Tag: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Lydia Ko led the LPGA money list last year and made $4M, but this year she’s at $200K

Ko counts the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas event among her 19 wins.

It’s been a minute for Lydia Ko.

The former world No. 1 shot a 65 on Friday in the first round of the 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, which is, believe it or not, her best round in a most forgettable season.

Ko had seven birdies and just one bogey and posted her best round of the year so far by a shot. Ko has 19 wins and 102 top-10s in her career but her only top 10 this year came back in February. Her average finish in 2023 is 43rd. She’s played 15 events prior to this week at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas, but has missed four cuts. She did make the weekend in three of the five majors but still, this has been the most un-Lydia-Ko-like season.

In 52 rounds in 2023, she’s broken 70 only 15 times, including Friday’s round. Her lowest point this year came a month ago in the third round of the CPKC Women’s Open, where she bottomed out with a 10-over 82.

She’s 84th on the LPGA’s 2023 money list with $209,776. She won the money title a year ago with $4,364,403.

Maybe this is the spark that gets things turned around.

“I played pretty solid. I don’t think I put myself in too many crazy positions where I had to make up and down. Actually hit it in the water on the par-3, 6 or 5, whatever it is, and I had to drop and I chipped it in for par. So that was definitely good momentum because I had gone birdie, bogey, birdie, and if I didn’t chip it in, would’ve been bogey or more,” she said, recounting her round. “So I think that just helped my day going. I set up a lot of good birdie opportunities, especially from 9 onwards, and couple where it was only like a couple feet. So it’s definitely nice to have those kind of stress-free birdies.”

Ko counts the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas event among her 19 wins. She noted that seven years ago seems like a long time.

“I see the picture of me in the clubhouse and it feels like a really long time ago. It was 2016, so like seven years ago. A lot of things have happened since then,” she said. “It’s always good to be back at a place where I have a lot of good memories. Played with the same pro-am group for eight years, so it’s just feel like it’s home away from home. Outside of my golf, just seeing them is also like a treat for me when I come here to Arkansas.”

Ko has one of six first-round 65s, which are all tied for the lead. Also in the group is Christina Kim and Hannah Green.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1373]

She’s ‘running low’ but Stacy Lewis is keeping her streak alive at Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Lewis will play Friday’s first round alongside one of her Solheim Cup captain’s picks.

When Stacy Lewis gives her word, it means something.

Despite dedicating a massive chunk of time over the last two years to her job as captain of the American side in the Solheim Cup, Lewis has boasted in the past that she’s proud that Northwest Arkansas — where she honed her craft in college as a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks golf team — is home to an LPGA event.

So even though she’s dragging quite a bit after her team drew last weekend in Spain — meaning Team Europe got to retain the coveted trophy — Lewis is back at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship this week, keeping alive a streak that dates back to the inaugural event in 2007. It was during that magical week in this plush part of the state that she secured her first LPGA victory, pulling off the feat as an amateur as she edged out Katherine Hull, Teresa Lu and Kristy McPherson.

And while Lewis might be still licking her wounds, at least she’s doing so at a place that’s long felt like a second home. She grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, just outside Houston, and still lives there, but maintaining a strong presence in this corner of Arkansas still means plenty to the two-time major champion.

“That’s part of why I’m here. I want to keep the streak alive and support the event. Yeah, I mean, I’m running low on energy, haven’t played a whole lot of golf, so who knows what this week will be like,” Lewis said. “Just to be back and see all the people that you know, in a familiar place, and try to get my body and brain back into normal routine and what I normally do.

“That’s really what this week is about.”

Since she was leading the American side at the Solheim, Lewis’ preparation for this week’s event has been minimal. She hadn’t played a full round of golf for four weeks before taking part in the pro-am this week, and she admits she might be rusty when the action starts at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas, on Friday.

Lewis is still close with Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Taylor, who was an assistant with the Razorbacks in 2007 when the former captured the NCAA individual title, marking the first time it had been done in school history.

But while she’s eager to relive some distant memories this week, she’s still working through the recent pain of tying the European side after holding a large early lead at the Solheim. Even with the results, Lewis is still pleased with the way she and her team prepared for the event.

2023 Solheim Cup
Captain Stacy Lewis of Team USA holds her daughter on the first tee on Day One of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 22, 2023, in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

“I guess I was proud of myself of how much I trusted the process and what we had in place. It’s very easy to second-guess yourself or you kind of get under the gun and you have to make a decision in the moment,” Lewis said. “I really trusted our process of our stats and the facts and what we held as true. Really stuck to the plan. I guess I was most proud of myself. There are some moments where you’re kind of like do I go a different direction? No. This is what we talked about, what we’ve worked on. This works. You need to stick to it.”

