Juli Inkster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Juli Inkster |
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Inkster in August 2009
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Juli Simpson Inkster |
| Born | June 24, 1960 Santa Cruz, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Los Altos, California, U.S. |
| Spouse | Brian Inkster (m. 1980) |
| Children | Hayley, Cori |
| Career | |
| College | San Jose State University |
| Turned professional | 1983 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 1983) Legends Tour |
| Professional wins | 45 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 31 |
| Ladies European Tour | 2 |
| Other | 13 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 7) |
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| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | Won: 1984, 1989 |
| LPGA Championship | Won: 1999, 2000 |
| U.S. Women's Open | Won: 1999, 2002 |
| du Maurier Classic | Won: 1984 |
| Women's British Open | T4: 2006 |
| The Evian Championship | T26: 2017 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| World Golf Hall of Fame | 2000 |
| Broderick Award for Golf | 1982 |
| LPGA Rookie of the Year | 1984 |
| GWAA Female Player of the Year |
1999 |
| ESPY Awards Best Female Golfer |
2000 |
| LPGA William and Mousie Powell Award |
2004, 2015 |
| GWAA ASAP/Murray | 2009 |
| LPGA Patty Berg Award | 2009 |
| Bob Jones Award | 2022 |
Juli Inkster (born June 24, 1960) is a famous American professional golfer. She has played on the LPGA Tour for many years. Juli has won 31 tournaments, which is a lot! She has also earned over $14 million in her career. She holds the record for the most wins in Solheim Cup matches for an American player. Juli Inkster is so good that she is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is also the only golfer on the LPGA Tour to win two major championships in three different decades!
Contents
Juli Inkster's Early Golf Days
Juli was born and grew up in Santa Cruz, California. She went to Harbor High School. After high school, she played college golf at San Jose State University. She was an amazing college player, earning "All-American" honors three times.
Juli was also named San Jose State's Athlete of the Year in 1981. She is now in the San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame. From 1980 to 1982, Juli won the U.S. Women's Amateur championship three times in a row! This was a huge achievement. She was the first woman since 1934 to win this title three times in a row.
Juli was part of the winning U.S. team in the Curtis Cup in 1982. She also helped the U.S. team win the Espirito Santo Trophy in 1980 and 1982. In 1982, she won the Broderick Award. This award goes to the best female college golfer in the country.
Juli's Professional Golf Career
Juli Inkster became a professional golfer in 1983. She quickly found success, winning a tournament in her first year. In 1984, her first full season, she won two major championships. She was also named the LPGA Rookie of the Year.
Throughout her career, Juli has won 31 tournaments on the LPGA Tour. This includes seven major championships. She has even achieved the "career Grand Slam" in women's golf. This means she has won all the major tournaments at least once. Juli has won a tournament in 16 out of 24 seasons between 1983 and 2006. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.
Playing in the Solheim Cup
Juli Inkster has been a key player for the United States in the Solheim Cup. This is a team competition between the best female golfers from the U.S. and Europe. She played on the U.S. team nine times between 1992 and 2011. She has won more points in Solheim Cup matches than any other American player.
In 2011, at 51 years old, Juli was the oldest player on the Solheim Cup team. She was also the first player to be both a player and an assistant captain at the same time.
Leading the Solheim Cup Team
Juli Inkster became the captain for the United States team in the 2015 Solheim Cup. Her team made an amazing comeback on the final day to win! They were far behind but managed to win 14.5 to 13.5 points.
She captained the U.S. team again in the 2017 Solheim Cup. Her team won again with a score of 16.5 to 11.5. Juli also captained the team for a third time in 2019.
Later Career and Broadcasting
In late 2011, Juli had her first major injury, needing elbow surgery. This kept her from playing for several months in 2012.
After her playing career, Juli started working as a golf commentator. In 2014, she joined the Golf Channel. In 2015, she also became a commentator for Fox Sports. She shares her golf knowledge as an interviewer and analyst.
Juli has also won six tournaments on the Legends Tour. This tour is for professional golfers aged 45 and over.
