Tour Championship, but she did. Ko, who

NAPLES, Fla. -- Cristie Kerr has had more spring in her step. She slipped on wet grass during the second round of The Evian Championship in September, and her left knee hasnt been quite right since.Im going to get it checked out when we get done with the season and see what the doctors say, Kerr said after the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship, where she is the defending champion. Hopefully its just rest.Kerr is walking around with kinesio tape and an elastic brace on the injured joint at Tiburon Golf Club, which is approximately a nine-mile trek from first tee to 18th green, although players are shuttled between some of the longest green-to-tee distances.I guess its some kind of inflammation, Kerr said. Thats why Im wearing the sleeve, to keep the inflammation down. I kind of look like a basketball player minus the height.She is only 5-foot-3, hardly imposing, but a yardstick never measured determination and, in Kerrs case, the knack for periodically turning a mallet-head putter into a magic wand.At 39, Kerr is still in the fray on an LPGA Tour that is getting younger and younger, led by 19-year-old world No. 1 Lydia Ko, who shot a course-record 62 Friday to take a three-stroke lead at 12-under 132 into the weekend of the season-ending event. Kerr got into contention with a second-round 67 that left her at 6-under 138 and in a tie for 10th place.She left the scoring tent in a better mood because she holed a 15-footer for par after hitting her approach into a bunker on No. 18. Necessary, Kerr said of the par-saving stroke on one of the greens that had been resurfaced since last years tournament. The greens are so pure that you can make a 15-footer for par when you need to.Kerr made the putt with a model of Odyssey putter that has been in her bag most of her career. Its the Two-Ball [design], Old Faithful, Kerr said. [Ive used one] off and on for since maybe my third or fourth year on tour. Same design, different putter. I have a bunch of backups. I actually got all the backups they had about two years ago. It just lines up really well and rolls the ball well. I feel the speed really well.Lisa Cornwell, a Golf Channel reporter, was behind the 18th green when Kerr finished on Friday. A few years older than Kerr, Cornwell was a talented junior golfer during the 1990s, playing in some of the same events as Kerr. I just remember this kid coming out, kind of quiet but really talented, Cornwell said. Always a great putter. And she was intense, even with her practice. She always had that razor-sharp focus.Kerr needed that mindset in 1996 when she turned professional at 18 after graduating from high school in Miami. Although in recent years it has become common -- particularly outside the United States -- for talented women to start playing for pay so soon, it didnt happen too often when Kerr bypassed college after a stellar junior career. After getting some experience on the mini-tours, Kerr tied for sixth at LPGA Qualifying School and was a tour rookie in 1997. She won her first tournament in 2002 and presently became one of the top women players.Eighteen victories, including two major championships, later, she is still chasing the dream as a wife, mother and budding wine entrepreneur with a label, Curvature, whose profits support research for breast cancer, a disease her mother, Linda, was diagnosed with in 2003.As Kerr closes out her 30s, Juli Inkster, the Hall of Famer who still competes on the LPGA at 56, is on her mind. I would love to play as long as Juli has, Kerr said. Shes always been one of my role models. Shes a grinder, a fighter, and she loves to work and practice just like I do. There arent a whole lot of things better than this to do, so were pretty blessed.Since the year of her first victory, Kerr has never finished worse than 19th on the LPGA money list. A hot weekend at Tiburon, where first prize is $500,000, would improve her current 40th position.You definitely want to model Cristies career, how she gets so much out of her game, said American Austin Ernst, 24. Shes been out here for two decades. Shes a grinder, and you cant really count her out of a tournament. She has a way of willing putts in the hole. It seems like she still loves to play.Kerr wasnt expected to overshadow Ko and Inbee Park at last years Tour Championship, but she did. Ko, who can overtake Ariya Jutanugarn in the race for Rolex Player of the Year and win her third straight Race to the CME Globe $1 million bonus with a victory, will be difficult to catch, her 10-under Friday score seeming to slam the brakes on a lull in her game during the recent Asian Swing.I would love that mini-slump, Kerr said jokingly of Kos unexpected lackluster form leading up to this week while hoping to end her own season, which has included four top-10s but no wins, on another high note. Good players are always able to call it up at some point, whether its a pressure 3-point shot in basketball or a clutch putt to make par or win a tournament. Good players find a different level of focus. Thats what Im looking for the next two days.The day might come when there are no 39-year-olds on the LPGA, when the tour is solely stocked with players who arent old enough to rent a car, who leave when players not that long ago arrived in their primes. I dont know if theyll want to play as long as Ive played, Kerr said. They keep getting younger.But the new wave would be wise to keep at least one eye on an outlier, sore knee or not. Custom Suns T-shirts .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Authentic Custom Suns Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. http://www.customsunsjersey.com/ . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Custom Suns Jerseys . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Custom Suns Jersey China . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. WASHINGTON -- As his Washington Redskins enter a critical stretch in their pursuit of a playoff berth, coach Jay Gruden made clear how he feels about a schedule that takes his team to Dallas on Thanksgiving Day right after a Sunday night game.I dont think its really fair, no, Gruden said Monday on a conference call with reporters, but we have to deal with it. We knew this was coming. ... The biggest thing is you worry about the health of your football team. This is a physical football game we played last night, and were at the point in the year where guys are a little bit beat up.Thanks to winning six of their past eight games, the Redskins (6-3-1) are off to their best beginning to a season in two decades. Still, they know that what theyve done so far to erase an 0-2 start wont mean much if they dont keep winning, starting Thursday at the NFC East-leading Cowboys (9-1).Any time you can win, its always a plus, but we know that we still got bigger fish to fry, so winning right now is crucial, said Jamison Crowder, who caught three passes from Kirk Cousins for 102 yards, including a TD that went for 44 in Washingtons 42-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.You know, we have to keep winning, so its big to get this one, Crowder said. Now were looking forward to Dallas.Not since 1996 had the Redskins lost only three of their initial 10 games, but they followed that 7-3 start by losing four of their last six to end up 9-7 and third in the division, out of the playoffs.To avoid that sort of a collapse this time, Washington needs to first get through a three-game road swing that includes trips to Arizona on Dec. 44, and Philadelphia on Dec.dddddddddddd 11.After getting a chance for treatment and rest Monday, Redskins players will hold two walkthroughs instead of full-fledged practices on Tuesday, and another walkthrough before flying to Texas on Wednesday.Were feeling good, but at the same time its a short week, and were playing one of the best teams in the NFL on Thursday, said Cousins, who threw for 375 yards, three TDs and zero interceptions against Green Bay, another strong performance as he hopes to earn a long-term contract. Welcome to the NFL. They dont get any easier from here.With Cousins finally getting a chance to be the starting quarterback after biding his time behind Robert Griffin III, the Redskins won the NFC East a year ago. Now they take on the first-place Cowboys, who have won nine in a row behind a pair of rookie sensations, quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott.And while Gruden said he can take some solace from knowing the short turnaround comes against a familiar foe, he added: The bad thing is we know how good they are.After all, Dallas current winning streak began in Week 2, when it came back to win 27-23 at Washington.For us to keep pace in the division and have a chance at the division title, Gruden said, weve got to play our best game Thursday.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '