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Published on 07/28/1999 All articles from this issue

Swinging with success

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By Pete Borello

Town Crier Staff Writer

Los Altan Juli Inkster wins big in women's golf and now attracts the spotlight

Until a few months ago, Juli Inkster could walk around Los Altos like any other resident.

She took her two girls to and from school, dined out with friends and shopped downtown with little fanfare. If Inkster was approached in public, it was usually by people who knew her.

Then on June 6, Inkster won the U.S. Women's Open - the most prestigious event on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.

Millions watched Inkster's stellar performance on network television, or at least saw highlights on the evening news. By morning, Inkster was on the front page of newspapers throughout the world.

Those in Los Altos also took notice, as Inkster discovered upon her return.

Congratulatory messages appeared on the marquees at Rancho Shopping Center and The Echo restaurant. Phone calls poured in from friends and neighbors. Some dropped by with newspaper clippings.

And the attention didn't stop there. Her success has made the routine, well, not so routine.

"I get thumbs up from people when I'm driving down the road," the 39-year-old Inkster said. "Everyone wants to congratulate you. It's weird, but nice."

Then there's those trips to the supermarket. "She's used to shopping at Andronico's, Draeger's and Lucky without anyone recognizing her, unless she bumps into a friend or something," said her husband, Brian Inkster. "Now strangers come up and congratulate her in the store."

Three weeks after the Open, Juli made headlines again by winning another major tournament - the McDonald's LPGA Championship. She's only the fourth player to win both events in the same year.

Inkster has now captured four different majors in her career, giving her the Grand Slam of golf. Just one other player has reached this plateau, hall of famer Pat Bradley.

Inkster may soon have something else in common with Bradley.

Inkster is on the cusp of joining Bradley and 16 other greats in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

"Before this year, it was such an unbelievable goal," said Inkster, who needs just one more point for induction under less-stringent requirements approved by LPGA players prior to this season.

A point is earned for each tournament win, except for majors, which are worth two. A point also is awarded to the Rolex Player of the Year and the winner of the Vare Trophy, which goes to the golfer with the season's lowest scoring average.

Inkster has won 21 tournaments in her 16 years as a pro, including four titles this season, but she's never been named player of the year.

That soon may change.

As of last week, she topped the 1999 money list with earnings of $1,033,682. Inkster was second in top-10 finishes (13 out of 16 events) and scoring average (69.65).

Her biggest challenger for the award is Karrie Webb, who was second on the money list with $1,019,537. No other player had even reached $600,000 yet.

Inkster said she isn't consumed by winning awards or making the hall of fame. Her focus is on playing good golf.

"I just want to keep doing what I'm doing," said Inkster, who grew up in Santa Cruz and started playing golf at 15. "If I keep playing like I have been, I'll win another tournament."

Inkster hasn't played this well since the 1980s. In 1984, fresh out of San Jose State, she became the first rookie to win two majors. At season's end, Inkster was voted LPGA Rookie of the Year.

In 1986, she won four tournaments and twice posted her career-low score of 64. Two years later, Inkster won three events and finished among the top 10 in 12 tournaments.

The 1990s haven't been nearly as fruitful. Prior to this year, Inkster had just four wins in the decade.

However, she also gave birth to daughters Hayley, now 9, and Cori, 5, during this time. Inkster learned that infants and golf don't always mix.

"When the kids were young, I wasn't sleeping at night, wasn't practicing as much and wasn't focusing as much," Inkster said. "I couldn't give 100 percent."

Now that the kids are older, Inkster has found it's easier to balance family life and her career.

"I just lay out a schedule a month in advance and see what Cori and Hayley have going and get everyone where they're supposed to be," said Inkster, who often takes her daughters on tour with her. "Brian sacrifices a lot, too."

Brian, head pro at Los Altos Golf & Country Club and Juli's first instructor, said his wife is doing a great job in the dual role of mother and golfer.

"That's part of what's made this year so special. She's figured out it's OK to bring the kids with her, they're not missing anything," said Brian, who grew up in Los Altos and went to St. Francis High. "I think she plays better when the kids are there. It takes the pressure off golfing, which is hectic at times."

Juli also credits her recent resurgence to coach Mike McGettrick, whom she hired about three years ago.

Brian coached her prior to that, but the couple decided it would be best to bring in an outside coach because too much practice time was spent talking about the kids.

"Working with Mike has paid off," Juli said. "He's really helped me with my swing."

Juli's turnaround started in 1997, the year she won the Samsung World Championship of Golf and recorded the best scoring average of her career (70.64). In 1998, Inkster successfully defended her Samsung title and finished third on the money list with $656,012 - her most prosperous year until now.

She exceeded $4 million in career earnings this past April by winning the Long's Drugs Challenge in Placer County. The U.S. Open win came two months later in West Point, Miss., and may have been her best performance ever. Inkster shot a 16-under 272, a tournament record.

"Everything just fell into place," said Inkster, the oldest Open champ since 40-year-old Fay Crocker in 1955. "The course was set up perfectly for me and I got off to a good start."

Inkster's next event is the du Maurier Classic, the last major of the season, which starts tomorrow in Alberta, Canada.

Looking further into the future, Inkster said she plans to remain on the tour for two more years and then cut back to just majors and a few other events.