Inkster's victory is one for the ages

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- By winning the U.S. Women's Open Sunday at Prairie Dunes Country Club, Juli Inkster once again proved that age is just a number.

The question is, What number? For the second time this year, Babe Zaharias haunted the tour she helped found in 1950.

Last month at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, Beth Daniel said the "ghost of Babe" stepped on her ball as she tried to eclipse a mark -- oldest player to win a major championship -- held by Zaharias.

THE SHAG BAG Annika Sorenstam may have finished second, but she arguably is having the best year in the history of women's golf. "My goal was to play well in the majors, and my worst finish in three events is a third, so who can complain about that?" said Sorenstam, who picked up $315,000 for her efforts. ... Spain's Raquel Carriedo had her caddie go into the scorer's tent and verify that she fired a final-round 66. Earlier this year at the Nabisco Championship, she was in the top 15 after two rounds but was DQ'd after signing for a lower score. Thanks to a record-tying 30 on the front side Sunday, the European Solheim Cup team member finished fourth. ... On Saturday Se Ri Pak teed off basically dead last, having barely made the cut. But the Korean posted identical 68s on the weekend to sneak into fifth. ... The University of Georgia's Angela Jerman suffered a bloody nose on the 17th hole Saturday, but that didn't slow her down. Jerman, who plans to attend Q school in the fall, tied Aree (Call Me Song) Wongluekiet for low-amateur honors. ... Former Tulsa standout Stacy Prammanasudh started the week as an alternate but got into the field thanks to Sorenstam's win at the ShopRite Classic. Prammanasudh parlayed her good luck into a 69 Sunday to earn her biggest check ($26,894) as a pro. She, too, will be at Q school this fall. ... Karrie Webb missed the cut, part of a new USGA jinx. None of the defending champions in 2002's three Open championships made the cut: Bruce Fleisher and Retief Goosen also had their respective Open weekends off. ... Many questioned the USGA's decision to bring the Open to Hutchinson. Though Applebee's and Red Lobster were the best two restaurants in town (I wanted to check out Hog Wild but it closed every night at 8), the small-town atmosphere and the enthusiastic crowds were most invigorating. "I had my reservations about coming here," said Kelli Kuehne, "but I have nothing but praise for this course, the city and the fans of Kansas." The only negative was that Prairie Dunes management decided against letting the national media play the course -- an Open tradition -- the Monday after the event. However, thanks go out to the USGA's Judy Bell for going to bat for us.

On Sunday morning the golf world was turned upside down when it was revealed that Zaharias, not Fay Crocker, actually was the oldest woman to win the U.S. Open. The LPGA informed the USGA that its records were incorrect and that Zaharias was 43 when she won the 1954 title. Unfortunately, every newspaper in the country had reported that if the 42-year-old Inkster could overcome Annika Sorenstam's two-shot lead entering the final round, she would become the oldest to win the national championship, bettering the standard of Crocker, who was 40 years, 11 months when she finished first in 1955.

Way before Bronx Little Leaguer Danny Almonte ever threw an 80-mph fastball past kids half his size, Zaharias found the need to fudge her age. While some women seem to perpetually be 29, Zaharias figured three years would do wonders for her image. So instead of her 1911 birthdate, she put 1914 on her résumé. That little white lie most likely was a marketing ploy created by her husband-manager, former wrestler George Zaharias.

"Babe was always pulling stunts like this," said Barbara Romack, a former player and personal friend of Zaharias. "She loved a good gag, and for her to not use her correct age was probably funny."

A closer look shows that Zaharias actually made several bio changes during her lifetime. All of them seem to be a poke at fun or a p.r. move. To wit:

On June 26, 1911, she was born Mildred Ella Didriksen. As an adult, she changed the spelling of her last name from s-e-n to s-o-n. One can only guess that during the Nazi era she did so to portray Norwegian rather than German descent. She also dropped her given first name and started using Babe, a nickname she supposedly earned after hitting five home runs in a game. But who could have blamed her if she had just made up the moniker? The legendary Yankees slugger's last name would have been more appealing than Mildred.

The age discrepancy, according to the USGA, was discovered recently by researchers who visited the Zaharias grave site in Beaumont, Texas. There they found her actual birth year (1911 -- assuming, of course, that is correct) on the headstone.

All last week, Inkster constantly reminded us just how old she is. On Thursday, after she took a share of the first-round lead, the Hall of Famer was quick to silence a reporter who said, "Your age is not that much different than Nancy Lopez's. What is it about your game that's allowed it to weather better over the years?"

"My age is a lot different than Nancy's; she's a lot older than I am," joked Inkster, who is three years younger than Lopez.

On Sunday, Inkster's age was irrelevant. For most of the day, she looked like the same 20-year-old who won the first of her three U.S. Amateurs on this very course. While she probably didn't pump her fist and stir up the crowd when she defeated Patti Rizzo 22 years ago, Inkster, who tied the course record with a 4-under 66, had that same desire to win.

And even though she showed the same enthusiasm her daughters, Hayley and Cori, might display at an *NSYNC concert, Inkster realized that winning the U.S. Women's Open for the second time was a grand accomplishment at any age.

"Being 42 and having a chance to win a U.S. Open -- you don't get that many opportunities to win a U.S. Open no matter what age," Inkster said. "I don't know how many more Opens I'm going to be able to compete in, so to be able to be close and come away the winner makes it all the more satisfying to me."

So let the record books show that Inkster is not the oldest but the second-oldest winner of the U.S. Women's Open. Her husband, Brian, feels that not owning this mark is a blessing in disguise.

"That's probably a good thing," Brian said. "That's one distinction she would probably rather not have."

Certainly, many women out there can relate.

Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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