Oct. 13, 2023

Juli Inkster - Part 1 (The Early Years and First LPGA Win)

Juli Inkster - Part 1 (The Early Years and First LPGA Win)

Step onto the green with us as we traverse the golfing career of World Golf Hall of Fame member Juli Inkster. Growing up in the picturesque Santa Cruz, CA, she was a part of a sports-loving family that sparked her own passion for golf. A concession stand job at Pasatiempo GC at the ripe age of 15 took her down a path that would eventually lead to a stellar career in the sport. Join us as we follow her journey from her high school golf team to qualifying for the U.S. Open and becoming a 3-time All-American at San Jose State University.

As we venture into the second part of our conversation, Juli delves into her influences and early role models that shaped her into the golfer she was to become. She reflects on  winning three consecutive Women’s U.S. Amateurs from 1980-1982 and going 4-0 on the winning U.S. side at the 1982 Curtis Cup. 

We bring our conversation full circle by focusing on Juli's transition from an amateur to a professional golfer. Hear about her thrilling first Q-School experience, and her triumph over Kathy Whitworth in the 1983 Safeco Classic, marking her first win on the LPGA Tour. Juli also pays homage to the 13 original founders of the LPGA Tour , the true pioneers in women's golf. Whether you're a golf fanatic or a casual enthusiast, you don't want to miss this inspiring conversation with Juli Inkster as she takes us through her early years, “FORE the Good of the Game.”


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About

"FORE the Good of the Game” is a golf podcast featuring interviews with World Golf Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around the game of golf. Highlighting the positive aspects of the game, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by PGA Tour star Bruce Devlin, our podcast focuses on telling their life stories, in their voices. Join Bruce and Mike Gonzalez “FORE the Good of the Game.”


Thanks so much for listening!

Transcript

Music playing  00:00

Mike Gonzalez  00:15

Welcome to another edition of for the good of the game and Bruce Devlin, I'm not sure we've had too many guests whose record in golf surpass this ladies'.

Inkster, Juli  00:25

I think you have.

 Devlin, Bruce  00:28

And what's very interesting about it is She has won seven majors. And there are only six players that have ever played on the LPGA tour that have one more 45 victories 31 on the LPGA and we are thrilled to have Juli Inkster with us this morning. Thanks for joining us, Juli.

Inkster, Juli  00:53

Well, thanks for having me, Bruce and Mike. Looking forward to it.

 

Mike Gonzalez  00:57

Yeah, it should be fun. And as we've talked about, Juli, we're here to tell your story in your words. And that full story includes going back to the very beginning. So let's go back to Santa Cruz, California and take us through growing up in Northern California.

 

Inkster, Juli  01:13

Sure. My dad was a fireman and my mom was a stay at home mom I had two older brothers, Danny and Mike and my dad played professional baseball and 1954, 55, 56 for the Cincinnati Red legs up he minor leaguer and got called up his last year but ended up settling in Santa Cruz. My mom got pregnant with all the brother and we, we were just a sports family. We played basketball and baseball and football and you know, we were always outside, never watching TV. And at 15 We, my older brother got a job. He worked at a liquor store. My other brother got a job at 15 He was mowing greens and working on the golf crew. And then when I was 15, I needed to get a job and we lived on this golf call course called Pasatiempo. And we never played golf, but we lived on it. We would sell lemonade and golf balls we found we would play football on on the fairways and wiffle ball. And we had a we had a really good crew of kids in our neighborhood. So at 15, one of my best friends, a guy that he lived across the fairway, we lived on 14th and he lived on 13. Worked at the Golf Course. And he goes why don't you go up to the Golf Course and see if you can get a job and I go, what do you do up there? And he goes, Well, we park carts, we pick up the range, we load bags, so I rode my bike up there and I got the job. And that's how I got into golf. I you know he played golf and you know, I was kind of always followed my brothers on what what they did and I decided I could you know, maybe play this game. So I got some clubs from a loss and found and I just started playing and I fell in love with the game I it was something I could do that my brothers really weren't interested in doing. And I just I started playing before school and I play after school and then the coach a guy named Floyd Slider. He was a high school golf coach. All boys team, of course, called my parents and asked if he found out I was playing golf asked if I'd be interested in going into the on the golf team. And I was a sophomore at this time. And so I said Yeah, so I ended up making the JV team my sophomore year. And then I got my first set of clubs that matched when I was a I guess a 17 years old, just under seven

