Still miffed over bizarre disqualification, Juli Inkster shoots solid 1st round in Arkansas

Still miffed over DQ, Inkster moves on

ROGERS, Ark. — Nearly three weeks after her strange disqualification from a tournament in Oregon, Juli Inkster is still a bit vexed.

That doesn’t seem to be affecting her play, though. She shot a 2-under 69 Friday in the first round of the P&G Northwest Arkansas Championship.

With much of the field still on the course, Inkster was three strokes behind the leader at Pinnacle Country Club. That’s the same position she was in Aug. 21 when she was disqualified from the Safeway Classic with a round remaining. During a lengthy wait with a hole backed up, she affixed a weight to a club and took some practice swings to stay loose.

A viewer watching the broadcast brought the violation to the attention of tournament officials.

“You just move on,” Inkster said Friday. “I was disappointed, and I think it’s a stupid rule, and I think it’s even stupider that someone can call in, but that’s the rule.”

Inkster said the fact that viewers can alert officials of possible violations can put players who earn more exposure at risk.

“It just seems very severe for what I did. I didn’t hit a ball. All I did was basically stretch, and it didn’t have any effect on my swing or anything. It was just, we had a half-hour wait, and I just started getting stiff,” she said. “Someone calls in, and the problem is, if you’re playing well, you have the TVs around you. … If you’re going to let people call in, you’ve got to show everybody, show every shot.”

Inkster isn’t the only big name to be disqualified lately. Jim Furyk was declared ineligible for The Barclays last month when he overslept and was late for his pro-am tee time.

“And then you’ve got other people out here that are doing stuff that’s illegal, and they are getting away with it,” Inkster said.