournament June 25.

..............................................................
 

She didn't sign the letter urging LPGA Commissioner Bivens to resign, but favors new leadership if that will restore tournaments.

Conway, S.C., native Kristy McPherson wasn't at a dinner of LPGA Tour heavyweights last week
that resulted in a letter calling for tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens' resignation, but she agrees with the message.

“I just want to play golf next year,” McPherson said Wednesday. “I want to make sure we have tournaments, and if that
means we have somebody else lead us then that's what I want.

“If she can't get it done and can't get us back tournaments we've had for years, then someone else needs to.”

McPherson tees off today in her second U.S. Open at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. Though she said most of the tour's players were caught off-guard by the letter and she learned of it through media reports, she believes most players support it.

“I'm in favor of her stepping down, as the majority is,” McPherson said. “I think everybody wants the best for the tour and to keep the sponsors happy. I think she's just maybe not going about it the right way.”

At the root of player concerns is a diminishing schedule and uncertainty surrounding several events that have been mainstays on the tour.

The LPGA has lost seven tournaments since 2007, including three staged in Hawaii. At least six more events are sponsorless, including this year's China LPGA and one of the tour's majors in 2010, the LPGA Championship formerly sponsored by McDonald's. Among the contracts that have reportedly expired are those for longstanding events such as the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic and Wegmans LPGA.

“I think a lot of the players out here agree that when we start losing tournaments that have been around here for so long it's not only the economy, and something needs to be done,” McPherson said.

“ … The majority of players don't know what's going on, they just know they want to play golf, and whatever it takes to do that, that's what we want.”

The letter was sent to the LPGA Tour's Board of Directors, and the 13 voting members of the board include seven players and six independent directors. Bivens is a board member, and a meeting of the board to discuss her future has not been announced.

Players reportedly present at the dinner included Suzann Pettersen, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Yani Tseng and Michelle Wie. Pettersen has admitted to signing the letter.

The letter comes during a week when the tour traditionally receives its most publicity. But the tour's top players may have acted when they did because the LPGA will not be back in the United States for a full-field event until the Aug. 28-30 Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore.

Bivens, who succeeded Ty Votaw as commissioner in September 2005, has two years left on her contract. Though Bivens was scheduled to arrive at Saucon Valley this morning, LPGA officials say she is not expected to comment this week on the call for her resignation.

Bivens' aggressive business practices have been widely criticized.

But they may have also helped the LPGA ink a 10-year agreement with Golf Channel as the exclusive cable home for the Tour starting in 2010. The contract includes rights fees paid to the LPGA Tour for the first time in the United States.

In the midst of the controversy, McPherson will try to build on an impressive year in major championships.

She's 10th on the 2009 LPGA Tour money list, largely because of a tie for second in the Kraft Nabisco Championship and tie for fifth in the McDonald's LPGA Championship. She held a lead on the 18th tee at the Kraft Nabisco, but was beaten by a shot when friend Brittany Lincicome made an eagle.

“I think I play a little better in tougher conditions,” McPherson said. “I usually make a lot of pars and in tougher conditions I feel I can scramble pretty well. … You've got to know it's going to be a mental grind and be patient with yourself. It's going to be a fun but tough week.”

This is McPherson's first U.S. Open since 2005 in Cherry Hills, Colo., where she missed the cut. She also missed the cut by a shot last week at the Jamie Farr – just her third missed cut in 14 events in 2009.

But that gave her a break in the midst of three consecutive tournaments and a chance to work on shots she believes she'll need this week.

McPherson said she'll probably struggle most this week with the par-71 course's length of 6,740 yards. She's 81st on tour in average driving distance at 249.9 yards, but is 12th in driving accuracy, having hit more than 77 percent of her fairways.

McPherson hopes to have reason to celebrate during a family vacation at a Grand Strand beach house next week before she heads to France for the next LPGA event and the tour's future shakes out.

McPherson thriving heading into the U.S.Open / The Trentonian, Tenton, NJ / Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Trentonian

Published Wednesday, July 8, 2009
By L.A. PARKER
Staff Writer

McPherson thriving heading into the U.S.Open

BETHLEHEM, Pa. —

 An audit of a bank account owned by Kristy McPherson would display impressive deposits that before taxes and payout to her caddie amount to more than $512,000 for the 2009 LPGA season.

