Jul 8, 2010 By Herald Standard Staff 6 min read

OAKMONT – The U.S. Women’s Open Championship begins today at Oakmont Country Club, and if the tournament is anything like it was the last time this LPGA major was held here, then spectators may receive a bit of a bonus. The year was 1992 and 72 holes were not enough to decide a champion as Patty Sheehan and Juli Inkster both wound up with 4-under-par scores of 280 after Sunday’s fourth round. The pair had to return for an 18-hole playoff on Monday with Sheehan coming out on top by firing a 1-over 72 to defeat Inkster by two strokes.

Known as one of the toughest golfing tests in the world, Oakmont took its toll on Sheehan back then, especially when forced to play an extra 18 holes.

“That was probably the hardest tournament that I ever played in,” Sheehan said after clinching her victory. “It was grueling. It’s taken a lot out of me.”

That just made the triumph even more satisfying for Sheehan.

“This has been a tournament that I’ve always wanted to win from the very first open that I played in 17 years ago, which happened to be in Pennsylvania (Rolling Rock Golf Club in Springfield), now that I think about it,” she said.

Sheehan was joyous that Monday, but the most dramatic moments of the 1992 Open came on the closing two holes on Sunday.

Sheehan and Inkster had entered the fourth round tied atop the leaderboard at 2 under, but Inkster surged ahead to a 2-stroke lead with two holes to play.

Playing together, both put their tee shots in the fairway on No. 17 before a downpour forced a delay of one hour and 45 minutes. The rain would play a key role in more ways than one.

The break gave Sheehan time to think about her predicament.

“I knew I had two holes to go,” Sheehan said in recalling that turning point after claiming victory. “I’ve proven time and time again that anything can happen.”

When play resumed, Sheehan gritted her teeth and hit her approach shot to within 10 feet, then dropped in the birdie putt to pull within 1 as Inkster pared.

On No. 18, Inkster put her tee shot safely on the fairway, but Sheehan looked like she might be in trouble when she pushed her drive just off the fairway. Sheehan’s ball was ruled to be in casual water, though, allowing her a free drop one club length away, which was enough for her to drop into the fairway.

“That was a gift,” Sheehan said. “I wanted to find out what my options were. If I had a chance to drop it in the fairway, then I would definitely take that chance. If my nearest point of relief was deeper in the rough, then, obviously, I wouldn’t have taken it.”

Sheehan, taking advantage of the better lie, then sent her 5-iron approach shot to within 18 feet of the pin, which is where Inkster ended up as well.

Inkster was slightly away, and sent her potential championship-winning putt towards the hole, where it stopped a foot short.

“At 18, I guess I played a little bit tentative, but I didn’t want to leave myself a downhill putt for par,” Inkster said afterwards.

Sheehan then stepped up and, showing nerves of steel, rolled in the putt that pulled her even and forced the playoff.

If you were there, the look of determination – and, just as importantly, the lack of nervousness – in Sheehan’s eyes hinted that she certainly had the capability of draining the pressure-packed putt.

“It was basically straight in,” Sheehan said. “My last thought on the putt was ‘get the ball to the hole.’ When it was about 3 feet in front of the hole, I knew I’d made it.”

It was one of the most dramatic putts in U.S. Women’s Open history.

“It was so exciting,” Sheehan said. “I mean, the 18th green at Oakmont with the stands right on top of you. Everybody’s just going bananas. That was the most exciting time I’ve ever had on the golf course.”

Sheehan was still excited the next day in getting ready for the playoff, so much so that she took her clubs back to her private home Sunday night but forgot to bring them back with her on Monday. She had to hurriedly do a U-turn to rush home and retrieve them before arriving at Oakmont.

“I was lucky there weren’t any cops around,” Sheehan said with a smile.

While Sunday’s finish was thrilling, Monday’s playoff was anticlimactic. Sheehan sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole to grab a 1-stoke lead and never trailed, building her advantage to as much as 4 before settling on a 2-stroke victory that ended with a bogey putt on No. 18.

The outcome was emotional for both players.

Sheehan had come close to winning the Open three times in the past. She was runner-up in 1983 and 1988, but those losses didn’t compare to two years earlier, in 1990, when Sheehan held the biggest 36-hole lead in Open history at 9 strokes. Her lead was cut to 5 after the third round and she eventually lost by 1 stroke on Sunday to Betsy King.

“Two years ago it was tears of sadness,” Sheehan said, her voice cracking, after winning the 1992 title. “Today it’s tears of joy.”

Inkster, on the other hand, was crushed by the defeat, and was inconsolable, despite kind words from Sheehan directed to her, right before she took the podium.

“It’s tough when you put your heart and soul into winning,” Inkster said before breaking into tears.

Inkster would eventually have her moment in the sun in a U.S. Women’s Open.

Twice, in fact.

She finally secured an Open championship in 1999 at Old Wavery in West Point, Miss., with a record-breaking, 5-stroke victory over Sherry Turner.

Inkster finished 16 under par, shattering the old Open mark by 6 strokes, and her four-day score of 272 tied for the lowest score in the event’s history.

Inkster would win again, defeating Annika Sorenstam by 2 strokes in 2002. Her sizzling final-round 66 gave her a 4-under 276 as she became, at age 42, the second-oldest Open champion.

She’ll be gunning for her third Open crown at Oakmont today at age 50.

Sheehan, who is now retired, secured another Open victory two years later in 1994 at Indianwood in Lake Orion, Mich., by 1 shot over Tammie Green with a 7-under 277.

But Sheehan has always savored her victory at Oakmont, as she pointed out in an interview recently.

“Winning at Oakmont, to me, was probably the epitome of winning an open, on one of the greatest golf courses in the world,” said Sheehan.

Now, in 2010, it’s someone else’s turn to grasp glory at Oakmont.

Who will it be?

Rob Burchianti can be reached at rvburchianti@hotmail.com.