One thing Lewis has been mulling over is the lack of a tiebreaker, something that’s been in the rules since the event began in 1990, even though this year marked the first tie. Originally, Lewis sided with history and tradition, but she’s since changed her mind.

“They asked me about that on Sunday when we finished. At the time I was kind of torn on it, of what should you do. The more I thought about it, it’s just we put so much work into this, so much time and so much energy, to end in a tie it’s like a terrible finish. Just a blah finish,” Lewis said. “I do think there needs to be a playoff. I would do a team format. Like one of the first two days where you got to send your best two players and let them go duke it out.

“I think the event deserves that. It would be a cool way to finish on Sunday other than just a team retaining the Cup.”

Lewis will tee it up in the first round Friday alongside one of her Solheim Cup captain’s picks, Cheyenne Knight, as well as a member of the victorious European squad, Georgia Hall.

[lawrence-related id=778397950,778397108,778397125,778396899]

After a month off, Ryann O’Toole contending again, this time at Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

After opening with a 7-under 64, Ryann O’Toole sits tied atop a crowded leaderboard.

Ryann O’Toole had a solo ninth-place finish in Portland a week ago. It was just her third top 10 this LPGA season. It was also the first tournament she played in a month.

A week later, after opening with a 7-under 64, O’Toole sits tied atop a crowded leaderboard at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

It sounds like the four weeks away from competition made for a nice reset.

“It just depends on where you are in life. Sometimes you’re just at a point where, ‘Hey, I got some personal stuff going on. I need to take some me time. Need to sort the brain out,'” she said.

“It’s hard to come out here and perform, especially if your mind is elsewhere. I was curious how that was going to be. I don’t like to usually take that many tournaments off, but sometimes it’s good. I guess it is showing itself now that it’s important.”

O’Toole is among six golfers tied for the lead after shooting 7-under rounds of 64, including Megan Khang, Yuka Saso, Lauren Coughlin from the early wave and later, Jeongeun Lee5 and Sei Young Kim, at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. O’Toole was the only one of the six to par the par-5 18th hole; Coughlin was the only one to eagle it. The others all birdied it.

O’Toole did have six straight birdies on her front nine starting at No. 2 and had eight in all with just one bogey. Yet, after he round, she talked like she could’ve had more circles on her card.

“I definitely felt like I left a lot out there still,” she said after 18 holes of a 54-hole tournament. “Eight birdies, but I still felt like there was a ton left out there, especially on the back side.”

O’Toole, who hit all 18 greens, was among those in the early wave and she had a few ideas on how to fill the time Friday afternoon.

“Just going to do a cool-down practice, couple putts, hit some balls, and probably go check out Bentonville, get a tea somewhere, walk around. There is a lot to do here. Rogers, Arkansas is pretty fun. I do like coming here,” she said.

ESPN+ streaming coverage

Friday’s first round of TV coverage was tape-delayed on Golf Channel but the network will carry the second and final rounds.

In addition, for a second straight week, ESPN+ will have a “featured groups” coverage during both the morning and afternoon waves on all three tournament days.

[parone_video_player hide-all=”true” autoplay=”true” feed=”20-lpga-video” campaign=”68BE61e80D8e3cedfd9A” content-key=”68BE61e80D8e3cedfd9A”/]

ESPN+ will stream featured groups at two LPGA events this month, highlighting full rounds of Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson and Danielle Kang

This marks the first time featured groups at LPGA events are streamed live on any platform.

More LPGA coverage is on its way. ESPN+ will now stream featured groups at this week’s Kroger Queen City Championship and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Both events are presented by P&G.

At the new Kroger Queen City in Cincinnati, 18 of the world’s top 30 players will be featured. This marks the first time featured groups at LPGA events are streamed live on any platform. The ESPN+ feed will deliver the complete rounds of two featured groups in both the morning and afternoon waves of each tournament day.

Thursday’s groups include: (8:36 a.m. ET) Brooke Henderson, Paula Creamer and Minjee Lee; (8:47 a.m.) Leona Maguire, Stacy Lewis, Sei Young Kim; (1:14 p.m.) Ally Ewing, Hannah Green, Andrea Lee; and (1:25) Paula Reto, Sarah Schmelzel, Angela Stanford.