 

Mike Gonzalez  04:10

actually matched. Yeah,

 

Inkster, Juli  04:13

they were they were Ben Hogan. They were look like right now they look like a little pencil, you know, a little knife. Amazing. Yeah. And so I played summer I played you know, some one day Junior tournaments and stuff and I just kept playing and playing and I mean, but the varsity team, my junior year and my senior year and after that I wanted to in the locker room, there was a sign up for to try to qualify for the women's US Open. And so I took the application home to my parents and asked if I could try to qualify for the US Open and we live in Santa Cruz and this was Fresno so it was about a two hour and 15 minute drive. And my dad actually had the day off from the firehouse and he said he'd caddy for me so he they let me sign up. We drove to Fresno, it was only 18 holes and I ended up shooting the lowest round I ever shot a shot 72 and I ended up qualifying for the US Open and I'll never forget we're driving home and my parents thought I was asleep and my dad's name's Jack and my mom goes okay Jack now what do we do cuz they didn't they didn't really know how they're gonna get me back to the to a woman's US Open but Pasatiempo was great. They rallied they got some funds together and sent me got me a plane ticket paid for my caddy and I ended up staying in housing back there. And I'll never forget, you know, showing up I mean, it's really my first big tournament everywhere, anywhere a first time on a plane outside of California, and Indianapolis. Right, yeah, Indianapolis, Indiana. And they had you know, these brand new Titleist balls for practice and

 

Devlin, Bruce  06:19

gone to heaven.

 

Inkster, Juli  06:20

Oh my gosh, so I would hit one and then put one in my bag and then hit one but I shot a shot at the first day and then I shot 7272 73 And that kind of just got me on my way. I mean, I I ended up qualifying for the US Amateur that summer. And then San Jose State offered me a partial scholarship to play and it makes an All-American my first year in college and got a full ride and just kind of went from there I just I love the game. I love the whole aspect of being able to be by yourself in and get better with I mean, I love team games don't get me wrong I love team sports but I didn't mind being by myself. I kind of enjoyed it. You know having two brothers that 24/7 picked on Yeah, so it was kind of my little my little sanctuary Yeah. out there. So you know my dad was kind of a girl's dad before they came a girl's dad I mean he always really you know encouraged me to do anything I wanted to do you know I would go to baseball practice with them. I go to basketball priding always included me and and my mom was you know, just just she's just a great mom and and so that's kind of how my journey started. It wasn't like I destined to be an LPGA player. I just kind of fell into it. And you know, it just I think was watching my mom and dad's work work ethic. I think that really helped out also

 

Mike Gonzalez  08:01

Yeah, what a great place to get your started Pasatiempo? Yeah, I mean, I famous people have been involved putting their putting their footprint on that Golf Course.

 

Inkster, Juli  08:10

Yeah. Marion Hollins. And Alistair Mackenzie. I mean, I didn't I mean, I didn't know how good Pasatiempo was until I went to start going to college and playing all these dumpy college golf courses. And I'm like, you know, I, I had to really learn how to shoot low because if I could shoot a couple over even par at Pasatiempo, that was a great round. And then you know, I get to college and you know, they're a lot easier flat or greens, you know, a little shorter, not as undulated. And so it kind of took me a little bit to learn how to you know, really shoot low go low and mentally. Yeah.

 

Mike Gonzalez  08:48

So is it true because I read this somewhere? Is it true that you want to work at Pasatiempo, primarily because that's where the boys were? Pretty much yeah. Yeah, you found

 

Inkster, Juli  09:03

I did. I did found one. Yeah, 42 years later. So. Yeah, but you know, I just, you know, I always didn't mind playing with the boys. I think it made me a better player. It made me more competitive. You know, I always played the same team as they did. So I think it gave me a good base for a short game. But it was just a it was a it was a great way to learn the game. You know, we we just played we never practiced We Play and We go and play again. And you learned how to hit a lot of different shots. You know, I got most of my golf balls from the canyon to Pasatiempo and I would, you know, take take those golf balls and play with so it was great.

