Inkster saves aggression for golf course, not the court
By Associated Press
Published July 3, 2003
NORTH PLAINS, Ore. - Juli Inkster is known as one of the most intense players on the LPGA Tour, and for having no rhythm when she tries a victory dance.
So imagine the 43-year-old as a seventh-grade basketball coach. "I don't get mad. And I have never gotten a technical or anything like that," she said.
Inkster coaches St. Simon's in Los Altos, Calif., where her oldest daughter, Hayley, is on the team. They went 8-1 this season, though she said they were drummed in the playoffs.
"I put more pressure on myself than I do the other girls, because I know their limitations," Inkster said. "I know they're out there to have fun, so I don't put a lot of expectations on them."
But she is strict with her rules. One has to do with sharing half the court with the eighth-grade boys. Inkster told her charges if anyone was caught paying more attention to the boys, all would have to run.
"So who was the first one? My daughter, just staring at those boys," she said. "They all ran lines, back and forth."
NEW SPONSOR, SITE: One of the most popular spots on the LPGA Tour is getting a new title sponsor and course. Safeway Inc. will sponsor the event in Phoenix, to be called the Safeway International. It moves from Moon Valley to Superstition Mountain. Safeway already sponsors the Portland tournament. The Phoenix event had 98 of the top 100 on the money list.
