Juli Inkster, 65, vies to make the cut on LPGA in preparation for U.S. Women's Senior Open
That has her at 1 under overall, but more importantly, on the cutline to make the weekend on the LPGA. There's still plenty of golf to be played on Friday but if she were to hang on and make the cut, she'd break the age mark set by JoAnne Carner.
"I frigging love JoAnne Carner. Yeah, just kind of means that I have a passion for the game. I love the game," Inkster said Friday after her round before shifting gears to comment on her decision to tee it up. "You know, I'm really happy I played this week. Kind of when I signed up was kind of like, 'what are you going?' I was free, I was out there with Hannah Green and Stacy and had a great time. Just love watching the young kids swing. I mean, it's so impressive. I think the game is in a really good shape and happy to be here."
It was in 1999 that Inkster won on the LPGA in Portland to earn her a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame by virtue of her 27th career point. Making the cut this week would extend her preparation for next week's U.S. Women's Senior Open in San Diego.
More: 65-year-old Juli Inkster dusted off her putter and is playing the LPGA event in Portland
"I feel like I'm putting pretty good. My irons are pretty good. Got to shore up my rescues and fairway woods a little bit," she said. "I think it was really good for me to play, whether I win or lose next week, whatever. I'm glad I put myself out there."
Despite her Pacific Northwest surroundings, Inkster and her caddie are proudly sporting San Francisco Giants hats this week. Inkster is from Santa Cruz, about 90 minutes south of San Fran, and went to San Jose State.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
10 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Akie Iwai of Japan shoots 64 in Portland to take lead in bid for first LPGA Tour title
'My style, my golf style, is aggressive,' she said. 'That's why no change this week. Also, aim to the pin — boom! boom! Every shot, every hole. That's it.' Advertisement When it's your day, it's your day 😮💨 Akie Iwai finishes with a birdie, despite hitting her drive into the trees, and takes the clubhouse lead at 18-under 💪 — LPGA (@LPGA) Grace Kim of Australia was second after a 67. She holed a 156-yard, 7-iron shot for eagle from the left rough on the par-4 17th. 'I was trying to see if I could get a drop,' Kim said. 'I wasn't entirely over the sprinkler-head boxes so you knew I just had to hit it. Leaked right again. I was like, `Oh, please get through the rough.' Somehow went in the hole.' GRACE KIM DOES IT AGAIN 🤯 A HOLE OUT FROM THE ROUGH FOR EAGLE 🦅 — LPGA (@LPGA) Linn Grant was 14 under after a 65. The Swede won the 2023 Dana Open for her lone LPGA Tour title. 'Tried to go out and just be, I wouldn't say happy, but just accepting of whatever today would bring,' Grant said. 'I think I played very mature and just had a lot of fun.' Advertisement Gurleen Kaur had a 70 to get to 13 under, and Aditi Ashok (65) was another stroke back with Gina Kim (67). Chisato Iwai — the winner in Mexico at Mayakoba in May — was in the group at 11 under after a 66. She also eagled the fifth hole. Haeran Ryu, at No. 9 in the world one of only two top-10 players in the field, also was 11 under. She had a hole-in-one on the 177-yard 16th in a 67. Akie Iwai dropped a stroke on the par-3 second, then played a five-hole stretch in 5 under. She hit her second shot to 3 feet to set up the eagle, then hit to a foot on the par-4 sixth. On the back nine, she birdied three of the first four holes, two of them par 5s, then hit a 152-yard shot to a foot on 18. She's sticking with the aggressive approach Sunday. 'No change. No change. Same as usual,' she said. Driver off the deck ➡️ into the trees ➡️ birdie 🐣 Unreal sequence from Akie Iwai to extend her lead 🤯 — LPGA (@LPGA) Two-time champion Brooke Henderson, a stroke back after an opening 65, followed a second-round 73 with a 68 to get to 10 under. The Canadian star is winless since January 2023. Second-round leader Jeongeun Lee5 also was 10 under after shooting 74. Amateur Kiara Romero was 8 under after a 72. The University of Oregon player won the 2023 US Girls' Junior and 2025 Big Ten title. The tournament is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japan's Iwai grabs lead at LPGA Portland Classic
