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U.S. Women’s Open: 10 champions from The Babe to Karrie Webb

By Elizabeth Bethel

OAKMONT, PA - JULY 11: Paula Creamer kisses the trophy after her four-stroke victory at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont Country Club on July 11, 2010 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
OAKMONT, PA - JULY 11: Paula Creamer kisses the trophy after her four-stroke victory at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont Country Club on July 11, 2010 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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U.S. Women's Open
CARLSBAD, CA – MARCH 22: Juli Inkster of the United States poses for a portrait at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort on March 22, 2017 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /

Juli Inkster – 1999, 2002

Juli Inkster had established a standout amateur record by the time she turned pro in 1983: San Jose State All-American, three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles (1980, 1981, 1982), Californian Amateur of the Year.

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That early promise bore immediate fruit. She notched her first of 44 worldwide pro wins at the Safeco Classic in her rookie year. and in 1984 she put the first of seven major championship titles on her resume when she defeated Pat Bradley at the Nabisco Dinah Shore (now ANA Inspiration).

Inkster had already represented the United States twice at the Solheim Cup when, at the age of 38, she won her first U.S. Women’s Open in 1999.

In her 20th attempt, Juli Inkster became the first American since Patty Sheehan to win her national Open and she did it in style, cruising past Sherri Turner and Kelli Kuehne and Grace Park to a 16-under par record at Old Waverly Golf Club 6433 yard, par-72 track in West Point, Mississippi.

For Juli Inkster, the 1999 victory was pure redemption for the heartbreaking playoff loss to Sheehan in 1992:

"I just told myself, ‘I’ve got to win this thing.’ To lose it – I don’t know if I could have gone through it again. . . No one had the pressure on except me. That’s the hardest part. I’ve played a lot of years and ’92 was a heartbreak. But to come back to win today, no one can take that away from me. I’m a U.S. Open Champion and I always will be."

The purse was getting richer. Inkster took home the winner’s share, $315,000 of a $1.75 million dollar purse!

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