Cristie Kerr has been a mainstay on the LPGA Tour for more than 15 years. With 16 wins, two major championships and nearly $16 million in career earnings, she has remained competitive year in and year out.

Since 2002, Kerr has had at least one win in every season but three, including this year, but don’t count her out just yet. This year isn’t over. One of the biggest reasons she has been able to perform at such a consistently high level for so long is her laser-like focus on detail and organization.

“I don’t like doubt and I feel more confident when I’m prepared,” Kerr said. “If anything, sometimes I have been over prepared.”

These days organization is not just important, it’s a necessity. Kerr and her husband, Erik Stevens, welcomed their first child, son Mason, back in December. Becoming a mother has naturally led to adjustments.

“I need a bigger rental car and an extra suitcase everywhere I go,” Kerr said. “The responsibilities of having a child now have allowed me to refocus some of my golf planning toward parenthood. What I’m learning about parenthood is that it’s much like golf. There are certain things you cannot prepare for and being able to adjust on the fly is very important. In some cases I need to lower my expectations on my ability to prepare.”

Mason was born via surrogate due to Kerr being diagnosed with a medical condition that would have made it very difficult, if not altogether impossible, to carry a child to term.

“He gets older and taller every day,” Kerr said. “I only wish I could spend more time watching every little development. We are working on crawling right now.”

On the course, Kerr has been her steady self with nine top 10’s in 15 events this season, including finishing third in last week’s LPGA Marathon Classic. Not surprisingly, she focuses not on the near wins but on the disappointing tournaments.

“The top 10s are great and I have had two seconds, but I have also missed a cut at the U.S. Open which is not acceptable by my standards,” Kerr said. “One of my goals for this year was to be more consistent and in contention every week. I believe consistency is the key to getting back in the winner’s circle, which is the ultimate goal, always.”

While perhaps practicing less at this point in her career, Kerr says she practices smarter these days not measuring how long she’s at the course but rather how much she accomplishes in the time she’s there.

To that end, Kerr has been spending time working on her short game and mental preparation, both of which she knows need to be better if she is going to get back on top of a final-round leaderboard. In off weeks, she has been practicing at Liberty National in Jersey City, N.J., a short boat ride from her apartment in New York City where she lives during the summer.

Liberty National will host the 10^th Annual Birdies for Breast Cancer Celebrity Golf Classic in September. Having watched her mother, aunt and godmother battle the disease, Kerr founded Birdies for Breast Cancer back in 2003 to raise money and awareness. To date, the organization has raised more than $3 million.

In 2010, Birdies for Breast Cancer partnered with the Jersey City Medical Center to create the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center which makes screening, testing and treatment available to women regardless of their ability to pay.

“It’s so cool to see how far the foundation has come and where it’s going,” Kerr said. “In the coming years, Jersey City Medical Center is planning the expansion of an entire Women’s Health Pavilion, which our foundation looks forward to supporting.”

This week, Kerr is excited to tee it up in the LPGA’s first-ever International Crown competition pitting four-member teams from eight countries against each other at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., near Baltimore. Joining Kerr on the U.S. squad are Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer and Lexi Thompson. In addition to the U.S., Korea, Japan, Thailand, Spain, Sweden, Australia and Chinese Taipei are competing.

“Anytime you have the chance to represent your county in a mostly individual sport, as golfers it’s something to look forward to,” Kerr said. “I am excited to play with my teammates Paula, Lexi and Stacy. There are a lot of unknowns because it’s a new event but kudos to Mike Whan and his team for their vision in creating a new event like this that is generating great attention for our tour and will showcase the true international talent on the LPGA Tour.”

Having accomplished so much both on and off the course already, Kerr has no plans of slowing down. She intends to keep grinding toward that first win of the season and hopes to reach the top five in the world rankings where she’s currently 10th.

Further out, what’s still on her bucket list?

“Obviously, the LPGA Hall of Fame has some of the toughest standards for entry in any sport,” Kerr said. “Being able to earn my way into the Hall of Fame is certainly on there. And I would love to captain a Solheim Cup team.”