“I have made some money but you will not see me out shopping. What’s missing from my time on Tour is a ‘W.’

You can win all the money in the world but without a victory there’s really not much to talk about.

Is there?,” McPherson said.

McPherson, 28, a consistent performer on the LPGA Tour, especially in majors this year with a T-2 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, when friend Brittany Lincicome carded an eagle-3 on the final hole to win by a shot and a fifth-place finish at the LPGA Championship; practices hard here at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Saucon Valley CC, a monster of a course set at 6,740-yards, par-71 will require patience with an emphasis on length and direction.

“This golf course can jump up and get you,” McPherson twanged in her South Carolina accent.

“You just have to make a lot of pars and accept the fact that there may be some bogeys on the card. You have to minimize mistakes and make birdies when they come. But you can’t get upset. Not on this golf course.”

McPherson represents a resiliency that developed as an 11-year-old when doctors diagnosed her with Still’s disease, a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

McPherson spent a year in bed or a wheelchair and endured even more bad medicine when told she could never play sports that involved jumping or running.

She discovered golf, played on the boys’ high school golf team and gained a scholarship to the University of South Carolina.

McPherson earned a degree in Sports and Entertainment Management then wandered onto the Futures Tour from 2003 to 2006 where she competed in 60 events and never missed a cut.

The Golf Channel’s “Big Break” eventually offered McPherson a shot as a contestant on a show that invites a dozen or more golfers who can earn prizes and entry into a professional golf event.

“I was terrible on the “Big Break.” I didn’t last that long. The one great thing I learned on that show was to concentrate on hitting one shot at a time. If you missed a key shot on that show then you were gone,” McPherson explained.

As terrible McPherson may have been on “Big Break” she is incredibly successful on an LPGA tour that brims with talent.

McPherson’s year includes a second-place finish at Wegmans for a $161,831 payday.

“We’re working on it. I’m putting some money in the bank. I’m working hard for that first win. And once I get that first ‘W’ then you can be sure that the next goal will be to get a second victory,” McPherson assured.

McPherson admitted that many LPGA golf fans support players who may be attractive or slip into dazzling outfits.

“You are not going to get me to put on something for attention. I want my golf game to make people stand up and take notice,” McPherson said.

McPherson also acknowledged that foreign players are dominating golf play on American soil.

“It’s good competition and the way things are right now should make U.S. players step it up. We just have to work harder. I’m going to do my part. I want that ‘W.”

McPherson surges into tie for lead / AP Press, Springfield, IL / Sunday, June 07, 2009

McPherson surges into tie for lead
By Andrew Seligman - The Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --

Kristy McPherson acknowledges the galley after sinking a putt for birdie on the ninth hole during the third round of the LPGA State Farm Classic golf tournament in Springfield, Ill., Saturday, June 6, 2009
 

Cristie Kerr noticed the gusting wind and saw an opportunity. Now she has a shot at another victory.

Kerr made a big jump into a tie for the lead with Conway native Kristy McPherson at the State Farm Classic, delivering a dominant showing before a late fade in the third round on a windy Saturday.

"I did a lot of things right," said Kerr, a 12-time tour winner.

Four strokes back after the second round, she settled for a 6-under 66 after bogeying two of the final three holes. Then, McPherson (69) stumbled at the end, bogeying her final two holes, and that left them tied at 12-under 204 heading into the last round in the final tuneup for the LPGA Championship next week at Bulle Rock.

Jiyai Shin (69) was a shot behind. Second-round co-leaders Se Ri Pak (72) and Suzann Pettersen (72) were part of a crowd at 10 under that included Ai Miyazato (65), In-Kyung Kim (69), Amy Hung (69), Angela Stanford (69) and Helen Alfredsson (71), who shot her way into contention with a 63 on Saturday. Michelle Wie, meanwhile, fell out of it with a 77 that left her at 1 under
With wind gusting to 32 mph, Kerr and McPherson dominated at times before those late problems. Even so, they were in a good position and a familiar spot.

The two traded leads on the final day of the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April but ultimately tied for second - McPherson's lone top-10 finish - when Brittany Lincicome won on the final hole. The stakes aren't as high this time, but both would love nothing more than to leave Panther Creek with the momentum heading into the season's second major.

On a windswept afternoon, Kerr had it until the end.

"I'm a grinder," she said. "I like tough conditions. The last couple days, they were shooting anywhere from 6 under to 9 under. I figured I needed a day like this to have an amazing round to get back into the hunt. That's exactly what I did."

