Karrie Webb felt the fountain of youth looking off at the Volunteers of America North Texas Presented by JTBC leaderboard hanging off the 18^th green as she exited towards the scorer’s tent. For Webb, 40, her own top-10 finish was hardly the impetus. Long one of women’s golf’s shining examples of sustainable excellence and longevity, a model every player on Tour can envy, Webb was more amazed at the placard hanging above hers on the leaderboard - the one tied with her in seventh that read: “Juli Inkster -9”. Long an anomaly in a game more youthful than ever, Inkster’s latest top-10 – a tie for seventh – had Webb wondering if she had been teleported back to her early days on Tour when Inkster was the veteran setting the standard everyone else was trying to reach.

“I was going to say I was a rookie and [Juli] was a veteran,” Webb said with a laugh. “I’m just glad she’s up there, as well, because then I feel like a youngster.”

Inkster, 54, has gradually dialed back the playing opportunities in recent years. She’s essentially got three full-time jobs these days as a player, Fox Sports golf analyst and Solheim Cup Captain.

On back-to-back weekends in April, though, Inkster was in contention heading into the weekend, proving again why she’s not quite ready to push the former completely to the backburner just yet. Although she insists it’s not a possibility, it’s reasonable to wonder if by the time September comes, if the United States Solheim Captain continues to play this way, should she actually be one of the 12 teeing it up on her team? Outside of a 3-over-par back nine 38 on Saturday, the 31-time LPGA winner’s game looked as vibrant as any on her red, white and blue side during her first top-10 finish since 2011.

“I got to play with her last week, and it’s amazing,” Lexi Thompson said. “I think she could probably still play on the team, too.”

Karrie Webb says she wouldn’t put it past her because Inkster loves the Solheim Cup that much. Inkster laughs and says the response will continue to be a “capital no” when asked. The same goes for whether or not she’ll ever play the U.S. Women’s Open – a championship she won twice and finished in a tie for 15^th a year ago – again.

“I’m really happy with what I’m doing right now, playing a little bit, and you know, being Captain, and then working for Fox,” Inkster said. “So I got no regrets.”

Perhaps more impressive than her play is that her love for the game over the years has never waned. She still describes the sport as addicting and her practice regimen resembles that of a rookie trying to claw her way into a permanent spot on Tour, not that of a 31-time winner entering the twilight of a career spanning over three decades.

“Inkster is the most competitive person I’ve ever met,” Angela Stanford said.

“She just has this desire to work and get better, so she keeps playing.”

Added Webb: “You don’t have to question her work ethic. She loves to practice, so I don’t think she ever finds that a grind.”

Whether it’s veterans like Webb and Stanford or a teenage world No. 1 like Lydia Ko, the respect for Inkster on Tour has remained ageless.

“I told Juli this morning, you’re awesome,” Ko said. “She’s one of a kind. If I just try and imagine that when I’m 50 or even when I’m 40, then I’m like, ‘I just want to go out and play a game with my friends and play for dinner or for a beer,’ but she’s still playing competitively well, and it shows how great golf is that age really doesn’t matter.”

“She’s my favorite player,” 22-year-old Mi Hyang Lee said, “because I want to be playing a long time like her. Actually her daughter is older than me, so she’s like amazing.”

The desired age for retirement ranges varies widely on Tour. Lee, for example, hopes to play until she’s Inkster’s age. Ko insists she’ll retire around 30. But regardless of the intended destination, Natalie Gulbis, who intends to play until she has kids, reasons that no one should use Inkster’s success as a guiding light for when it’s time to put their playing days behind them.

“I mean, Juli is awesome,” Gulbis said. “She’s an anomaly, though. She’s very, very special.”

Inkster Has No Regrets

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