Shining in the shadows

Despite what you haven't read, Inkster is an ace

You know the story:

California whiz kid wins three straight U.S. Amateur titles. A stellar college career in Northern California is capped by a Collegiate Player of the Year award. First tour victory within weeks of turning pro. Rookie of the Year. First Grand Slam victory in first full season, followed by an eventual Career Slam. Thirty tour victories, half of them after giving birth …

Whoa! Wait a minute! Suddenly, you get the feeling we're not talking about Tiger Woods.

We’re not. Because before there was Tiger, there was Juli. And while Woods may have squeezed his accomplishments into a much shorter career, Juli Inkster squeezed out a couple of kids smack dab in the middle of hers.

Top that, Tiger!

"I practiced at Stanford all the time when he was there," Inkster recalled over the phone on Wednesday. "He had won two [U.S. Amateur titles] at the time and I would always tell him tell him that he needed to win three to get up to me."

Woods, of course, would. And then he would go on to revolutionize golf and become arguably the most recognized person in the world. That's not exactly how it went for Inkster, who nevertheless has put her name on plenty of short lists in the LPGA record book.

Most notably, Inkster is just one of five women to hold a Career Slam by virtue of a victory in each of the four major championships: the U.S. Open, the LPGA Championship, the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the du Maurier Classic.

There is a shorter list beckoning, however. That would be the Super Career Slam, which entails adding a title at the British Open, which replaced the du Maurier as a major two years ago. Karrie Webb earned the first Super Career Slam last year.

Inkster hopes to become the second this weekend at Royal Lytham & Saint Annes.

"I do [want it]," she said. "But you can't say you want it, because if you think too much about the tournaments you really want to win and if you want to win them badly enough, that's when you don't play well.

"I just want to keep my momentum going. My philosophy is that you come out and get in the hunt on Sunday and then start thinking about winning."

Inkster's momentum into the British is in full throttle. In a virtual walkover at last weekend's Evian Masters in France, she played the final two rounds in 15 under to to set a record at 21 under for the event. Ever try taking a chew toy away from a pit bull? That's child's play compared to trying to chase Inkster on Sunday. When it comes to playing with a lead, she is Tiger-like.

Her game is intimidating not because of awe-inspiring distance or mind-boggling accuracy, but because of its consistency. She competes with mechanical malice. She can't be reasoned with and she can't be scared. You cannot make her blink. Not even in the tiered bunkers or billowing heather of Royal Lytham.

Though merciless on the course, the 43-year-old Inkster has been one of the most affable and approachable stars on the LPGA for 20 years. Her peers call her "Super Mom" for her ability to sink her teeth into a major golf tournament one week and then coach her daughter's 7th-grade basketball team the next. "I don't see myself coaching Duke anytime soon, but it's a great experience for me and the kids," she said.

Tin Cup McAvoy may drive a Winnebago, but Super Mom Inkster drives a mini-van. She even had the fam in tow last week in France, where she won the Evian on her 23rd wedding anniversary.

Inkster on her domination of the Evian Masters: "I got on a roll. It was a good time." Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

"Juli Inkster, I admire her for a lot of things," Annika Sorenstam said this week. "Winning tournaments the way she does, winning majors, she's got a great family and a great husband. I admire that, to be that age and still have the fire and the drive to work so hard. It's not easy out here. The competition is very tough, so I think Juli's a great example of hard work and dedication and still having a family on the side.

"I just don't think I can handle that."

Not many can. As for many female athletes, the family came at a price for Inkster, who went winless from July 1992 to October 1997.

"I was close to just packing 'em in," she said. "I felt like I wasn't being a good mom, like I wasn't being a good golfer, like I wasn’t doing anything right. There was no direction in terms of what wanted to do, what I wanted to give to my career."

When people talk of Tiger's slump -- that is, five straight Grand Slam appearances without a victory -- Inkster can only laugh.

"Anybody who thinks Tiger's in a slump doesn't have any idea what golf is about," Inkster said. "I know what a true slump is. I'd love to be in Tiger's slump. There are probably 140 guys on tour who'd love to be in Tiger's slump."

Inkster's five-year slump finally ended with a win at the 1997 Samsung World Championship. Some people might have been satisfied at having grasped the brass ring one last time, but she wasn't. She came back and won the Samsung again in 1998. Still, nobody, not even Inkster herself, could have anticipated what would happen in 1999.

She won five tournaments (including two more majors to complete the Career Slam), earned LPGA Hall of Fame status, and pulled in more than $1 million for the first time in her career.

Back? Inkster was back the way Travolta was back after Pulp Fiction. But just as Vincent Vega was trumped by Gump for Best Actor in '95, Inkster again played bridesmaid to Webb for LPGA Player of the Year in '99.

Over the past three seasons, Inkster has won eight more times -- including her sixth and seventh majors -- to give her 30 career LPGA titles. That's 15 before the drought, 15 after.

What started as a modest comeback has turned out to be her defining era.

Why, just this year she has two of the most dominant victories on the LPGA tour: One on the same weekend that Sorenstam played at The Colonial; the other on the same weekend Suzy Whaley played at the Greater Hartford Open.

Great for golf, Inkster says, but not her style. "I enjoy what I'm doing," she said. "Those guys are best in world, and I think Annika did great job. I would love to see where I stack up, but I wouldn't want to be under the spotlight like that. If the guys said, 'C'mon, let's play a match,' I'll bring it. But to be under the watchful scrutiny like that is not appealing to me."

What appeals to Inkster are 18 solid holes in the morning and a few solid hours with the kids in the afternoon. And as long as the trophy case continues to fill up with those glass bowls and silver platters and strange metal sculptures, then Tiger and Annika can have their media guide covers and flashy ad campaigns.

"It's a little bit frustrating, but there's nothing I can do about it and I don't worry about it," Inkster said. "I don't look for the spotlight. I'm a mom, you know? I'm pretty boring otherwise. It's just the way I am."

David Vecsey's Voice of Reason column appears weekly on SI.com.

 

Related information

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video