01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Karrie Webb sits in rarified air as this week's U.S. Women's Open prepares to tee off in Newport.

Last year, Webb became the youngster player ever inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The only other players in this week's field who also reside in the Hall are Juli Inkster and Annika Sorrenstam.

As a former U.S. Open winner, Webb is one of seven players who'll be accorded special privileges at this week's national championship. One is the priceless introduction at the first tee of Webb as "the 2000 and 2001 U.S. Open champion." Another is a special spot in Newport Country Club's third-floor locker room.

Webb qualified for the Hall of Fame on points in 2000 as a mere 25-year-old, but was well short of the qualification of 10 years on the LPGA Tour to become fully eligible for induction. She reached that point in the 10th event of the 2005 season.

"On one hand, it seems like I've waited a long time for this," Webb said upon her induction. "But on the other hand, I look back at my career sometimes and can't believe how fast everything has gone and how much I've been able to accomplish. I feel very fortunate to be able to play the game I love for a living, and now to be an official Hall of Fame member is like a dream come true."

Webb's career has been a whirlwind right to the top of the game. She grew up in Queensland, Australia and played in her first-ever golf tournament as an eight year old. She shot 150-135 and won the Encouragement Award, which kept her at the game. She eventually rose through the amateur ranks, but no one in her country knew just how good she was until she qualified for the British Open as a 20-year-old in 1995.

As a Tour rookie in 1996, Webb won four tournaments and became the second winningest rookie behind Nancy Lopez, who won nine times in her first full season on tour. Webb was the first rookie on either the LPGA or PGA Tour to reach the $1 million mark in single-season earnings. She reached that mark in just 10 months and three days.

She won her first major title in 1999 at the du Maurier Classic. In 2000, she won the Nabisco and her first U.S. Open, then captured two more majors in 2001 with the LPGA Championship and her second Open, an eight-stroke win over Se Ri Pak.

After a 2002 win at the British Open, a bit of a dry spell in the majors set in. That ended this year at the Nabisco when she holed out a pitching wedge from 116 yards for an eagle on the final hole of regulation. The shot forced a playoff with Lorena Ochoa that Webb won on the first hole. Now it's time for another U.S. Open and Webb, as usual, cannot be counted out.

-- KEVIN McNAMARA