Texas Children's Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course



News

Inkster says her daughters keep her young

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Juli Inkster may have turned 50 today, but she doesn't feel like it, and she isn't playing like it. A birthday score of one-under-par 71 puts the Hall of Famer in a tie for 10th place going into Friday. She playfully dodged post-round questions about what's keeping her neck and neck with players sometimes as young as a third her age on the LPGA Tour. "It just means I'm playing good golf and I'm 50," she said with a shrug. "I don't know how to answer that question."  [#image: /photos/55ad8ecab01eefe207f7375a]|||GDWinkster2.gif|||Juli Inkster relished all the birthday wishes and (out-of-tune) singing the Locust Hill galleries showered over her during the first round of the LPGA Championship. (Photo by Hunter Martin, Getty Images)*

*When pushed for more, Inkster conceded that her role as a mom is at least partly responsible. "Maybe I'm fooling myself, I don't know. I just don't feel old. I really think having two young daughters -- though I guess [at 16 and 20] they're not so young now -- but just raising them, they've really kept me young. They are great to travel with and we do a lot of fun stuff together. They love to shop. They love to shop for me. I really don't have to go to a store anymore, they just pick clothes out and bring them home and say 'put them on.' And I listen to all their music just because that's what's playing, you know? So maybe that's helped."

--Stina Sternberg*

** *