Friday’s featured groups include a whole new slate of players including: (8:36 a.m.) Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Atthaya Thitikul; (8:47 a.m.) Danielle Kang, Jennifer Kupcho, Ashleigh Buhai; (1:14 p.m.) Marina Alex, Alison Lee, Gaby Lopez; (1:25 p.m.) Anna Nordqvist, Mina Harigae, Megan Khang.

ESPN first began televising LPGA golf on Sept. 8, 1979, the network’s second day on air. ESPN regularly aired LPGA events from 1979-2009 but hadn’t covered an event since the 2018 CME Group Tour Championship.

“Partnering with ESPN+ to stream featured groups at these two events is a very important step for the LPGA,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan in a release. “Our goal is always to deliver more content and more engagement opportunities for our current fans and to expose new fans to the skill and personalities of our amazing athletes. ESPN+ is the perfect platform for us to accomplish these goals and for fans to see more great golf.”

Jane Crafter working for Golf Channel during the final round of the LPGA Sybase Classic at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

At the Cincinnati event, Will Haskett will host featured groups coverage alongside analyst and former LPGA player Jane Crafter. Amy Rogers and Hailey Hunter will provide reports and conduct live player interviews.

At the Arkansas stop, Ryan Burr will host the coverage and former LPGA player Gail Graham will fill the analyst role. Rogers and Chantel McCabe will provide reports and interviews.

Full coverage of week’s event will air on Golf Channel Sept. 8-9 from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Pair of aces in Arkansas lifts Nasa Hataoka to fifth career LPGA title

Nasa Hataoka became just the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to make two aces in one tournament.

After a pair of aces in two days, Nasa Hataoka couldn’t have made it look easier to start the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

It didn’t end that way though, as a shaky three-putt par on the last gave Hataoka the one-stroke cushion needed to collect her fifth career title. The powerfully petite Japanese player finished at 16-under 197 for the week at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.

“It was really, really stressful, especially after the bogey,” said Hataoka of the dropped shot on the 13th that could’ve been much worse had her racing putt not hit the hole and popped up.

Minjee Lee put a solid stroke on a final birdie attempt that slid by the hole to finish tied with Eun-Hee Ji at 15 under. Ji got up and down from a greenside bunker behind the green using only her putter.

Danielle Kang and Yuka Saso both shot 65 to finish in a share of fourth. Saso carded two eagles on Sunday including a sensational approach shot into the 18th with a 5-wood that stopped 4 feet from the hole. After a month off from the tour, she was pleased with the week.

Kang, who debuted as a pro at Pinnacle, said she’s focused on finishing the season strong.

“I’m actually very proud of the work that I’ve done this week,” she said. “I left a lot out there, but I was mentally in a really great place.”

Arkansas stars Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi played together on Sunday. Lewis’s 66 moved her into a share of sixth at 12 under. Fassi, who launched her foundation this week, struggled to a 73 in the final round and dropped to T-51.

“I played really solid,” said Lewis. “Just never really got the putter going any day. I mean, today I made five birdies and three of them were within about a foot and a half and one was a chip-in.”

India’s Aditi Ashok, who came within one shot of a medal at the Olympics, took a share of eighth.

“I feel like I did good,” Ashok said of the boost she received from Tokyo, “and that was a huge takeaway. I feel like I can actually play well out here, and not just struggle to make putts. I can finish well, like I did in my rookie year. I had a top 10; the second year I had a couple top 10s. After that it’s been a bit of a dry spell.”

Hataoka has now passed Hiromi Kobayashi for third-most victories by a Japanese player, trailing Ayako Okamoto (17) and Ai Miyazato (9).

LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Nasa Hataoka poses after making a hole-in-one on the 11th hole during the first round of the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. Photo by Kyodo via AP Images

Hataoka’s ace on Friday came on No. 11 when she struck a 9-iron from 135 yards. Saturday’s hole-in-one came on the sixth hole from 175 yards with a 5-iron.

She became just the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to make two aces in one tournament – the first since Ayako Uehara at the 2016 CP Women’s Open – and is the fourth to do it in back-to-back rounds. Hataoka is also the fourth player to have at least two aces in two different seasons, joining Betsy King (2, 1979 and 2, 1990), Meg Mallon (2, 1999 and 2, 2001) and Charlotta Sorenstam (2, 2001 and 3, 2002).

For the aces, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I’m also happy that I got the hole-in-ones,” said Hataoka, “but on the other hand, I’m really, really happy to be able to help the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. That’s what makes my really happy.”

[listicle id=778058320]

Nasa Hataoka makes history with her second ace of the week at LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Two aces in two days, that’s pretty good.

