Golf legend Juli Inkster to be honored at Memorial Tournament

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- Before the competition at the Memorial Tournament fires up on Thursday, the honoree ceremony will take place the day before, and Juli Inkster is among the three that will be in the spotlight.

"Juli is an incredible person. She is an accomplished athlete. She's a Hall of Famer. She's won seven majors, 31 LPGA titles. Done everything in golf that you'd ever expect," Memorial Tournament executive director Dan Sullivan said.

Joining the Santa Cruz, California, native will be 1973 Open Champion Tom Weiskopf, who will be posthumously honored.

Inkster, who won 12 of her 31 LPGA titles in the 1980s, remembers getting the call last summer that she'd be among the few who have been named a Memorial honoree.

"When I got the call, I was super happy," Inkster said. "As you get older in life, the winds are great and all that, but being recognized for … your contributions to golf really makes it special."

All of her victories have given Inkster a platform to continue to impact the game. She is still highly involved, as recently as five years ago, when she wrapped up a third Solheim Cup leading the American team.

"She's had an amazing career: amazing career as a mother that won majors before and has won majors after her first child, and after her second child, way more," Memorial Tournament founder Jack Nicklaus said. "That's pretty special."

Inkster won those seven majors over 18 years, showing consistency over time. Six years ago, Inkster joined Nicklaus' Captains Club, a group that cares deeply about the future of golf.

"How do we grow the game? How do we get more people playing, more women, more diversity into golf?" Inkster said. "We've come up with a lot of good ideas."

The Memorial Honoree ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.