Dirty Dancing

Jjuli Inkster Dishes on the Solheim Cup, Pangs From Rwanda, and Why Rules-breakers Need to Be Stopped —now.

- Guy Yocom

IT’S THE 1998 SOLHEIM CUP, and I’m playing with Dottie Pepper in the opening alternate-shot match against Laura Davies and Trish Johnson. In team events, Dottie played with a passion that came across as Dottie against the world. The golf course and her opponents were fair game, and on this day I’m not so sure she even liked me. On the first hole, Dottie hits first and finds the fairway. Laura then cranks one as only Laura can, a blast that goes 60 yards past Dottie. This really annoys Dottie. She marches off the tee with all kinds of defiance. When we get to our ball, I can’t help but needle her. I said, “Sorry to ask, but did you even take off the head cover for this puny thing?” Oh, did she get mad. She barks, “What do you mean? It’s right down the middle! Just hit it on the green!” I cracked up laughing. We won the hole and the match, which is a good thing. If we’d lost, Dottie might still be mad at me.

WHAT IT CAME DOWN TO WAS, Dottie hated losing. A lot of good players are like that, though they don’t always show it. I won seven majors and 31 tournaments on the LPGA Tour, and I don’t think there was one where the thrill wasn’t gone by the middle of the day on Monday. Losing, though, is different. The tough losses stayed with me, sometimes forever.