The LPGA Tour's money leader, Kerr drove a 7-wood to 30 feet and eagled the par-5 first hole and started racking up birdies - six in all - while rocketing to the top of the leaderboard. She was at 14 under after birdies on the par-5 13th and par-3 14th and alone in the lead before faltering down the stretch. She hit bunkers on both the 16th and 17th and two-putted for bogeys after decent shots out of the sand.

McPherson also got to 14 under before stumbling on the final two holes. She missed a 5-footer for par on No. 17 after hitting a bunker and finished her round by missing a 10-foot par putt on 18, but it was a good day overall for a player seeking her first victory in 56 career starts.

"It could have been worse out there," McPherson said. "But it was definitely tough."

Particularly for the second-round leaders.

Bogey-free and tied for the lead at 10 under through the first two rounds, Pak and Pettersen simply were off target on a windy afternoon. Alfredsson tailed off, too, after vaulting within a stroke of the lead.

Seeking her first win in two years, Pak just missed long birdie putts on the first two holes and bogeyed the par-4 fourth. A birdie on the par-3 fifth got her back to 10-under, but she missed an 8-footer for par on No. 8 and had a 2-footer on No. 9 lip out for another bogey, leaving her at 8 under.

"It was probably the longest day I ever had," said Pak, a Hall of Famer and five-time major winner.

Pettersen, winless since the 2007 LPGA Championship, two-putted from eight feet for a bogey on No. 5 and missed a four-footer for par on No. 9 to drop to 8 under.

Alfredsson was steadier early on but nowhere near as spectacular as she was the previous day. She waved her right fist after sinking a 20-foot birdie on No. 5 and followed that with a birdie on the par-5 sixth, but a bogey on par-4 seventh halted her momentum.

State Farm Classic / 3rd round Scorecard -Interview / Saturday, June 06, 2009

State Farm Classic , Springfield, IL
Third Round Interview
Saturday, June 6, 2009

...................................................................................
ScoreCard
Kristy McPherson, 69-66-69=204, -12
Hole 2, 146-yard par 3: birdie, 7-iron to 15 feet
Hole 4, 387-yard par 4: birdie, hybrid to 14 feet
Hole 5, 168-yard par 3: bogey, 5-iron to right of green into fringe, two-putt to five feet
Hole 6, 494-yard par 5: birdie, hybrid to eight feet
Hole 7, 402-yard par 4: bogey, 5-iron to short of green, two-putt to six feet
Hole 9, 428-yard par 4: birdie, tap-in
Hole 10, 399-yard par 4: birdie, sand-wedge to 12 feet
Hole 12, 392-yard par 4: birdie, sand-wedge to 17 feet
Hole 13, 572-yard par 5: birdie, chipped in to eight feet
Hole 17, 185-yard par 3: bogey, 3-iron left of bunker, two-putt to five feet
Hole 18, 410-yard par 4: bogey, two-putt to 10 feet

 

JASON TAYLOR:

Kristy, welcome back to the media center. You had another nice round, despite the wind. You are in a share of the lead entering the final day at 12-under-par. Can you talk about your day?

KRISTY McPHERSON: 
Yeah, I'm just glad to be finished. It was tough out there. Yeah, finished with a couple bogeys. But, you know, I'm not gonna go home looking at that. Obviously, I would have liked to have finished better. Did a lot of good things out there. I had really good focus. I hit tee ball really well, which was really important today. Made a lot of birdies out there for the conditions we had.

Q. 

Were there any holes where the wind created an advantage today, opened the door for you?

KRISTY McPHERSON:
Sure. I can't think of the holes now. 6 played a lot easier today. Holes that all the long hitters can normally get in in two and can't, I was able to get to the green. Made a simple up and down. Same thing as 13. 13 was straight downwind, which all the longer hitters might have had a chance to get there in two. I'm not sure they did the first two days. Today I was just hitting hybrid into it. Didn't hit a good hybrid. Pretty simple chip shot there.

Those two holes were the two that really switched and made them a lot simpler today. But other than that, I mean, there were a lot of holes where I would normally hit 7 iron or 8 iron in, I was hitting sand wedge. But I can't say that it made too many holes easier today with that wind.

