By Dave Shedloski

Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – Just about any story written about Cristie Kerr is likely to include a detailed account of her body-shaping weight loss regimen or how well she played the heavy as one of golf crankiest youngsters when she first turned professional.

Such topics, however, have failed to retain their context. Kerr’s story today is simply that a promising young golfer has finally begun to fulfill her immense promise. Maturity does wonders for people, and Kerr hasn’t merely come into her own but has come to be one of the game’s most consistent players and the de facto leader of American women’s golf.

Even when she’s not hitting on all cylinders Kerr can contend, which she has done so far at the 60^th U.S. Women’s Open. Fighting a balky putter – usually one of her strengths – Kerr, with a rare birdie at the ninth hole, her 18^th of the day, shot an even-par 71 Friday at Cherry Hills Country Club to remain in the thick of the chase in the third of four women’s Grand Slam events.

"I’ve just been sort of hanging in there," said Kerr, 27, of Miami, who stands at 3-over 145 with 36 holes to go. "I kept myself close (to the lead). We’ll see where I actually end up. The golf course isn’t that easy. I hit it solidly and made some putts and shot even."

Kerr comes into the Open in the midst of a small dip in fortune. After finishing in the top three in six of her first eight starts, which included her fifth career title at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill, she has been outside the top 10 in the last three, including a tie for 33^rd at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship.

The game’s fourth best putter statistically, Kerr said she isn’t playing much different from her early season form.

"I feel like the last month I’ve played well, but I just haven’t scored," she said. "If I made a few more putts the story might be different. I’m just hitting a bad shot at the wrong time or missing a putt. Things haven’t fallen well for me, but that’s the way golf is, sometimes.

"I certainly wouldn’t change anything I’m doing."

She’s changed enough. In 1999, with back problems developing, she shed 60 pounds from her 185-pound frame. Meanwhile, she also came out of her shell after years of puzzling her peers with her quiet confidence. One of her best moves was starting her own Web site, but unlike most athletes, hers is almost solely devoted to a charitable cause: birdiesforbreastcancer.com, which she began after he mother, Linda, was diagnosed with the disease in 2003.

"There are some things about me on there, but it’s mostly about raising money to fight breast cancer," she said. "It’s basically foundation driven."

On the golf course, Kerr is proving what a driven player can accomplish. Four of her five wins have come in the last 18 months after she went winless the first five years of her pro career. She stands second to Annika Sorenstam on the LPGA money list and also is second to Sorenstam in scoring average at 70.65.

Though she hasn’t yet won a major, the Women’s Open might be a logical place for a breakthrough. Kerr, who has made the cut in 14 straight major tournaments dating back to 2001, has finished second and fourth in the national open. That accounts for two of her six top-five finishes in majors.

"I’ve been playing solidly all year," said Kerr, whose hitting plenty of fairways and greens at Cherry Hills but has suffered seven bogeys and two double-bogeys to offset her good holes. "We’ll have to see what others do out there, but I feel like I have a good chance this weekend."

Dave Shedloski is a free-lance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.uswomensopen.com.