USA Solheim Cup team captain Beth Daniel chose 49 year old Juli Inkster and 19 year old Michelle Wie as her two captain’s picks for this year’s Cup.

This will be Inkster’s eighth Solheim Cup appearance and she will be the oldest player to compete in the matches. With age comes experience and Inkster brings a ton of it.

Inkster had an esteemed amateur career before her rookie year with the LPGA in 1983. She captured the U.S. Women’s Amateur title from 1980-82 to become the first woman since 1934 to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. She was a member of the U.S. Curtis Cup (1982) and World Cup (1980 and 1982) teams. As the winner of the 1981 California Amateur Championship, she was California’s 1981 Amateur of the Year and 1982 Bay Area Athlete of the Year. The number-one ranked amateur by Golf Digest from 1981-82, Inkster was a collegiate All-American for three years (1979, 1981-82) and also won the 1982 Broderick Award.

Since joining the LPGA in 1983 Inkster’s professional career has been no less esteemed. To date she has won 31 tournaments on the LPGA tour including seven majors, and she is currently fourth on the LPGA career money list with career earnings of over $12M.
I think Inkster is a great choice for one of the wild card spots and I can’t wait to see her perform in her ninth Solheim Cup.

Solheim rookie Michelle Wie started playing golf at age four and claims that the first time she grabbed a club she knew she would be golfing for the rest of her life. Although her professional golf career has never quite reached the stature of her amateur play and at times she has been mired with controversy her Solheim teammates have stated she has earned her spot and they are looking forward to her performance. As for Wie’s stance, she seems suitably appreciative and excited to be part of the most esteemed tournament in women’s golf. I, for one, am hoping that Solheim (and playing with golfers like Inkster) brings out all the potential that we saw in Wie years ago.

Post by Michele Minten