 

Mike Gonzalez  09:56

Your game really must have developed quickly to come to another relatively late age compared to many of our guests from age 15. and advancing as you did to the cabinet, sort of amateur and college success you had. What was the key to getting that game develop that quickly over a sort of four or five year period like that?

 

Inkster, Juli  10:16

Well, I think I was I was very athletic. You know, I played all sports, I had pretty I have pretty good hand eye coordination. And, and I don't like to lose. That's, that's good. Yeah, I can lose, and I know how to lose but I, I don't like to lose. So I knew when I played these junior tournaments, a lot of these girls were been playing for a long time, and they were just crushing me beating me and, and I didn't, I didn't like that feeling. So. So I worked, I worked hard at the game and and try to, you know, I kind of have my own swing. Because back then you didn't really have, you know, on plane or you just kind of played and I just, I think I was probably never the best at anything, but I was a pretty good grinder. I never gave up. Yeah.

 

Mike Gonzalez  11:14

Were there some influences in your life early role models that you sort of patterned any of your aspects of your game after?

 

Inkster, Juli  11:22

You know, I didn't because we didn't really watch TV on. We didn't watch golf on TV. We didn't you know, you know, my dad. You know, he was I hate to say it, but he was a hack. He was probably 2530 handicapper. So I didn't really, I didn't really have any people that I really watched or admire. Now, when I went to college. My freshman year Patty Sheehan was a senior. And, you know, she was all world in a golf. And, you know, I watched her how she practice and how she played and, and then, you know, as you, I think you can learn a lot. You know, my dad was a huge baseball fan, and we watch the Giants together all the time. And I can just, you can really watch that learn a lot in your sport, how other people play their sport. And I've always been a big admirer of, I mean, I would rather watch them practice than them play the game, because I just the way they practice the what effort they put into it, how they go about it. You know, you learn from your failures and how they handle that. And so I think I learned a lot just watching.

 

Mike Gonzalez  12:39

So you got married to Brian, at a relatively young age, you must have been at San Jose State, right?

 

Inkster, Juli  12:44

Yes, I was. So Brian, when I first got the Pasatiempo, he was the assistant pro there. And you know, he was 10 years older. And I was so I still asked my parents. So what were you thinking, you know, I'm, I go to college, and, you know, I'm, I'm just seven, just at maybe just 17, 18 we start dating and, you know, he's 27, 28. And, you know, I got two girls that they were dating and 20 Sad. I'd be like that. But, you know, they love Brian. It was kind of a Golf Course where the assistant pros, the pros. The car people, we all played golf together. My parents always had them over everybody over for dinner, you know, we would go to giants games. And, you know, we started out being friends and then we kind of just, we took it from there. And and so I got married going into my junior year of college. So yeah, I was old. Yeah, I I tell my kid well, they just both got married at 30 to get 32 and 28. They got married. They've only been married a year. So yeah, but I don't know. It just worked for us. You know, Brian had his own job. He was he ended up getting the head pro job at Los Altos Country Club. And he was there for 37 years. And you know, he thought about coming out with me and and we I just I didn't want that. You know, I wanted him to have his own identity and his own stick. But yeah, so we're on our honeymoon. And I'm supposed to play in the US Amateur at Prairie Dunes. And we're gone for two weeks. And we went up through Banff and Victoria and Lake Louise and around there and I came back and I think we played one round against golf at Banff. And I think I probably shot 90 And I got I go I go to Brian I go I am not going to the US Amateur And he goes, Yes, you are going, Yeah. Your parents will kill me if you don't go to US Amateur. And I said, All right. All right. So I went, I had a great caddy had a with a great family. And I got there a couple days early just to kind of practice and I kind of qualified in the middle of the pack. And then I just started getting a little better each day a little better each day. And I think in the semifinals for quarterfinals, I think it was semi finals, I ran into Carroll Semple Thompson, who was the ultimate amateur player. And she kind of always scared me because she always kind of had that look on her face. And now she's kind of, she's one of my best friends. But I ended up beating her and I faced that one of my peers, Patti Rizzo, who went to University of Miami, and won everything that summer. And she kind of looked at me on the range like where did you come from? And and I ended up BAM Yeah,

 

Devlin, Bruce  16:09

I'm here to beat you.

