Bradley, Opening at 68, and Inkster, at 69, Burn It Up in Desert Again

Pat Bradley first came to Dinah Shore’s tournament in the spring of 1975, an exuberant 24-year-old rookie from New England who had qualified for the prestigious event a couple of weeks earlier in Florida by finishing in third place.

She qualified so late that her picture wasn’t in the program and the announcer on the first tee wasn’t familiar with her background.

“I’m Pat Bradley,” she shouted to the opening-day gallery, almost dancing to the tee with excitement. “You don’t know me now, but some day you will.”

She was right. In the 11 years since then, Pat Bradley has been the most productive golfer in the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. She has won close to $2 million and is the only player to win $100,000 or more for eight consecutive years. She has won 16 LPGA tournaments, including the U.S. Open.

But she has never won the Nabisco Dinah Shore.

Thursday, on a calm, warm day made for shooting low scores, Bradley took a step toward attaining that goal when she shot a four-under-par 33-35--68 over the 6,275 yards of lush green fairways on the Mission Hills Country Club course.

She held a one-shot lead over 1984 winner Juli Inkster.

At 70, an interesting group of five included Betty Burfeindt, who has not played on the tour since 1981; Mindy Moore, who has not won since joining the LPGA in 1981; Penny Pulz, winner of the Circle K Tucson Open two weeks ago; Betsy King, the Ladies British Open champion, and Mary Beth Zimmerman, this year’s only two-time winner.

Six others bettered par 72 by a stroke--Laurie Rinker, Jan Stephenson, Beth Daniel, Alice Ritzman, Val Skinner and Kathy Postlewait.

Some of the favorites didn’t fare too well.

Defending champion Alice Miller had a 78, and U.S. Open champion Kathy Baker and Hall of Famers Kathy Whitworth and JoAnne Carner shot 75s.

Jane Blalock, who won the first Dinah Shore tournament in 1972, was fortunate to finish with a 77 after having her foot run over Wednesday by a golf cart driven by a pro-am partner. The injury forced Blalock to withdraw from the pro-am, but she was back Thursday.

“I’m thrilled to be in this position,” Bradley said after her bogey-free round. “It was basically a solid round of golf, but I need three more before I can start celebrating.”

Now 35 and her hair graying from the pressure of playing 28 to 30 tournaments a year for 12 years, Bradley knows the pitfalls between her 68 and Sunday’s final hole.

In 1984, she had a two-stroke lead with three holes to play and lost in a playoff with Inkster. She bogeyed the 16th hole after a long wait at the tee when a delay was ordered by television, then dropped into a tie when Inkster birdied No. 18.

“That’s history,” Bradley said when asked about the 1984 loss. “That was then, and this is now.”

Curiously, Inkster had a one-shot lead over Bradley Thursday when she came to the 16th hole, but she made a bogey when she took three putts and fell back into a tie. Then she bogeyed the 18th hole, leaving Bradley as the sole leader.

“This is no Juli Inkster vs. Pat Bradley tournament,” Inkster said when asked if history might repeat itself. “Look at the leader board and you’ll see a lot of names who can win. All I’m concerned with is playing Juli Inkster’s game, not anyone else’s.

“If the conditions stay as good as they were today, I think someone will shoot 66 this week. I just hope it’s me.”

Bradley did not have a bogey, but made two remarkable par-savers on the final two holes.

On No. 17, a 170-yard par-three, she hit a 4-iron tee shot that landed in a grass bunker at the side of the green. Using a sand wedge from the thick lie, she hit out and sank a five-foot putt for par.

No. 18, Mission Hills’ famous 487-yard par-five with an island green, was even more spectacular.

“I teed off with a 4-wood and it didn’t go as far as I had hoped,” Bradley explained. “I used a 3-wood to lay up (in front of the water), but it landed in a bunker on the right side of the fairway. The ball was up against the lip (of the bunker) and all I could do was hit a sand wedge out. I only moved it about 20 yards and still had 123 yards to the hole. I hit a 9-iron over the water that stopped five feet from the cup. When I made the putt I felt I had made a great five.”

Three of Bradley’s four birdies came from short putts, two of five feet and another of eight. She chipped in from the fringe on the 11th hole for her fourth one.

“I feel very good about my game,” Bradley said. “I just have to keep myself from getting in the way. Patience is so important out here. Thursday I had it. I hope I have it for three more days.”

Bradley and Inkster are right where they should be if LPGA statistics are an indicator. They are first and second in the Mazda-LPGA standings and the Vare scoring average this season.

But Inkster has won a tournament, the Women’s Kemper Open in Hawaii, and Bradley has not, despite having six top 10 finishes.