The 54-year-old Hall of Famer, who will captain the United
States Solheim Cup team in September, carded a three-under-par
69 in the opening round at Mission Hills Country Club.
Inkster, whose seven major victories include her wins here in
1984 and 1989 when the event was known as the Nabisco Dinah
Shore, ended the day two shots behind pacesetting American
Morgan Pressel.
"I actually have been hitting the ball fairly well the last
couple of weeks, and I've been out with a baulky putter,"
Inskter told reporters after mixing four birdie with a lone
bogey. "But today I made a few putts.
"I'm looking forward to a nice cold beverage and being out here
tomorrow morning. I'm kind of glad I can play and come out here
tomorrow and do the same thing."
Asked how gratifying it was to be ahead of 'young guns' such as
17-year-old world number one Lydia Ko (71) and 19-year-old
Charley Hull (70), Inkster smiled: "Oh, it's great.
"As you know, I enjoy the game and I enjoy working at it. I like
the process of it. But these girls are our future. You know, I'm
just lucky I can still come out here and compete a little bit."
Inkster, who has piled up 31 wins on the LPGA Tour and more than
$13 million in career earnings, felt she was still capable of
challenging the younger players in the majors.
"What I like about the majors is you don't have to shoot
20-under or 18-under to win," she said. "If you can come in
around par, one, two or three under, come Sunday you'll have a
shot. So that's kind of why I like majors."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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