 

Inkster, Juli  16:12

I ended up beating her to up in and there I was US Amateur champion and how it just, it just kind of all fell into place for me and you know, match play. It's like, you know, anybody can beat anybody on a given day. And I probably wasn't the shot the lowest scores that week for you know, six rounds, but I beat who I needed to beat and ended up winning the US Amateur.

 

Devlin, Bruce  16:38

Did something else that week today. What else did you do that week?

 

Inkster, Juli  16:42

What else I do? I lost my ring. What do you guys do your homework, man. Last year, that happened. But we found it. It was all good. Yeah, it was all good. Brian and Brian end up flying, flying back for him. He's when he was playing. He played in the state. He played in Hutchinson, Kansas, and ended up staying with his family. And so he flew back and stayed with him and kind of surprised me. In the in the finals. Oh,

 

Mike Gonzalez  17:23

cool. Well, you're continuing on with your amateur career a win at the California State Amateur. In 1981. at Pebble Beach, we've talked to several of the winners of that amateur. And Pebble Beach is a pretty nice venue. And it is

 

Inkster, Juli  17:38

it is in its leading Helen Langsford. She kind of she kind of put it on. And she was I guess it's a historian and when you won a tournament, she gave you a piece of her silver from her collection. And it Yeah, and it's probably one of my favorite trophies that I have is, is it's you know, silver. It's a little it's a vase and and she gave you when you when you when you showed up for the round, she gave you a lucky penny. And then if you won the tournament you gave you got a piece of silver from her collection. So every year the individual got a different trophy. I thought that was pretty cool. Yeah,

 

Mike Gonzalez  18:24

yeah. Bruce, what Juli just said about match play makes her record in the amateur that much more incredible in that?

 

Devlin, Bruce  18:33

Yeah. What what what a what an amateur career she had, because you weren't finished in 81, either, because you decided to go win another Amateur Championship. Right?

 

Inkster, Juli  18:44

You know, and I think that's the hardest thing is you know, when you wait a year and you got to give up the trophy, send it back and you know, it's different Golf Course different venue, you're a different time in your life. You know, I'm I'm a senior in college and and I went to Waverly for again not playing great. But, you know, again, I kind of qualified in the middle of the thing. Again, I just kind of got my groove on and again, I ran into Carol Sample. This time I think it was in the quarters, and she always tells me I would have never had the career I hadn't unless she played me. And I played her. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, and I played it. Australian named Lindy Goggin and in the finals and I was one down going into 17. And it's a par five and I'm outside her for birdie. And I make my birdie and she misses and then on 18 I birdie to win one up. So that was a I was pretty cool.

 

Mike Gonzalez  20:02

Were you playing with your matched set of clubs that Yeah.

 

Inkster, Juli  20:05

I didn't even know what I had. I went through so many. Yeah, I didn't know what I had,

 

Mike Gonzalez  20:10

or were these borrowed clubs from Patty Sheehan. You know,

 

Inkster, Juli  20:13

they could have been could have been rams because I think Patty turned pro. And I think I got a set of clubs from her. Rams. They weren't hers. He would never let me play her clubs that for sure.

 

Mike Gonzalez  20:29

We found we found that little nugget somewhere. It must not be true. Yeah. No. Well, next year, same thing. So you did the three peat. This was 1982 Women's US Amateur at Broadmoor, four and three over Cathy Hanlon.

 

Inkster, Juli  20:43

Yeah. So Cathy, went to SMU, we were actually really good friends. We played a lot of collegiate golf together. And we played like, I think, the Western and the Broadmoor. And we were really good friends. And so this was 36 holes this year. And Brian of Well, first of all, the greatest Brian's caddy, and for me, for the first time, in the in one of these tournaments, and I'm the see I'm one down going into 18 against Caroline Gowan, Caroline Gowan, and I'm in the right bunker. She's in the, in the fairway and I hit it on just short. I mean, I hit it just short. So I'm chipping. And she hits it on about, I don't know, 15 feet. And so I'm away. And so a sale we even must be even going in a team. And I kind of dub dub my chip. And so now I'm still outside her. And yeah, and Brian's behind me, and I go, What do you think? And he's, he's speechless. He couldn't say anything. And I go, I go, Okay, I got it. I got it. And I ended up I ended up making it and she misses. And I went on the first playoff hole, and I go, I go, Well, you are you're a lot of help back there. And he goes, he goes, I only choose trying to think how I was going to console you. I you know. And he goes, I guess that's why you're the player and I'm the director of golf. But then I ended up I ended up I actually played really well that that whole week. And I again met Carol Semple in the semis and I beat her. And then Cathy and I played I played really good in the finals.

