Cristie Kerr ended a 0-for-41 drought in major championships last summer when the then-29-year-old from Miami, Fla., held off world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa to capture the U.S. Women’s Open title at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, N.C. It was Kerr’s 10th victory on the LPGA Tour. Kerr, a member of the 1996 United States of America Curtis Cup team, sat down with USGA staff writer David Shefter to discuss that triumph as well as other off-the-course interests.

Let’s go back to last summer. How much did winning the U.S. Women’s Open mean for a native of south Florida who often dreamed of winning the national championship?

Cristie Kerr: It’s the reason why I got into golf. Watching it on television and watching the winners be so happy. That’s what I wanted to do. It was a dream. I practiced putts to win the Open every day of my life. And to have done that is just a dream come true. I’ve said that on more than one occasion. It’s just the coolest thing that I could ever really accomplish. The fun thing is now that I’ve won one, I want to do it again.

Did anything occur prior to the Women’s Open that made you think this was going to be my Open to win?

Kerr: I just knew a couple of years ago that I was going to win there [at Pine Needles]. I always said to my caddie at the time if I’m going to win a U.S. Open it’s going to be at Pine Needles, Interlachen or both. So I’ve got one-half of it.

Why Interlachen? It’s not a course you play regularly and it’s never hosted a Women’s Open prior to 2008?

Kerr: I played here during the Solheim Cup [in 2002] and I just fell in love with this golf course. [Head professional] Jock Olson is a very good friend of mine and I just have really good memories here.

What was going through your mind after holing the final putt at the 72nd hole?

Kerr: I started crying coming down the 18th fairway even before I hit my shot on the green. It was very emotional for me. But hey, we’ve got to finish. We’ve got to get across the finish line. You can’t stop now because anything can happen. You never know. Look what happened to Morgan [Pressel] on the last hole. I knew if I hit it on the green fairly close to the hole within like 30 feet, I had it. Unless Lorena [Ochoa] chipped in and then I would have to two-putt, which she almost did. It was just amazing. It was just fighting back all the emotion from the week. The battle within yourself. Can I do it? I know I am supposed to do it. It’s just very emotional.

Do you revert back to the days when you were a teenager traveling across the country to compete in tournaments and think this was worth all that sacrifice and energy?

Kerr: I’ve always talked about it with my coach and mentor Jim McLean. I work with a master instructor of his since I was 19, Bryan Lebedevitch. I’ve always talked with them about winning the Open. It is like winning 10 golf tournaments. It’s not like just winning one. You don’t really understand that or fathom that until you do win.

I heard you took the trophy around New York City after the Women’s Open. Where did you take it?

Kerr: We had a party and we took it to Nobu. Richie Notar is one of my friends and he is managing partner of the Nobu restaurant. We had a party downstairs and had all of our friends come. Glenn Sather, the GM of the [New York] Rangers, was there. I’m a huge hockey fan and I’ve played golf with him a couple of times. He insisted we drink champagne out of [the trophy].

What kind of champagne was it?

Kerr: Glenn Sather ordered it. I had no idea what it was. But it was really good. We got Susan Reed from Golf for Women to drink out of it. We got a picture of her in the magazine doing it. We had a lot of people there that night. All of my husband’s hockey buddies. My husband (Erik Stevens) played semi-professionally in New York with people like [former Edmonton Oiler] Glenn Anderson. There were 70, 75 people there. We had the downstairs bar. We even had stragglers who weren’t with our party coming in and eating our food and drinking out of the trophy.

I understand you are big into cooking?

Kerr: I like to. I love cooking. I might go to culinary school and go through the wine education aspect of it as well. I just enjoy it; I like it. Traveling around [the country] and eating in a lot of restaurants seeing, ‘Hey I’d like to do it this way or I’d like to do it that way. I like the way this restaurant looks.’ I know [restaurants] are supposed to be terrible businesses. I want to go after things that interest me. And food and wine definitely interest me. Creating things that make people happy.

Do you have a wine cellar at home?

Kerr: I do. I have over 1,200 bottles.

Can you do the blind-taste thing and put a paper bag over the wine and tell the makeup of the wine or the particular type?

Kerr: That’s really advanced stuff. I’m to the point where if you give me a white wine and blindfold me, I can tell you if it’s a Chardonnay versus a Sauvignon Blanc or if it’s a Reisling or a Fume Blanc. And I can tell you if it’s a Cabernet or a Merlot or a blend or whatever. I’m more familiar with California wines. And my palette is amendable to those because that’s where I learned about wine. I go to Napa every year. I’m very good friends with the people from Miner Vineyards. They raised over $15,000 for me for breast cancer. They had a Rosé and for every bottle they sold, they donated a portion to Birdies for Breast Cancer. I love their red wines. I’m very good friends with Tony Terlato (Terlato Wine Group) and I might be making a wine with him. We’re trying to figure all that out.

