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South Bay Accent - June/July 2017

June/July 2017 61 the Year. She followed that up with 31 LPGA wins, seven major tournament victories and induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 1990, 10 years after her marriage to Brian, she gave birth to Haley. “My mother was a stay-at-home mom,” Inkster says, “but I didn’t know the first thing about raising children. “I didn’t babysit like a lot of girls. I didn’t know how to do anything.” After Hayley was born, Inkster’s game started to slide. Her focus was divided between golf and baby. “I wanted to do it all,” she recalls. She received help from her parents but it wasn’t until she hired a nanny that her game began to revive. “I had two fulltime jobs,” Inkster says. She shared the load with husband Brian, yet the reality was she was a fulltime mom with a high-profile professional career. In 1992, Inkster lost the prestigious U.S. Open in an 18- hole playoff against Patty Sheehan. She laments her loss to this day—not so much a regret as a statement of fact from someone who hates to lose. Second daughter Cori was born in 1994, and “the cycle started again. I played poorly,” she says. This time, however, she began traveling to tournaments with her family in a van. She also found a life coach, Mike McGetrick, who advised her to either come up with a way to balance family and work or quit the tour. “We put together a game plan and in ’97 I played really well. The kids were 7 and 3. Brian and I traded off. We had a new outlook and direction.” She believes her daughters' love of travel today started during those days of living in a van. Both daughters are college graduates, says the proud mama. Hayley, 26, graduated from Santa Clara University and Cori, 22, from Villanova University. They both reside in Santa Clara County. Asked if they play golf, Inkster says, “It’s not their thing.” Pat Hurst, an LPGA player who attended San Jose State on a Juli Inkster scholarship, is Inkster’s best friend. At Inkster’s request, Pat was named assistant coach for the Solheim team. They make an odd couple, in a sense, since Hurst is the organized one MAUDE MEYERS/GETTY IMAGES; PREVIOUS SPREAD: DONALD MIRALLE / STRINGER HER LIFE COACH INFORMED HER THAT SHE SHOULD EITHER COME UP WITH A WAY TO BALANCE FAMILY AND WORK OR QUIT THE TOUR.


South Bay Accent - June/July 2017
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