Age shall not weary Juli Inkster
IN: News | Ladies European | Evian Masters (2003) | Wrap | by Bruce Young | 27 Jul 2003
In a brilliant display of high quality golf against one of the strongest fields in LPGA golf, 43-year-old Juli Inkster has again displayed that age is not necessarily a deterrent to success. With many of the field close to half her age, Inkster walked away with this week's Evian Masters title in France, from a field that included her three greatest rivals in recent years, namely Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak and Karrie Webb.
For Inkster, who is arguably playing the best golf of her career, this was her second win of the season following her brilliant win earlier at the Corning Classic and her second place at the recent BMO Canadian Open. Inkster has developed somewhat of a cult following on the LPGA Tour for her capacity to mix it with those so much younger than her and that she has successfully combined the demands of professional golf at the highest level and motherhood over such a long period.
Inkster first won an event on the LPGA Tour in 1983 while not a full member that year and in the next twenty years there have only been six seasons when she went without a win. Since 1997 she has won fifteen times and there have also been ten runner-up finishes in that same period. She is indeed a phenomenon in women's golf.
This week in France she started the final round tied in the lead with Rosie Jones and two ahead of Hee Won Han. By the time she reached the turn it was virtually all over with her lead at that point three, over a struggling Jones and by five over Han. She kept the pressure on over the final nine with three more birdies for an eventual winning margin of six over Han and by eight over Rosie Jones and Lorena Ochoa.
This was Inkster's thirtieth win in her twenty year LPGA career and with seven majors in that time she is now destined to be remembered as one of the greatest players in LPGA history.
Han followed her first LPGA Tour win last week in New York, with another good performance for second and the 2001 Rookie of the Year is now beginning too fulfil that early potential.
On the subject of Rookies of the Year, Lorena Ochoa, who now looks a certainty for this year's title, produced yet another good finish for her tie for third with Rosie Jones. For Ochoa this was her sixth top ten of the year and further extends her lead over Suzann Pettersen in the Rookie of the Year race.
Karrie Webb finally put together four good rounds and she now defends next week's British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes with a lot more confidence no doubt than which she started this week. Se Ri Pak was also close to the final action finishing alone in sixth place, just one shot behind Webb.
After a slow start, Annika Sorenstam had a reasonable weekend but it was likely not the performance she was looking for as she heads into the event that has become somewhat of her nemesis amongst the majors, the British Open. Sorenstam has had victories in all of the current majors except for the British Open. Her best finish in her last three starts at the event has been 17th in 2000, although I hasten to add that the event has only just become a major on the LPGA Tour.
Of the other Australasians Rachel Teske was 26th, Gloria Park 38th, Alison Munt 59th, Gina Scott 64th, Lynette Brooky and Corinne Dibnah 69th Karen Lunn 72nd, Wendy Doolan 75th and Rebecca Stevenson 77th.
