Looking Back: Inamori Classic on the LPGA Tour

The Inamori Classic — in many years known as some variation of Kyocera Inamori Classic for sponsorship reasons — was a tournament on the LPGA Tour, played in the San Diego, California, area from the early 1980s into the mid-1990s.

First played: 1980

Last played: 1993

Amy Alcott was the first champion, but Patty Sheehan holds the tournament record with three victories. Sheehan and Ayako Okamoto both posted back-to-back wins. Kris Monaghan was also a two-time champ, including in the final year of 1993, and those were the only two times Monaghan won on the LPGA Tour.

Perhaps the most notable thing that happened in the Inamori Golf Classic was the end of Jane Blalock's LPGA Tour record streak of 299 consecutive cuts made. Blalock, who joined the LPGA Tour in 1969, missed the cut in the inaugural Inamori Classic in 1980. It was the first missed cut of her career.

The tournament was 72 holes (four rounds) in all but one year. The 72-hole scoring record of 272 was set by Okamoto in 1987 victory. The inaugural champ, Alcott, won by four strokes in 1980, and that held up as the tournament record for margin of victory, although Laura Davies tied that mark in 1991.

The 1981 tournament ended in a four-way playoff between current and future LPGA legends: Alcott, Donna Caponi, Hollis Stacy and Jan Stephenson. Stacy birdied the 72nd hole to get into the playoff, then won it on the first extra hole with a 7-foot birdie putt.

Winners of the Kyocera Inamori Classic

1980 — Amy Alcott, 280
1981 — Hollis Stacy, 286 (def. Amy Alcott 286, Jan Stephenson and Donna Caponi in playoff)
1982 — Patty Sheehan, 277
1983 — Patty Sheehan, 209
1984 — Not played
1985 — Beth Daniel, 286
1986 — Patty Sheehan, 278
1987 — Ayako Okamoto, 275
1988 — Ayako Okamoto, 272
1989 — Patti Rizzo, 277
1990 — Kris Monaghan, 276
1991 — Laura Davies, 277
1992 — Judy Dickinson, 277
1993 — Kris Monaghan, 275

Also known as: Inamori Golf Classic, Inamori Classic, San Diego Inamori Golf Classic, Red Robin Kyocera Inamori Classic

Golf Courses: Multiple courses around the San Diego area, including one year at Torrey Pines. Other sites included Stardust Country Club, StoneRidge Country Club, Bernardo Heights Country Club, Fairbanks Ranch Country Club and Almaden Golf and Country Club.

Sources:
LPGA Tour. LPGA Tournament Chronology 1980-89, via Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20110629095854/http://www.lpga.com/content/Chronology80-89.pdf.
LPGA Tour. LPGA Tournament Chronology 1990-1999 (.pdf), via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20070920192212/http://www.lpga.com/content/Chronology90-99.pdf.
Sullivan, Pat. "Stacy Wins Inamori in Playoff," San Franciso Chronicle, October 12, 1981.