ABSECON, N.J. — Neither gusty winds nor Patti Rizzo could keep Juli Inkster from completing her conquest of the LPGA's extended Philadelphia area yesterday.
Inkster broke open her head-to-head duel with Rizzo with birdies on the 11th and 12th holes and coasted to a 3-stroke victory in the inaugural Atlantic City LPGA Classic.
It was Inkster's fourth title on the 1986 women's golf tour and the third time she has won a tournament within a relatively short drive of Philadelphia.
She captured the McDonald's Championship at Malvern on June 8 and the Lady Keystone Open at Hershey the following week.
"That's pretty nice," said Inkster after taking the first prize of $33,750 from the $225,000 purse. "I like the golf courses up here. They have small greens, and you have to keep your driver in the fairway. That suits my game."
Inkster closed with a par 71 on the 6,005-yard Bay course of the Seaview Country Club to complete 54 holes at 4-under 209. Rizzo, who began the day tied with Inkster at 4 under par, faltered on the back side, closing with a 74 to take second place at 212.
The wind shifted again yesterday, coming out of the west to northwest at gusts of up to 30 m.p.h. But it did nothing to cool off the duel between Inkster and Rizzo, both 26.
"It was a tough day out there," Inkster said. "It was tough hitting the greens. The wind was swirling and you had to wonder if you had the right club in your hand when you were 180 yards away holding a 7-iron. But I thought if I shot even par, I would win it."
Inkster was right, although it wasn't easy early in the round.
Rizzo, whose previous best finish this year was a tie for eighth, drove into a 2-shot lead after four holes. But she bogeyed the 6th hole after hitting her second shot over the green, and the duel was tied at No. 8 when Inkster sank a 10-foot birdie putt. Both women made the turn at 4 under.
The wheels started coming off for Rizzo, however, beginning on No. 10, when she hit her second shot short of the green, struck a poor chip and missed a 6- foot par putt while Inkster had a routine par.
On the next hole, a par 3, Rizzo was looking at a 12-foot putt for birdie. But Inkster, putting first, canned a 20-footer for a birdie of her own, and her lead was 2 shots after Rizzo missed her putt.
Then at the par-4 12th, Rizzo pushed her drive to where she had a branch in her lie for her approach shot. She ended up hitting her second shot over the green, chipping up and missing a 15-foot putt for par.
Meanwhile, Inkster slammed the door on any further competition this day by making a 6-foot putt for her fourth birdie of the day, and the lead was 4 shots.
"The key to the whole thing was No. 10," Inkster said. "After that, I started getting a little more aggressive. I made a real good birdie putt at 11 and another at 12.
"After I made the turn at even par, I just started grinding away for the next nine holes. I was hitting a lot of greens, and my putting started coming around."
Inkster didn't slam the door completely. On the par-3 15th, she pushed her tee shot to the right, left her pitch in a bank short of the green and ended up with a double bogey. But Rizzo couldn't capitalize, making a bogey on the hole to cut into the lead by only 1.
"I played two stupid shots there," Inkster said. "It could have been a 2-shot swing. Fortunately, I went into the hole with a 4-shot lead."
For Rizzo, a two-time LPGA career winner whose previous best finish this year was a tie for eighth, it was a matter of not being able to get a chip close to the hole or to sink a putt.
"I knew one of us was going to pull away eventually," she said. "But when I missed an 8-foot putt for birdie on No. 9, I got down on myself. Then after under-clubbing myself on No. 10 and taking bogey, I got a little bit frustrated.
"The wind was totally opposite of yesterday, and it was a different golf course. I flew over a couple of greens. On the back side, I missed four greens and I hit four bad chips. Juli played real well. She made the putts that I didn't make."
After a bogey on No. 17 dropped her into a tie for second, Rizzo rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th to assume second place by herself and take home $20,812.
Judy Dickinson, urged on by old friends from her former home town of Bridgeton, N.J., fired a 72 to take third place at par 213. Spain's Marta Figueras-Dotti was another shot back in fourth after a 72, and Beth Daniel shot a 74 to finish at 215.
Beth Solomon was next at 216 after a 71. Laurie Rinker, who began the day in third place and parred every hole on the front nine, played the back nine in 6 over par for a 77 to tie Penny Pulz (70) at 217.
Inkster had gone winless since capturing the Lady Keystone Open and hadn't even contended in the five tournaments she had entered since then. But she found the momentum once again to solidify her hold on second place on the LPGA money list, with more than $275,000.