 

Mike Gonzalez  22:42

Yeah, well, you join pretty heavy company because three straight hadn't been done for a long time. In fact, I think had been 1934 when Virginia Van Wie was was a three time champion course an early great amateur as well. Yeah, so that had to feel pretty cool.

 

Inkster, Juli  22:58

Yeah, I feel great. You know, it's funny, it's like, you know, everybody said, like, you know, after I won my first one, you're gonna go pro, you can go pro and I'm like, match play and metal player. They're two different animals. Yeah. And I was still really learning how to, you know, put for good rounds together, put three good rounds together, you know, you know, just kind of still learning a lot about it. Since I started so late. It's just kind of still learning a lot about how to play consistent golf. consecutively.

 

Mike Gonzalez  23:32

Yeah, I mean, at that point in your amateur career, what part of your game did you feel you still needed to develop the play at the next level?

 

Inkster, Juli  23:40

I think just consistency. I mean, I was, I was always I always had a pretty good short game. I was always a pretty good putter. I think probably my arm play and, you know, just getting more consistent.

 

Mike Gonzalez  23:58

Well, you were able to play on a couple of winning a spiritual Santo trophy teams in 1980 and 1982. And then on to the Curtis Cup you had a real tough Curtis Cup Bruce just take you through this real quick. Morning foursomes Inkster/Carroll Semple five and four winners. Afternoon singles. Juli against Katrina Douglas, two on one Victor. Day two foursomes? Juli and Carol again. Three and two winners. And then final day afternoon singles. Juli. seven and five. Winner. Yeah.

 

Devlin, Bruce  24:39

Just a little Four-Zero

 

Inkster, Juli  24:40

yeah. But you know, that's where it kind of during the World Cup, like first World Cup in 1980. We're at Pinehurst, and that's kind of where I really got to know Carol because she was on the team. And Patti Rizzo was on the team and that's kind of where I really my I've developed a friendship with Carol. And then when we play the Curtis Cup, you know, I really wanted to play with her. So her and I teamed up together and then in 82 World Cup it was Kathy Baker and Amy Benz in Geneva, Switzerland, which was really nice. For someone that didn't get to travel much that was my parents ended up going, my grandparents ended up going. So we made it a really nice trip. Nice. Was

 

Mike Gonzalez  25:29

that your first international trip?

 

Inkster, Juli  25:32

Yeah. Yeah, I think it was.

 

Mike Gonzalez  25:34

That's where I went my first international trip as well as a winter. Yeah.

 

Inkster, Juli  25:40

Yeah. Did you play Geneva Country Club?

 

Mike Gonzalez  25:43

You know, I didn't play golf. It was a whole separate thing related to what I was doing in college, but we went to Germany and then and then Geneva Yeah,

 

Inkster, Juli  25:52

very nice,

 

Mike Gonzalez  25:53

beautiful, beautiful part of the world. So So you, you tell us you make All-American you actually are three time All American. So but but in 1982, you in the Broderick award for the nation's best female collegiate golfer?