Nasa Hataoka made history today at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship when she became the fifth player to make two aces in an LPGA event, and first since 2016.

Her hole-in-one today came at the par-3 sixth at Pinnacle Country Club in Rodgers, Arkansas, measuring 180 yards. Aside from her ace, she made 5 birdies with one bogey for a 6-under 64. She enters the third round at 12-under, and in a share of the lead.

Joining her at 12-under is Minjee Lee who fired a bogey-free 63, making six birdies on the front-side of Pinnacle CC. Through two rounds, Lee has yet to make a bogey.

Jeongeun Lee6 tied Hataoka for the lowest round of the day, 63. The 2019 U.S. Women’s Open champion, through 36 holes, has made just one bogey. She enters the final round just two back of the two leaders.

Notable names in the mix include U.S. Solheim Cup star Jennifer Kupcho (T-6), Yuka Saso (T-9), Danielle Kang (T-9), Jin Young Ko (T-9), and Maria Fassi (T-18).

[lawrence-related id=778163054,778161793,778156308]

Trying to keep her card, American Sarah Burnham posts career-best round at LPGA NW Arkansas Championship

Burnham sits a single stroke behind leaders A Lim Kim, Katherine Kirk and Eun-Hee Ji.

Sarah Burnham knows the clock is ticking. The former Michigan State star sits 132nd in the Race to the CME Globe points standings and needs to climb quickly to avoid dusting off her Q-school syllabus at season’s end.

If Friday’s opening round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship is any indication, though, Burnham isn’t going down without a fight.

The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year put together the best round of her LPGA career just when she needed it most, finishing with a 64 at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. With two rounds to play, she sits a single stroke behind A Lim Kim, Katherine Kirk and Eun-Hee Ji.

Knowing there are just a handful of tournaments remaining on the LPGA 2021 schedule, and with missed cuts in her last three events, Burnham’s parents made the trip to see their daughter — the first time they’d done so since seeing her post a previous best 66 at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club.

“I kind of want to make sure their time is worthwhile out here. Because they don’t come a lot, but when they do I want them to enjoy themselves and I don’t want to play bad necessarily,” Burnham told LPGA.com. “But you can’t always control that. Maybe they are my lucky charm.”

There’s plenty of work to be done, however.

Kim got hot down the stretch on Friday, going even through the first six holes, but then posting five straight birdies. She also closed with an eagle.

Meanwhile, Kirk did it with a hot front, posting four birdies on the opening seven holes.

Others who opened with impressive rounds include Nasa Hataoka (65), Pajaree Anannarukarn (66), Ariya Jutanugarn (66). Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Stacy Lewis each opened with rounds of 67, as did local favorite Brooke Matthews, an amateur from Arkansas.

For Burnham, though, she can’t worry about the field and instead needs to focus on her own game.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” said Burnham. “It does weigh on me a little bit, but whether I have to go back to Q-School or not, just see how these next four weeks go.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Austin Ernst ends LPGA victory drought by holding off Anna Nordqvist in Arkansas

Austin Ernst has not won on the LPGA since 2014, but she broke that streak Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Austin Ernst has not won on the LPGA since 2014. But in breaking that streak Sunday evening at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Ernst had to derail the ending of another such streak.

Ernst fired a closing 8-under 63 at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. With a two-putt birdie on the par-5 closing hole, she effectively closed out Anna Nordqvist, who had taken the lead with a second-round 62 and was looking for her first LPGA win since 2017.

“It was long,” Ernst told Golf Channel of the break between her first LPGA victory and this, her second. “A lot longer than I thought it’d be.”

To be exact, it was 143 starts long.

Scores: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Ernst was one of many players who tried to take something positive out of the break in competition forced by a global pandemic. She worked hard on the putting green, even changing from a blade-style putter to a mallet.

“I just grinded on my putter and my wedges and driving the ball,” she said. “I think what’s held me back in the past was I didn’t hit quite as many fairways and I didn’t make as many putts.”

Ernst’s sole victory was at the 2014 Portland Classic, but another highlight of the 28-year-old’s career was her appearance in the 2017 Solheim Cup, where she compiled a 2-2-0 record. Interestingly, she played alongside Angela Stanford, an assistant captain for the 2021 Solheim Cup, in the final round at Arkansas.

The significance of that didn’t even cross Ernst’s mind, she said afterward. Still, she put on an impressive showing.

After starting the day in third, Ernst threw out 10 birdies on Sunday to combat two bogeys. Her final-round 63 followed up previous rounds of 65 and got her to 20 under, one better than Nordqvist.

