Juli Inkster is still playing great golf on the LPGA Tour and is almost 50 years old.  That's a testament to her athleticism, natural talent, and hard work.  At the same time, Inkster is also one of the best quotes on the LPGA Tour.  She doesn't believe in fluff, biz speak, or other junk on the course or from Daytona Beach.  I always love reading her thoughts, even if sometimes I disagree.

She is quoted in a piece in the San Fran Chronicle about the experience of Gwen Knapp with Eun-Hee Ji.

First, the experience:

I watched Eun-Hee Ji intently at the putting green at the Half Moon Bay Golf Links on Friday evening, struck by how young she seemed even at 22, a slight figure, full of shy smiles, with the posture of a teen tentatively stepping onto a dance floor. She saw me among the handful of people standing outside the fence, came over and offered me an autographed ball. She said nothing, simply walking toward me with a sweet smile and her hand outstretched, holding the souvenir.

I tried to explain that I was a reporter, and fumbled with my Samsung World Championship credential, which isn't all that different from the typical spectator's pass. Ji looked confused and a little hurt for a second, then nodded politely and found another taker for the ball. Her caddie, however, chided me for not accepting the gift. I told him that it's considered unethical for a sportswriter on assignment to accept an athlete's autograph, and he kindly relayed the explanation to Ji.

But he was right. I should have taken the ball graciously and then forwarded it to a paying customer. Or done a better job of communicating why I couldn't accept it. The LPGA's language problem, at least in that moment, began and ended with me.

Now, Inkster's quote that somewhat relates:

"It's a culture thing, I think. I was brought up to be myself and that's just the way I am, outgoing. I talk to everybody," she said at a pre-tournament news conference. "The Asian players, they are more brought up - it's a respect thing, a pecking order. They are brought up to really honor their roots and their grandparents, and the people before them and the higher ups. So all of a sudden you put an 18- or 19-year-old girl who's maybe not really comfortable with her English, playing with four CEO's, men or women, she's not going to feel comfortable going up there and making small talk."

Inkster said she'd pair the young Korean stars with older players who know how to keep a pro-am lively. "If I get four Korean men in this pro-am, even though I don't speak their language, I'm going to make it fun for them. We will kid around, do something," she said. "... All of these girls out here, they all have their own personality and they're all great kids if you sit down and get to know them. So we've just got to bring that out in them."

Surely, English has something to do with the barrier and Korean players have said as much.  But, Inkster brings up a pointed difference in culture that I've seen first hand many times on and away from the LPGA Tour.  If you're not outgoing to begin with, will knowing English (even perfectly) help any more?

With common sense like that, can we have a caucus to get Inkster into the Commissioner's suite once she retires?