 

Inkster, Juli  26:07

Yeah, that was I didn't have win quite a few collegiate tournaments. You know, I, I just, I love competing. And, you know, I was very fortunate that I had a great coach. And, you know, he didn't, we didn't really always have to practice together. You know, he would you would like if, I don't know, some of these sometimes, these coaches today, like, you know, today, we're gonna hit balls for an hour and a half. Well, I don't really want to hit balls for an hour and a half, you know, I feel like my swings pretty good. You know, I just go out play. And he was really good at that. Like if, you know, we had practice and I didn't want to play, I wanted to just work on some stuff. You do that if if I wanted to, you know, he was he kind of he knew that we weren't going to take it off. We knew he knew that we were going to work, you know, we weren't going to just, you know, not play. So he was he was really good. He was a great fundraiser. So we got to play in all the best collegiate tournaments, which, which was awesome. We got to play against the best schools. And so he was he was a great coach that way, he was a retired retired colonel in the Air Force. Not a great golfer at all. But he was he was a he was a great coach, because he let us, you know, do what we thought we needed to do to get better. And then he raised enough funds that we could go play the best against best schools. Yeah. What

 

Mike Gonzalez  27:40

do you say about the coach reminds us of what high school Golf was like for us back in the day. They didn't necessarily need to be a golfer. But if they had a stationwagon, they could be the go. Yeah. Yeah. So you were young enough to benefit from Title Nine because a lot of our guests you know, starting with Kathy Whitworth, and some of the other greats, Sandra Haynie. Many of them. Not only do they not have a high school golf team to go to they had to play with the boys if at all. They went to college, and there wasn't any college women's teams either.

 

Inkster, Juli  28:11

Yeah, I mean, I believe me, I've benefited a lot from not only that, but just, you know, the founders, you know, coming out and developing an LPGA tournament, I mean, tour, I mean, I, you know, I didn't know what it was, you know, but I find out quickly, and being able to play with some of these greats, you know, they're kind of on their last part, but just being able to play with some of the greats was awesome.

 

Devlin, Bruce  28:40

It's a great story, too, about, you know, how the LPGA actually got started by the players themselves. And I think, if I remember correctly, they get full credit. Coming up next year. I bet yeah, leave the lead out, we'll get put in the World Golf Hall of Fame, which I think is a is a great tribute to the fact that they worked so damn hard to make this LPGA work so good.

 

Inkster, Juli  29:03

I totally agree. And and, you know, it's like Marion Hollins. Finally getting her do. You know, there's been a lot of great women, it's been pioneered, that maybe haven't got the credit that they deserve. And, you know, it's a shame, it's later but there's now at least getting their credit. I think that's awesome.

 

Mike Gonzalez  29:24

And for our listeners, there are several of the 13 founders in the in the World Golf Hall of Fame, but for the ladies that weren't at least to date, there will be inducted during the US Open next June at Pinehurst, which will be the newly-oppen World Golf Hall of Fame. That's moving to Pinehurst and those ladies include Alice Bauer, Betty Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Sally Sessions, and Shirley Spork who was the last one to leave us

 

Inkster, Juli  29:54

about Opal Hill. What a name that is. That's a great name. That's old school name. right there. Yeah, that's

 

Mike Gonzalez  30:01

all school. Two majors and she was on the first three Curtis Cup teams.

 

Inkster, Juli  30:06

That's crazy. Yeah, yeah.

 

Mike Gonzalez  30:08

We really enjoyed Julie, not just telling the stories of you and the Great's of the LPGA. But along the way, Bruce and I have been able to, with our guests tell the story of the LPGA Tour and we've talked about all of the founders, particularly as you can imagine, as we talked to Sandy Haynie and JoAnne Carner. And Kathy, Mary Mills, Kathy Cornelius. Kathy Whitworth, you know, yeah,

 

30:35

yeah.

 

Inkster, Juli  30:35

I always, I love playing with JoAnne Carner. She, oh, my god, she see. He just got up there and ripped it. If she didn't care if he was in the trees or anything. All sudden, you see this ball come out. You know, she could cut it. She could draw she. She'd had just had great hands. Really? Just gradients and a great imagination.

 

Mike Gonzalez  31:02

And she waits till age 30.

 

Inkster, Juli  31:04

Yeah, to play. Yeah. She made up for it. That's for sure.

 

Mike Gonzalez  31:09

Oh, she did it. And Bruce and I released her life story today on our podcast. 

 

Inkster, Juli  31:15

Oh, I'll have to listen to that. 

 

Mike Gonzalez  31:17

And it's likely that we're going to set a new download record. Numbers are crazy already today. So that's awesome.

 

Inkster, Juli  31:25

Good for you guys. Yeah,

 

Devlin, Bruce  31:26

talking about professional. You decided to turn pro when you were 22, 1983. Tell us about the go into the Q school.

