America’s largest golf dinner returned to Encore Boston Harbor on March 21, 2024 to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Ouimet Fund and honor seven-time major champion Juli Inkster.
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The Largest Golf Dinner In America
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Overview
America’s largest golf dinner returned to Encore Boston Harbor on March 21, 2024 to honor seven-time major champion Juli Inkster, and to celebrate The Fund’s 75th Anniversary.
The 2024 Ouimet Banquet was the largest attended banquet since the 2013 Centennial Event featuring Arnold Palmer. The night included a sit-down discussion with Inkster, which was moderated by her close friend and World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin.
The Ouimet Banquet has become a fixture in the golf community, attracting upwards of 1,500 guests each year. The Banquet is always a special evening and a fantastic opportunity to hear from our Banquet Honorees, who represent so much of the history of the game of golf.
Guests also hear from the Student Speaker, whose personal story embodies that of so many Ouimet Scholars. This annual fundraising event is a critical factor in our ability to award need-based Ouimet Scholarships, which for the 2023-24 school year amounted to $3.25 million.
2024 Honoree
Juli Inkster
Juli Inkster grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, where she learned the game at Pasatiempo Golf Club after having worked at the cart barn, driving range, and snack shack. She joined the boys high school golf team and earned a scholarship to San Jose State University. This launched a prolific amateur career, including three All-America honors, three straight U.S. Women’s Amateur titles, the California Amateur, team victory in the 1982 Curtis Cup, and the #1 women’s amateur golf ranking in 1981 and 1982.
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Inkster came out strong in her LPGA debut season of 1983, winning her first tournament in only her fifth start. She then became the first LPGA rookie to win two major championships in one season, the 1984 Nabisco Dinah Shore and the du Maurier Classic. Inkster’s three wins led to being chosen as LPGA Rookie of the Year and thrust the young star into the spotlight of women’s golf. She would go on to win 12 tournaments in the 1980’s, including two more majors.
The next decade was one of transition and continued success. She and her husband, Brian, became parents in 1990 and 1994 with the birth of their daughters Hayley and Cori. Inkster recorded nine wins as a mother in the 1990’s, with five coming in 1999 alone. That banner season included two major championships – the U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s PGA Championship – as she became one of only six players in LPGA history to complete the career grand slam.
Inkster is among the most successful Americans in Solheim Cup history, making 12 total appearances including three as the U.S. team captain. None was more memorable than her first stint in the captain’s seat in 2015 when Team USA mounted the largest come-from-behind victory in Solheim Cup history for the Americans’ first win since 2009. As a player, she won a total of 18.5 points and posted a 6-1 career singles record for the U.S.
Within the last five years, Inkster helped create the Juli Inkster Senior Award, given annually by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association to the top-ranked female college golfer who has completed her fourth year of eligibility. The recognition comes with a mentorship opportunity with Inkster to help prepare graduating athletes for the next steps in their golf careers.
Inkster officially became a hall of famer in 1999 when she was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, and was enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame the following year. Inkster also showcases her expertise, honesty, and passion for the game as a golf commentator, serving as a booth analyst and interviewer for various major TV networks.
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