Q. You've been here before. Is it one of the deals where if you get in these situations often enough, hopefully?

KRISTY McPHERSON:
Obviously I'd rather be sitting here with a two shot lead. Kerr is saying the same thing. There's a lot of girls I can't imagine too many girls had a really strong finish out there on 17 and 18. If you played them even par, you were doing something special.

But, I mean, that's all you can do, is grind it out. Today was a grind. I'm worn out. See where it puts you. I would have taken 3 under before I teed it up on the 1st hole today, I promise you that.

Q. Solheim Cup. I'm not familiar with the points system. What would that do for you, a win? Put you in solid shape?

KRISTY McPHERSON:
Absolutely. You're never really in solid shape till that Sunday of British comes around. I'm bubbling a little more than I'd like to be right now. I'm right there. I think I'm ninth right now.

But, yeah, I mean, every week, you know, playing, you know, getting up more and more on the points there. You just got to play and see where you end up. Angela Stanford came up to me before this tournament started and she kind of got on me about Solheim Cup, about playing golf just to make points.

But, yeah, so, I mean, I'm not really thinking about that. I obviously would like to get my first win here. That would take care of itself with Solheim points.

Q. The State Farm situation, the title sponsor, you've been in this situation this year. Any general thoughts about that? There's a good field here this week. A good show of support. It's almost every week where there's a situation like this, isn't it?

KRISTY McPHERSON: Yeah, I mean, it's tough right now. But I just hope I mean, we got a good crowd. Even Thursday, for a Thursday crowd, we had a great crowd out here. We love coming here, love the support of State Farm, just being able to come to Springfield and play. This is one of my favorite stops as far as great housing, people treat us really well around here.

There's not a lot that the players can do about it. Just hope that people come out and enjoy themselves and we put on a good show. Just hope that State Farm wants to keep us around next year.

RA can't get the best of McPherson / The State Journal / Saturday, June 06, 2009

   
“I was the kid who played every sport,’’ she said. “I was always outside running around. I did anything that was competitive or active.

“One day, my back started hurting a little bit, and after about an hour, I couldn’t move. Then I got a rash all over my body.’’

It took more than five months for doctors to diagnose the problem. It was a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis called Still’s Disease. She was homebound for another six months, during which she was home-schooled by visiting teachers.

McPherson gradually improved, but she couldn’t play many of the sports she’d always loved.

“I really loved basketball and softball,’’ she said. “I tried to play some after (recovering), but I couldn’t run, jump and slide like I needed to.’’

Her father, David McPherson, was an accomplished golfer. He decided to take Kristy to the golf course to “let me beat the ball around. I was pretty decent at the game.

“I ended up playing four years in high school and got a college scholarship (to the University of South Carolina). After college, I wasn’t ready to quit. I kept going.’’

McPherson, whose top LPGA career finish (second place) came at this year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, said she has to take medication for her condition.

By DAVE KANE (dave.kane@sj-r.com)
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Jun 06, 2009 @ 01:02 AM

    Kristy McPherson’s energetic, outgoing personality is just what the LPGA Tour likes to see among its many members. But it’s easy for the 28-year-old South Carolinian to smile every day she comes to the golf course, even if her hands hurt after swatting the ball.

“I’m blessed to be out here,’’ said McPherson, a third-year tour golfer playing in the State Farm Classic. She fired a 7-under-par 65 on Friday to jump into a five-way tie for third at 135 entering the weekend.
  
“I really am grateful for every day,’’ she said. “I always say that getting sick was the best thing that happened to me.’’
   
McPherson, who appeared on The Golf Channel’s reality television show “The Big Break VI’’ in 2006, was an athletic sixth-grader growing up in South Carolina when, in the span of a few hours, she was unable to get off the couch at home.
   
“I was the kid who played every sport,’’ she said. “I was always outside running around. I did anything that was competitive or active.

“One day, my back started hurting a little bit, and after about an hour, I couldn’t move. Then I got a rash all over my body.’’

It took more than five months for doctors to diagnose the problem. It was a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis called Still’s Disease. She was homebound for another six months, during which she was home-schooled by visiting teachers.

McPherson gradually improved, but she couldn’t play many of the sports she’d always loved.

“I really loved basketball and softball,’’ she said. “I tried to play some after (recovering), but I couldn’t run, jump and slide like I needed to.’’

Her father, David McPherson, was an accomplished golfer. He decided to take Kristy to the golf course to “let me beat the ball around. I was pretty decent at the game.