Will we see your own label someday like Greg Norman or David Frost?

Kerr: I don’t want to have my own, especially the first. I don’t necessarily want to have my name on it. I just want to be associated with making it. A Jaya with Chimney Rock and Rutherford Hill Vineyards have done very, very well. We’re trying to figure all that out.

So after winning the Women’s Open or another major, what kind of wine are you bringing out to celebrate?

Kerr: We were at Pine Needles and the one we opened was the Stag’s Leap Artemis. Stag’s Leap is the kind of wine. It’s a Cabernet blend. It was 2004 or 2005. It was a very good wine.

With your husband such an accomplished ice hockey player has he ever taken you skating?

Kerr: I’ve never been on figure skates. I’ve been on hockey skates once. And I went with him and he held my arm the whole time. But he normally says people go like that [backward] on the blades. I was up on my blades. He told me this is how you push off and this is how you skate. And I actually did well. Then he gave me a stick and I was trying to stickhandle and I couldn’t tell if I was lefty or righty. Righty didn’t feel right. I am left-handed normally. The left hand has to be your dominant hand. I think it felt better left-handed.

At the 2000 Women’s Open outside of Chicago, where you finished tied for second at The Merit Club, you discussed how you transformed your body with a vigorous workout regimen and a change in diet. How much did that help improve your game?

Kerr: It taught me how to be responsible for things. It’s kind of like the same with your golf game. You have to be responsible for practicing and putting and chipping and playing and working on your mental game and working on whatever. It’s the same with the workouts and eating well. I made myself accountable for how I look, my image and how I feel and my health. And I think they go hand in hand.

How has married life changed you as a golfer and a person?

Kerr: I don’t know if it’s changed me. It’s really nice having Erik around every week. He does so much for me and it’s really nice to have the companionship from somebody you love that much. He’s my manager and served as my agent for a long time. That’s how we met. It’s just nice to have all this support. I don’t think it’s changed me as a golfer. Maybe my first year last year because I never really had traveled with somebody. Now I’m feeling that I don’t have to rush back to hang out [with him]. I get my work done and then I come home. He works quite a bit actually. People don’t realize how much he works. He’s starting to represent other golfers, too.

Your mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2003. How much have you done with your charity Birdies for Breast Cancer?

Kerr: We are in the process of updating the Web site, so it has not been updated in like four or five months. It’s a really long process, especially when I want to be involved. It takes twice as long when I am involved. We’re hoping to re-launch it in the next month or so. We have raised nearly $450,000. We’ve had four events. I give 50 bucks for every birdie. Personally, I underwrite the Web site, too, so that’s like a $25,000 undertaking every year. And I get my sponsors to match me. Mutual of Omaha has been a big supporter. They always give me money every year. We didn’t have a tournament last year because I got married and it’s a lot to plan a wedding.

Do you have other LPGA Tour players involved as well?

Kerr: It had been all about me. But my focus for the new Web site is I want to make team birdies. I want to have the Pink Ladies. I know that’s the theme from [the musical and movie] "Grease," but that would be the trait of it. We’ve been talking to Susan G. Komen about partnering with them and all the proceeds would go to Susan G. Komen. It takes a long time to figure this stuff out.

I’ve had seven or eight [LPGA Tour] players come to different events over the years. Natalie Gulbis, Kelli Kuehne, Emilee Klein. [She] is retired now but she supported me. Leta Lindley has come. Michelle McGann has come. Morgan [Pressel] has helped me quite a bit. For every event, we give something called the Courage Award. It’s spelled C-O-U-R-A-G-E, but Kerr is my last name and it sounds kind of ironic. I’ve given that award to Morgan. It’s for somebody who has basically gone through experiences and found an overwhelming need to do things to help people with breast cancer. To raise money or lend support. Morgan’s mom (Kathy) died of breast cancer and she’s a very good friend of mine probably as a result of that. I didn’t really know her too much when I gave her the award. We’re trying to figure out how to get to the next level. Eventually I’d love to turn it into an LPGA tournament. I would think it would be really, really cool.

Finally, how about the 2008 season? It seems like consistency has been a big issue for you so far. You seem to have one bad round that keeps you from winning or finishing in the top five?

Kerr: Yeah. I’ve been playing some really good golf this year. I think it’s better than last year. I’ve just had that one little hiccup round where my focus maybe isn’t the same and just can’t produce the results. And it takes me out of contention to finish in the top 10 or win the golf tournament. I’ve been in contention three times this year and I’ve only finished sixth and eight from those results. I feel like I am on the brink of doing really, really well.