Japanese rookie Akie Iwai fired a eight-under par 64 to seize a two-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the LPGA Portland Classic. The 23-year-old from Saitama, seeking her first LPGA victory, made seven birdies and an eagle against a lone bogey to stand on 18-under 198 after 54 holes at Edgewater Country Club. Australia's Grace Kim, who captured her first major title at the Evian Championship, made a stunning eagle at the 17th, holing out from 156 yards from the fairway rough to shoot 67 and grab second on 200. World number 29 Iwai, an LPGA runner-up this year at Thailand and the LA Championship, has won six times on the Japan Tour. "After I made the eagle at five, I had many birdie chances, so good tempo," Iwai said. "My style is aggressive. No change this week. Aim to the pin. Every shot. Every hole." That was apparent at the 18th hole, where she dropped her approaches inches from the hole and tapped in for her fourth birdie on the back nine. After answering a bogey at the par-three second hole with a birdie at the third, Iwai eagled the par-five fifth followed by back-to-back birdies at six and the par-five seventh. She began the back nine with birdies at the par-five 10th and 12th holes and added another at the par-three 13th to reach 17-under and lead by three strokes. Kim went four-under over the last five holes to charge into the second with birdies at 14 and 15 and her eagle at 17 the shot of the round. She looked away after the ball landed in the rough, not seeing it bounce onto the green, roll down a slope and into the hole for an eagle. "I leaked my driver a little right," Kim said. "I thought I was going to be in the rough, which it was, and I was trying to see if I could get a drop. I wasn't entirely over the sprinkler head boxes so I knew I just had to hit it. "It leaked right again and I was like, 'Oh please get through the rough,' and somehow it went in the hole so I guess it's a little bit of luck in there." Sweden's Linn Grant took third on 202 with a 65, one stroke ahead of American Gurleen Kaur with India's Aditi Ashok and American Gina Kim on 204. "I had a good round out there," Grant said. "Tried to go out and just be, I wouldn't say happy, but just accepting of whatever today would bring. I played very mature and just had a lot of fun." South Korea's Lee5 Jeong-eun led after 36 holes but made a triple bogey at the par-four sixth hole to fall eight off the pace. js/sla
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Washington Post
Akie Iwai of Japan shoots 64 in Portland to take lead in bid for first LPGA Tour title
PORTLAND, Ore. — Akie Iwai of Japan eagled the fifth hole and birdied the other three par 5s at Columbia Edgewater, shooting an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in The Standard Portland Classic. Iwai is trying to join twin sister Chisato as an LPGA Tour winner this year after second-place finishes in Thailand in February and Los Angeles in April. She put on a ball-striking exhibition Saturday in mostly calm conditions on the tree-lined course, hitting to 3 feet to set up the eagle and twice to a foot for birdie — the last on the par-4 18th to get to 18-under 198. 'My style, my golf style, is aggressive,' she said. 'That's why no change this week. Also, aim to the pin — boom! boom! Every shot, every hole. That's it.' Grace Kim of Australia was second after a 67. She holed a 156-yard shot for eagle from the left rough on the par-4 17th. 'I was trying to see if I could get a drop,' Kim said. 'I wasn't entirely over the sprinkler-head boxes so you knew I just had to hit it. Leaked right again. I was like, `Oh, please get through the rough.' Somehow went in the hole, so I guess a little bit of luck in there.' Linn Grant was 14 under after a 65. The Swede won the 2023 Dana Open for her lone LPGA Tour title. 'Tried to go out and just be, I wouldn't say happy, but just accepting of whatever today would bring,' Grant said. 'I think I played very mature and just had a lot of fun.' Gurleen Kaur had a 70 to get to 13 under, and Aditi Ashok (65) was another stroke back with Gina Kim (67). Chisato Iwai — the winner in Mexico at Mayakoba in May — was in the group at 11 under after a 66. She also eagled the fifth hole. Haeran Ryu, at No. 9 in the world one of only two top-10 players in the field, also was 11 under. She had a hole-in-one on the 177-yard 16th in a 67. Akie Iwai dropped a stroke on the par-3 second, then played a five-hole stretch in 5 under. She hit her second shot to 3 feet to set up the eagle, then hit to a foot on the par-4 sixth. On the back nine, she birdied three of the first four holes, two of them par 5s, then hit a 152-yard shot to a foot on 18. Two-time champion Brooke Henderson, a stroke back after an opening 65, followed a second-round 73 with a 68 to get to 10 under. The Canadian star is winless since January 2023. Second-round leader Jeongeun Lee5 also was 10 under. She shot 74. Amateur Kiara Romero was 8 under after a 72. The University of Oregon star won the 2023 U.S. Girls' Junior and 2025 Big Ten title. The tournament is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972. ___ AP golf:
