Ohio native Weiskopf to be honored posthumously
DUBLIN, Ohio – Officials of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday announced Subday that the Captains Club has selected seven-time major champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member Juli Inkster as the Honoree for the 49thplaying of the Memorial Tournament.
Joining Inkster and being honored posthumously is Ohio native and 16-time PGA TOUR winner and 1973 Open champion Tom Weiskopf. Inkster and Weiskopf will be celebrated during the Honoree Ceremony on Wednesday of Tournament week at Muirfield Village Golf Club. The two legends become the 82nd and 83rd individuals chosen to receive this prestigious recognition presented annually on the eve of the Memorial Tournament.
“I am so pleased that the Captains Club has chosen to honor Juli and Tom, two wonderful players who were fine amateurs and went on to impressive professional careers,” said Memorial Tournament presented by Workday Founder and Host Jack Nicklaus. “Each has made meaningful contributions to the game, and I could not be more delighted to see them recognized next year at Muirfield Village Golf Club.”
Inkster, 62, grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., where she learned the game at Pasatiempo Golf Club, practicing before and after school every day and eventually taking a job working in the golf shop. Inkster’s hard work resulted in a prolific amateur career that included four years of All-American honors at San Jose State University, a school-record 17 career wins, three straight U.S. Women’s Amateur titles (1980-82), the 1981 California Amateur trophy and a victory as part of the United States team in the 1982 Curtis Cup. Inkster was the top-ranked women’s amateur golfer in 1981 and ‘82.
Inkster made a seamless transition to the LPGA Tour in 1983, winning her first tournament in only her fifth start. She became the first LPGA rookie to win two major championships in one season, the 1984 Nabisco Dinah Shore and the du Maurier Classic. Inkster’s three wins led to being chosen as LPGA Rookie of the Year and thrust the young star into the spotlight of women’s golf.
Inkster won a total of 12 tournaments in the 1980s, including her third major and second Dinah Shore title in 1989.
The next decade for Inkster was one of transition and continued success. She and her husband became parents in 1990 with the birth of their first daughter Hayley. Their second daughter Cori was born in 1994. Inkster played a limited LPGA schedule those two seasons but still recorded nine wins in the 1990s, with five coming in 1999.
That banner season included two major championships, the U.S. Women’s Open and McDonald’s LPGA Golf Championship, completing the LPGA career grand slam. Only six players in LPGA history have accomplished the feat: Inkster, Pat Bradley, 2014 Memorial Tournament Honoree Annika Sorenstam, 2007 Memorial Tournament Honoree Louise Suggs, Karrie Webb, and 1994 Memorial Tournament Honoree Mickey Wright.
Inkster is among the most successful American players in Solheim Cup history. She competed in her first Solheim Cup in 1992 and then again in 1998, experiencing her first victory as a member of the U.S. team. She would go on to make 11 total Solheim Cup appearances, three as the U.S. captain.
None was more memorable than her first stint in the captain’s seat in 2015 when Team USA mounted the largest come-from-behind victory in Solheim Cup history for the Americans’ first win since 2009.
Inkster, a member of the Memorial Tournament Captains Club, tallied 31 career LPGA Tour victories. After turning 45, she went on to win four times on the LPGA Legends Tour. In 2000, Inkster was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
“Juli has established herself not only as one of golf history’s great players, but as one of the great ambassadors and stewards of the game,” Nicklaus said. “Always leading with her infectious personality and enthusiasm, Juli has impacted the game through her play and captaincy in the Solheim Cup, as well as through her valuable input as a member of the Captains Club for the Memorial Tournament.
“Juli also cares deeply about the future of the game, especially for women. That is exemplified in the Juli Inkster Award presented by Workday, which recognizes the top Division I women’s collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility.”
Weiskopf was born in Massillon, Ohio, on Nov. 9, 1942. His parents, Tom and Eva, both enjoyed success playing amateur golf tournaments in Ohio and introduced the game to their three children. Weiskopf attended the U.S. Open at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in 1957, with his father and was instantly hooked on the game.
Weiskopf won the Ohio Jaycees junior golf championship by six strokes in 1960 and qualified three times for the Ohio High School State Championship for Benedictine High School in Cleveland before competing for The Ohio State University for one year, earning All-American honors. He turned professional in 1964 and his first win as a pro came in the 1965 Ohio Open.
He claimed his first PGA TOUR title at the Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational in 1968. He won 16 times in all on the PGA TOUR, including one major championship, the 1973 Open at Royal Troon. During his PGA TOUR career, Weiskopf finished tied for second five times in a major, and three times he finished third. He was a member of two Ryder Cup teams in 1973 and 1975, both victories for the United States.
Weiskopf also captured four PGA TOUR Champions titles, including a U.S. Senior Open win over Jack Nicklaus in 1995 at Congressional Country Club. He also registered victories on the European Tour (now the DP World Tour), the Sunshine Tour and on the South American Golf Circuit where he won the 1979 Argentine Open.
A true student of the game, Weiskopf left full-time competition after the 1984 PGA TOUR season, and embarked on his second career as a course designer. He is responsible for more than 75 courses, notably the stadium course at TPC Scottsdale, home of the WM Phoenix Open, and Double Eagle Club in nearby Galena, Ohio.
Weiskopf also enjoyed a successful 20-plus year career as television analyst for ABC/ESPN and CBS.
Weiskopf died on August 20, 2022, at 79 after a long bout with pancreatic cancer. His survivors include his wife Laurie, and his children Heidi and Eric from his marriage to his first wife, Jeanne.
“Tom Weiskopf left us too soon, but he left behind a legacy as a champion, accomplished course designer and broadcaster,” Nicklaus said. “It is a privilege for us at the Memorial Tournament and for the Central Ohio patrons to pay tribute to Tom, who was born in Ohio and is one of the great players to come through Ohio State. He was a terrific player—one of the four or five most talented players I’ve ever seen.
“Tom and I became good friends and spent a great deal of time together, whether on the course or designing them. Less than a year after he won The Open in 1973 at Troon, Tom helped me open Muirfield Village Golf Club on Memorial Day 1974. To recognize him on these same grounds 50 years later will be something very special for the Memorial Tournament, and especially for me, Barbara and my entire family.”
For more information about the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, please visit thememorialtournament.com
