GOLF MIXED TOURNAMENT : Inkster First Female Golfer to Beat Men

Juli Inkster became the first woman to win a mixed professional golf tournament when she won the Spalding Invitational at Pebble Beach Sunday.

Inkster shot a one-under-par 71 to finish the 72-hole tournament with a four-under 284 and a one-stroke victory over Mark Brooks.

“It was a good win for me. I needed it for my confidence,” said Inkster, winner of 13 titles and nearly $2 million during her seven-year LPGA career.

Inkster, one of four women in the event, began the day trailing leader Howard Twitty by three shots, but Twitty shot a final-round 76.

“I feel sorry for Mark,” said Inkster of Los Altos, Calif., and a three-time winner of the women’s U.S. Amateur title. “He played really well. Hopefully he doesn’t think it’s a men against women thing or take too much ribbing. I made the shots when I had too.”

Women players received yardage advantages off tees on each of the three golf tournament courses.

Women have been playing in the Spalding Invitational since 1979.