“I ended up playing four years in high school and got a college scholarship (to the University of South Carolina). After college, I wasn’t ready to quit. I kept going.’’

McPherson, whose top LPGA career finish (second place) came at this year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, said she has to take medication for her condition.

“Some days are better than others,’’ she said. “If it’s rainy and cool, that’s not good. A nice day is just a bonus for me. Otherwise, I expect to be stiff and tight and hurting some going around the course. But that’s just part of it.’’

McPherson said Friday’s sunny, warm conditions couldn’t have been better for her.

“I told my caddie walking down one of the holes, ‘Give me these days for the rest of my life,’ ’’ she said. “I’ll play golf every day the rest of my life if we had this weather.

“I’ve been fighting some hip and low back issues the last couple weeks. But today’s as good as it’s felt in a long time, with it being such nice weather.’’

McPherson’s Web site, kristymcphersongolf.com, is affiliated with the National Arthritis Foundation.

“If I hadn’t gotten sick, I wouldn’t have met all the people who are so important to me.

“I’ve met most of them through golf. It makes taking the bogeys a lot easier.’’

LPGA Media / State Farm Classic / Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, IL / Friday, June 05, 2009

LPGA MEDIA
LPGA STATE FARM CLASSIC
Panther Creek Country Club Springfield, IL
Seceond Round Interview, Friday, June 5, 2009

LPGA State Farm Classic - Round Two  SPRINGFIELD, IL - JUNE 05:

Kristy McPherson speaks during a press conference following the second round of the LPGA State Farm Classic golf tournament at Panther Creek Country Club on June 5, 2009 in Springfield, Illinois. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
 

JASON TAYLOR:

 Kristy, thanks for coming in. You had a great round today at 6-under-par, which puts you at 9-under-par overall. Six birdies and zero bogeys. You’re one-stroke back from the lead right now, so can you talk a little bit about your day?

KRISTY McPHERSON:

No bogeys is key. Actually I think this is probably my first round this year with no bogeys.
It was scoreable out there. It was a little bit of wind, but not enough to really affect the ball. The greens are really receptive.

The fairways are in perfect shape. If you're not making birdies, it's your own fault out there.

Hit the ball well. Hit every fairway, which is huge out here. It gave me lots of opportunities.

Q. 

Not to take anything away from your day, but Se Ri Pak, when she's up on the board like she is now, is she still one of those players that commands a lot of respect?

KRISTY McPHERSON: 

Absolutely. I was joking with her on the first tee yesterday. She has the Hall of Fame badge on her bag. Me and her caddie were like, You can't just build up box-tops for those things, you got to earn those things.

She played like a Hall of Famer the last two days. She didn't make a bogey in two days. That's pretty special. That's tough to do, I don't care who you are. She made some pretty good par saves today. Just a great player, great person. Just enjoyed playing the last two rounds with her. I really wanted to make that putt on 18 so I could get with her tomorrow. Unfortunately, didn't.

She's just a class act.

Q. 

You were talking the other day about your arthritis. Sometimes you have good days, bad days. Weather wise today how was it?

KRISTY McPHERSON: Perfect. I told my caddie walking down one of the holes, Give me these days for the rest of my life, I'll play golf every day the rest of my life if we had this weather.

Yeah, it was perfect weather. I've been fighting some hip and low back issues the last couple weeks. But today's as good as it's felt in a long time, with it being such nice weather.

Q. 

What do you think is going on out there today? Yesterday scores were maybe not as low as they are here some years. Helen is having a heck of a round out there. Are the fairways just firming up?

KRISTY McPHERSON: I think today with no wind out there, very little wind, not enough to really get you in trouble. The little bit of wind that was out there favored me on most of the tee shots.

I just think it's out there for you. The fairways are perfect and greens are receptive. You get a lot of short irons in your hands. It's easy to do out there.

Q. 

You came close at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. What did you take away from that experience? Tip your hat to the other girl?

KRISTY McPHERSON: 

Absolutely. She hit a pretty good shot at a good time. I got beat there. That's all you can do. But I played well. Like I said, I gave myself a one shot lead after 71 holes. That's what I wanted to do. Obviously get a lead going into the last, then I just got beat.

Shows me I can compete. Just go out there, there's a lot of good players out here, and it takes a lot to get up on the leaderboard sometimes. Just shows me that I can compete out here with the rest of the girls.