 

Inkster, Juli  31:39

Yeah, that didn't go well.

 

Mike Gonzalez  31:43

We know. 

 

Inkster, Juli  31:44

Yeah. So it was in Sweetwater? No, no, it was in Florida. It was in Florida. Brian's Caddying for me. And, you know, the probably the thing I didn't do well, was I didn't play any I didn't play like a mini tour event or something up, you know, prior to that. I just kind of practice and went to the school and and I was overwhelmed with all these girls that had a "P" by their name. You know, I always thought there, you know, oh, my God. She's a professional. She's about you know, I'm an amateur, you know. And, you know, I was, I was expected, you know, winning three US Amateurs. And being an All-American, I was really expected to make it. And I mean, back then they only took 10 players. So it wasn't like they're taking 25 to 30. I mean, you you had to play really well. And I ended up not not doing well. I didn't make it. I lost a contact that. I mean, it was it was just a cluster. And Brian guy, Brian. Brian went back to the hotel to get to get a contact and then he got a ticket on the way back. Yeah. But you know, it was probably looking back on it the best thing that ever happened. Because after I missed it, I was devastated. That kind of I just took a month off and did nothing. And it turned out there was another qualifying school was that year there were three, I think, and it was in October. Yeah, October. And now it was in September. And I ended up I was at Sweetwater and Brian caddy for me again. And I ended up getting it I was finishing while I played some mini tour events and realize, just because you have a p by your name doesn't mean you're actually great. And so I want a couple of those. And that kind of really settled me down and I ended up playing really well. I guess it was in July, July. And I end up getting my card and I ended up playing five tournaments. That year five or six and I ended up winning my fifth. And I actually beat Kathy Whitworth in Seattle, Kent, Washington, and it was one of the coldest days I've ever seen. I mean, the wind was blowing. It was raining and I think I shot one under two under and it ended up being Kathy for my first one.

 

Mike Gonzalez  34:24

Yeah, that was the Safeco classic 1983 at Redwood Valley Country Club. And Kathy won it the following year so she got her she got her win and tell us that Can you can you remember much about the finish? What happened there?

 

Inkster, Juli  34:42

I really don't because she had a big lead and I kind of came from behind. But all I know is I I think I one by one. And my check was $22,500. And my parents were there and I Um, I ended up we ended up going out to dinner I told my dad and my mom said, let me buy dinner and my dad goes, Julie, you're gonna find out 22,500 doesn't last very long. So we'll buy!

 

Mike Gonzalez  35:15

Thank you for listening to another episode of for the good of the game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify if you like what you hear, please subscribe. Spread the word and tell your friends until we tee it up again with the good of the game. So long everybody.

 

Music playing  35:34

Inkster, JuliProfile Photo

Inkster, Juli

golf Professional

Juli Inkster is almost as proud of her daytime job as a Hall of Fame golfer as she is of her fulltime job as a mother of two girls, Hayley and Cori.

Inkster’s achievements as an amateur alone are almost deserving of placement in the World Golf Hall of Fame. She learned the game at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Northern California, where she practiced before and after school every day. Like many of the juniors her age she applied for a job at the golf course to gain extra playing privileges and started out parking carts and picking up range balls before graduating to being the “shop girl.” That’s where she met her future husband, Brian, a pro who recognized Juli’s untapped potential.

Inkster captured three U.S. Women’s Amateur titles between 1980-1982. “When I look back at it now I don’t know how in the world I won three in a row because in match play you get somebody hot and you’re out of there,” said Inkster. “It’s probably my best accomplishment as a golfer, either professional or amateur.” Before turning pro, she also won the 1981 California Amateur, represented the United States on the Curtis Cup team in 1982 and was a collegiate All-American at San Jose State four years.

Inkster graduated to the LPGA Tour in 1983 and won her first title in only her fifth start. She became the first LPGA rookie to win two Major Championships in one season: the 1984 Nabisco Dinah Shore and the du Maurier Classic. Suddenly, she was the brightest young star in women’s golf.

Inkster was a consistent winner during the 1980s, winning four times in 1986 and collec… Read More