She turned professional and enjoyed success in her rookie year of
1983 with a victory at the
Safeco Classic. She won two
major championships in
1984, her first full LPGA season, and was LPGA Rookie of the Year. She has won 31 tournaments on the
LPGA Tour, including seven majors and the
career Grand Slam for ladies' golf. she is fifth on the LPGA career money list. Inkster won a tournament in 16 out of 24 seasons from 1983 to 2006, but has never finished at the top of the money list; her best finishes were second in 1999, and third in both 1986 and 2002. Inkster played on the United States
Solheim Cup team in
1992,
1998,
2000,
2002,
2003,
2005,
2007,
2009, and
2011; she has won a total of 18.5 points, making her the winningest American Solheim Cup player as of 2011. She teamed with
Pat Hurst, represented the United States at the 2007
Women's World Cup of Golf. She was voted Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year in 1999 and was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. She was recognized during the LPGA’s 50th Anniversary in 2000 as one of the LPGA’s top-50 players and teachers. Inkster was a player and assistant captain on the 2011 Solheim Cup team. She was the oldest player and the first playing assistant captain in Solheim Cup history. In late 2011 at age 51, Inkster suffered the first major injury of her career, necessitating surgery in January 2012 to repair nerve and tendon damage in her right elbow. The surgery kept her out of the 2012 season until late June. ==Solheim Cup captaincy==