A familiar name is missing from the list of starters in 2008. Juli Inkster won't be in the field at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola this week, which is akin to the Colts taking the field without Peyton Manning. There is good reason for her absence; Inkster will be home in California this weekend, watching her second daughter Cori graduate from the eighth grade. From our point of view, Inkster has been the defining face of the tournament for more than two decades. She won the first LPGA tournament I ever saw or covered, the 1986 McDonald's Championship at White Manor Country Club in Malvern, Pa., and we've enjoyed working with her and watching her ever since.

In recalling her career, our memories center not so much on her on-course accomplishments, or her 31 victories, but how she went about achieving them. When Inkster was on the course, her passion for her chosen profession was evident. Unlike some players who have come after her, she has never made much of an effort to conceal her emotions during competition. A spectator or reporter encountering Inkster's group didn't need to look at a scoreboard to know how she was faring; one look into her brown eyes would usually suffice. Her short game wizardry was fascinating to watch. One of the most incredible shots I've ever seen was one Inkster pulled off at the ShopRite Classic, which was being played at Greate Bay Resort and Country Club at the time. Facing a buried lie in the face of a greenside bunker, she took an awkward stance, blasted out to within two feet and made the putt. It was nothing short of mesmerizing to see.

By the time Inkster won McDonald's titles in 2000 and 2001 she was the mother of two, trying to strike the right balance between career and motherhood. In that regard, she has been a standard-bearer. Only four LPGA Tour players have won tournaments after having children; Inkster has won 15 times since the birth of her eldest daughter Haley in 1990. As time passed, it was common to see Inkster in a press room, at the McDonald's event or elsewhere, with first Haley and later Cori, sitting on her lap. She made it all look incredibly easy, though of course it wasn't. During one interview I did with her sometime in the late 1990s, when she wasn't playing particularly well, she talked openly about retiring. But she soldiered on and her daughters, along with her husband Brian, were able to share in some of greatest triumphs. Her win at the 2000 McDonald's LPGA Championship came the day after her 40th birthday and she won seven additional tournaments after that, including the 2001 McDonald's LPGA Championship and the 2002 U.S. Women's Open.

Throughout her career, Inkster has been a favorite with galleries and the media, and when she decides to bring the curtain down on her Hall of Fame career she will be missed. But her passion on the golf course and her graciousness off it have provided lasting memories for those of us fortunate enough to have crossed her path.