Stacy Lewis experienced a storybook finish at last year’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G.
The former University of Arkansas star had locals yelling “Pig Sooie” when she claimed her 11th career LPGA victory in Rogers, Ark., a win that helped propel her to the Rolex Player of the Year Award. Lewis would love to return to form this week and claim her first tournament title of 2015 while successfully defending her crown at Pinnacle Country Club.
Lewis, who is coming off a tie for 13th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, has had a good, but not great, season by her standards. A win this week would go a long way to returning the former world No. 1 to the high echelon of which she is accustomed.
She will have her hands full with new world No. 1 Inbee Park, who recently completed a rare major trifecta by winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the third consecutive year. Park, the LPGA’s only three-time winner this season, won in Arkansas in 2013, so she should be among the leaders at the $2 million event all week.
Lydia Ko is coming off the first missed cut of her professional career and will be looking to wrangle the world’s top ranking back from Park, so she should have plenty of motivation once play begins on Thursday. Rookie Sei Young Kim, who finished five shots behind Park last time out, will likely be around the top of the leaderboard at the four-day event.
Former world No. 1 Yani Tseng has two wins in Arkansas (2010-11) and clearly enjoys the par-71, 6,386-yard course, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for her to contend for a third career title this weekend. In addition, 2011 champion Ai Miyazato, recent winners Suzann Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist and a host of 2015 tournament champions are teeing it up in the Razorback State.
This week’s event falls between a pair of weeks off for the world’s top women’s golfers, and they no doubt will be chomping at the bit to get some quality competition in as they prepare for the second half of the season. The year’s third major, the U.S. Women’s Open, follows July 9-12, and the Tour’s Arkansas event should serve as a great tune-up for the $4 million major.
With great crowds, a welcoming host club and staff and top-notch golf course, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G can stand on its own as a beloved LPGA stop, and Golf Channel’s coverage should give fans at home a glimpse into the atmosphere at the Southern gem.
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