Juli Inkster's Major Wins
Juli Inkster has won seven major championships during her career. These are some of the most important tournaments in women's golf.
- 1984 Nabisco Dinah Shore
- 1984 du Maurier Classic
- 1989 Nabisco Dinah Shore
- 1999 McDonald's LPGA Championship
- 1999 U.S. Women's Open
- 2000 McDonald's LPGA Championship
- 2002 U.S. Women's Open
Juli Inkster's Solheim Cup Record
Juli Inkster has a fantastic record in the Solheim Cup. She has played in 34 matches, winning 15 of them.
| Year | Total matches |
Total W-L-H |
Singles W-L-H |
Foursomes W-L-H |
Fourballs W-L-H |
Points won |
Points % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 34 | 15–12–7 | 6–1–2 | 6–6–3 | 3–5–2 | 18.5 | 54.4 |
| 1992 | 3 | 1–1–1 | 1–0–0 def. A. Nicholas 3&2 | 0–0–1 halved w/ P. Sheehan | 0–1–0 lost w/ P. Sheehan 1 up | 1.5 | 50.0 |
| 1998 | 4 | 3–1–0 | 0–1–0 lost to H. Alfredsson 2&1 | 2–0–0 won w/ D. Pepper 3&1, won w/ D. Pepper 1 up |
1–0–0 won w/ M. Mallon 2&1 | 3.0 | 75.0 |
| 2000 | 4 | 1–2–1 | 1–0–0 def. A. Sörenstam 5&4 | 0–1–1 lost w/ D. Pepper 4&3, halved w/ S. Steinhauer |
0–1–0 lost w/ S. Steinhauer 3&2 | 1.5 | 37.5 |
| 2002 | 4 | 2–2–0 | 1–0–0 def. R. Carriedo 4&3 | 1–1–0 lost w/ L. Diaz 2 up, won w/ M. Mallon 2&1 |
0–1–0 lost w/ K. Kuehne 3&2 | 2.0 | 50.0 |
| 2003 | 4 | 3–1–0 | 1–0–0 def. C. Koch 5&4 | 0–1–0 lost w/ W. Ward 5&3 | 2–0–0 won w/ B. Daniel 1 up, won w/ B. Daniel 5&4 |
3.0 | 75.0 |
| 2005 | 4 | 2–1–1 | 1–0–0 def. S. Gustafson 2&1 | 1–0–0 won w/ P. Creamer 3&2 | 0–1–1 lost w/ P. Creamer 4&3, halved w/ B. Daniel |
2.5 | 62.5 |
| 2007 | 4 | 2–0–2 | 1–0–0 def. I. Tinning 4&3 | 1–0–1 won w/ P. Creamer 2&1, halved w/ P. Creamer |
0–0–1 halved w/ S. Prammanasudh | 3.0 | 75.0 |
| 2009 | 4 | 1–2–1 | 0–0–1 halved w/ G. Nocera | 1–1–0 won w/ P. Creamer 2&1, lost w/ P. Creamer 4&3 |
0–1–0 lost w/ A. Stanford 1 up | 1.5 | 37.5 |
| 2011 | 3 | 0–2–1 | 0–0–1 halved w/ L. Davies | 0–2–0 lost w/ B. Lang 1 dn, lost w/ B. Lang 3&2 |
0–0–0 | 0.5 | 16.7 |
Awards and Recognition
Juli Inkster has received many awards for her amazing golf career:
- 1982: Broderick Award for Golf (best female college golfer)
- 1984: LPGA Rookie of the Year
- 1989: GWAA Female Player of the Year
- 1999: Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year
- 2000: ESPY Awards Best Female Golfer
- 2004, 2015: LPGA William and Mousie Powell Award
- 2009: ASAPSports/Jim Murray Award
- 2009: LPGA Patty Berg Award
- 2022: Bob Jones Award
See also
In Spanish: Juli Inkster para niños
- List of female golfers
- List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
- Women's Career Grand Slam winners