For her part, Nordqvist hadn’t made a bogey all week until she reached the back nine on Sunday. She lost ground with bogeys at Nos. 12 and 14, but birdied No. 16 to have a chance coming up the final par 5. She needed a birdie there, but when she settled for par and a final-round 69, she found herself one shot short.

Stanford and Nelly Korda finished at 16 under, close behind on what became an exciting Sunday. Jenny Shin and Sei Young Kim tied for fifth another shot back.

There was another race going on in the final round at Arkansas, too. Two spots in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open were on the line for players inside the top 10 who weren’t already in the field.

Shin claimed one of those, and the other went to Katherine Kirk, who secured a T-7 finish with a gutsy two-putt par on the 18th green. Kirk, of Australia, will play her 16th Women’s Open. It will be the 11th appearance for Shin, who finished T-10 in 2014.

[lawrence-related id=778063581,778063338,778063868,778063692]

Anna Nordqvist builds three-shot cushion at Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

No one could quite match Anna Nordqvist in the second round of the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship on Saturday.

No one could quite match Anna Nordqvist in the second round of the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship on Saturday. Nordqvist hasn’t made a bogey yet at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. An opening 64 followed by a stunning 9-under 62 on Saturday left her out of reach.

In fact, no one could get closer than three shots. That’s the margin Nordqvist will take into the final round of the Arkansas LPGA event.

Nordqvist kept giving herself opportunities and she kept capitalizing on them.

“I would say like it’s just nice to see hard work pay off, and also see a lot of, you know – I feel like I’ve been off for a little bit last couple years, but it’s just nice to have some sort of consistency back,” she said. “Yeah, not every week it’s not going to pay off, but I been trying to keep my head up and just keep going, keep working at it. Certainly when it does pay off, it’s a great feeling.”

The last of Nordqvist’s eight career LPGA victories came in 2017. She won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and the Evian Championship, an LPGA major, that year.

It has been a bumpy road back to this level of confidence in her game, but Arkansas is a place that feels familiar.

“There is something about Arkansas,” she said. “Always liked this place. Probably one of the few places in the U.S. I could really see myself being because I like the atmosphere here.”

The closest player on Nordqvist’s heels on Saturday evening was Sei Young Kim, who won the CME Group Tour Championship in November. Kim had a second-round 64 to reach 13 under.

Nelly Korda, Jenny Shin and Austin Ernst were all tied for third at 12 under.

[lawrence-related id=778063581,778063338]

New mom Jackie Stoelting among leaders at Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Jackie Stoelting is among three players tied for the lead after the first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers, Arkansas.

Jackie Stoelting last teed it up on the LPGA in June 2019 at the Meijer LPGA Classic. That was before she became a mother. Stoelting and her husband Travis welcomed son Baren into the world last September.

Now, Stoelting is going after her first LPGA title as a mom. She’s among three players tied for the lead after the first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. She, Esther Lee and Anna Nordqvist all fired rounds of 7-under 64 to open the event on Friday.

Stoelting went bogey-free, and closed out her day with a back-nine 30.

“It’s been 14 months I think since my last round out here, so didn’t really have many expectations, but also have an extremely different perspective on life now that I’m a mom,” Stoelting said. “So I just was out here really trying to have fun and take it one shot at a time.”

Normally, without a distraction like her daughter, Stoelting might return to her room and scroll scores all night. Now she has a much better way to spend her time.

But for COVID, and the additional challenges of traveling with a baby in the middle of a pandemic, Stoelting might have returned sooner. In the build-up to her return to competition, Stoelting’s own mom would often come over to babysit while she hit the golf course.

“I actually played in the Florida Open three weeks ago as a test event just to see if even I was OK mentally, physically being away from my son while I played,” Stoelting said. “I finished third there, so I was like, all right. Literally the next day I signed up for Arkansas.”

As for Nordqvist, who is coming off a T-32 at the AIG Women’s British Open, didn’t have a single bogey on her card either. Lee’s only misstep came at the par-4 10th hole.

It’s a packed leaderboard in Rogers, with six players right on the leading trio’s heels at 6 under. That group includes Stephanie Meadow, who was among the last players to come off the course. She brought in a round of 6-under 65 that included an eagle on the par-5 18th.

Along with Meadow, Austin Ernst, Mina Harigae, Katherine Kirk and Maria Fernanda Torres are also at 6 under.

Stacy Lewis, who earned her first victory as a mom earlier this month at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, was part of a group tied for 10th at 5 under.

[lawrence-related id=778063581,778063338,778062371]