"I got off to a real good start Friday and played well in the second round," she said. "Patti started real hot today, but I knew there were a lot of holes left. If I was in the hunt on the back nine, I thought I would win."
Absecon might be too far away to call it part of the "Philadelphia Slam," but Inkster will take it.
THE RESULTS
Juli Inkster, $33,750 67-71-71-209
Patti Rizzo, 20,812 70-68-74-212
Judy Dickinson, 15,187 69-72-72-213
Marta Figueras-Dotti, 11,812 73-69-72-214
Beth Daniel, 9,562 70-71-74-215
Beth Solomon, 7,875 72-73-71-216
Penny Pulz, 6,244 69-78-70-217
Laurie Rinker, 6,243 71-69-77-217
Alice Ritzman, 4,099 72-75-71-218
Sally Little, 4,099 71-76-71-218
Nancy Scranton, 4,099 77-69-72-218
Kathy Postlewait, 4,099 74-71-73-218
Dawn Coe, 4,098 75-70-73-218
Amy Alcott, 4,098 76-68-74-218
Val Skinner, 4,098 70-73-75-218
Jane Geddes, 2,870 69-77-73-219
Margaret Ward, 2,870 73-72-74-219
Hollis Stacy, 2,869 71-74-74-219
Becky Pearson, 2,869 74-70-75-219
Jo Ann Washam, 2,332 74-74-72-220
Connie Chillemi, 2,332 73-74-73-220
Nancy White, 2,331 71-76-73-220
Colleen Walker, 2,331 73-74-73-220
Lynn Adams, 2,331 75-71-74-220
Deb Richard, 2,331 69-73-78-220
Kathy Whitworth, 1,848 76-75-70-221
Jane Crafter, 1,848 76-75-70-221
Shelley Hamlin, 1,847 76-73-72-221
Allison Finney, 1,847 79-70-72-221
Shirley Furlong, 1,847 76-72-73-221
Sherri Turner, 1,847 72-74-75-221
Penny Hammel, 1,847 76-70-75-221
Marlene Floyd, 1,458 76-74-72-222
Karin Mundinger, 1,458 74-76-72-222
M. J. Smith, 1,458 75-74-73-222
Bonnie Lauer, 1,457 74-74-74-222
Sandra Palmer, 1,457 75-72-75-222
Cathy Morse, 1,457 70-72-80-222
Sue Fogleman, 1,154 73-78-72-223
Cindy Figg-Currier, 1,154 75-75-73-223
Dot Germain, 1,154 72-76-75-223
Jane Blalock, 1,154 74-74-75-223
Sherri Steinhauer, 1,154 79-68-76-223
Dana Howe Chancellor, 922 76-74-74-224
Linda Hunt, 922 77-72-75-224
Muffin Spencer-Devlin, 922 71-78-75-224
Lisa Young, 922 71-75-78-224
Ayako Okamoto, 922 69-75-80-224
Julie Cole, 711 75-76-74-225
Kathryn Young, 711 73-78-74-225
Terry-Jo Myers, 711 78-72-75-225
Cindy Rarick, 710 72-77-76-225
Missie Berteotti, 710 72-73-80-225
Sue Ertl, 523 75-76-75-226
Therese Hession, 523 75-76-75-226
Denise Strebig, 523 76-75-75-226
Jackie Bertsch, 523 74-75-77-226
LeAnn Cassaday, 522 71-78-77-226
Mary Dwyer, 522 77-69-80-226
Joan Joyce, 358 74-77-76-227
Debbie Massey, 358 75-75-77-227
Cindy Ferro, 358 75-74-78-227
Kris Monaghan, 358 73-76-78-227
Gail Lee Hirata, 358 72-76-79-227
Deedee Lasker, 358 75-73-79-227
Susan Sanders, 358 73-74-80-227
Heather Farr, 287 74-77-77-228
Silvia Bertolaccini, 287 78-73-77-228
Judy Ellis-Sams, 286 74-75-79-228
Amy Benz, 286 72-77-79-228
Joanne Pacillo, 253 73-75-81-229
Caroline Gowan, 252 75-73-81-229
Nina Foust, 177 76-75-79-230
Deborah Skinner, 177 77-74-79-230
Debbie Meisterlin, 177 78-72-80-230
Elaine Crosby, 176 72-77-81-230
Kathy Hite 75-76-80-231
Amelia Rorer 73-77-82-232
Karen Permezel 76-75-82-233
Nancy Tomich 79-72-82-233
