Longs Drugs Challenge breakdown
By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Sunday, April 16

Details
When Thursday-Sunday
Course Twelve Bridges Golf Club, Lincoln, Calif.
Par/Yardage Par 72; 6,388 yards
Purse $700,000 (Winner: $105,000)
1999 champion Juli Inkster
Tournament record 11-under 273 (Kelly Robbins, 1996)
Television Friday-Sunday: 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET (TGC)

The tournament
  Hole by hole
  Hole Par Yards
  1 4 370
  2 5 480
  3 4 53350
  4 3 137
  5 4 400
  6 5 491
  7 4 403
  8 3 159
  9 4 380
  Out 36 3170
  10 4 380
  11 4 370
  12 5 461
  13 3 156
  14 4 375
  15 3 170
  16 4 348
  17 5 560
  18 4 398
  In 36 3218
  Total 72 6388
The LPGA Tour returns from a two-week break for the Longs Drugs Challenge, a fairly new event on a difficult course in the suburbs of Sacramento, Calif.

Juli Inkster, playing near her Bay Area roots, won her second of five 1999 titles last year at Twelve Bridges Golf Club, finishing at 8-under 280 for a four-shot victory over Sherri Steinhauer.

Inkster had taken control of the tournament with opening rounds of 69 and 67, but she allowed others back in the hunt with a third-round 74 and the narrow, winding course. A final-round 70 was enough to hold off Steinhauer by four, and Annika Sorenstam, A.J. Eathorne and Wendy Doolan by five shots.

Inkster and Sorenstam are two of the former champions back for another shot at Twelve Bridges. They are joined by 1996 champion Kelly Robbins and 1998 winner Donna Andrews, as all try to become the first two-time winner of the event.

They'll have plenty of company in the fight for the $105,000 first-prize check, although it won't come from Karrie Webb. The tour's leading money-winner and champion of the first major, the Nabisco Championship, is not in the field this week.

Nancy Scranton, Charlotta Sorenstam and Annika Sorenstam -- all winners of LPGA Tour events this year -- are among those Inkster will have to battle. Other top players entered include Mi Hyun Kim, Dottie Pepper, Se Ri Pak and Brandie Burton.

The victory was the 19th of Inkster's career and helped propel her to the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in September. Inkster also crossed the $4 million mark in career earnings with the win, becoming just the ninth LPGA player to accomplish the feat.

This is one of only two LPGA events in April. After another week off next week, the tour begins a long stretch of events the following week with the Chick-fil-A Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez. That event starts a stretch where the tour then plays every week until mid-September.

ALSO SEE
Inkster coasts to successful title defense

Inkster nears another Longs Drugs title

Inkster moves to front of Longs Challenge

Hetherington, Figg-Currier set Longs pace

Inkster hopes for happy homecoming

Longs Drugs Challenge field

1999 Longs Drugs Challenge scores

Longs Drugs Challenge past champions

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