ROGERS — Stacy Lewis won’t be sneaking up on anyone this weekend in the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club.
Lewis, 27, will go into Friday’s first round as the top American in women’s golf, sitting at No. 2 behind Taiwan’s Yani Tseng on the LPGA’s season money list and in the Rolex women’s world golf rankings.
Not that you could tell it from listening to Lewis. On Wednesday, she said she doesn’t think it has hit home with her that she is the No. 2 player in the world.
“I don’t feel I’m doing a lot different,” she said. “I’m just working hard, and the hard work is paying off and I’m just trying to enjoy the ride now.”
Tseng is the two-time defending champion at Pinnacle, but there is no doubt Lewis, a former Arkansas Razorbacks golfer, will be the overwhelming fan favorite as she seeks her first official NW Arkansas Championship title.
Lewis was the unofficial winner in the tournament’s inaugural year, when she turned in a first-round 65 to lead the field before rain canceled the final two rounds of the tournament in 2007. Since then she has tied for 49th (213) in 2008, tied for 21st (211) in 2009, tied for ninth (207) in 2010 and tied for eighth (205) last year.
“It’s a major for me,” Lewis said. “It’s a tournament that I want to win, and I just have to have that hometown support.”
Lewis, who is from The Woodlands, Texas, hasn’t needed much help from anyone this season. She has nine top-10 finishes in her 11 events, including two victories in the past two months. Besides winning the Mobile (Ala.) Bay LPGA Classic on April 29 and the Shoprite LPGA Classic onJune 3 in Galloway, N.J., Lewis has finished among the top five in each of her past five tournaments.
Lewis said the key to her recent success has been just learning how to play when she is in contention. She said sometimes when golfers are in contention, they play to protect where they are instead of staying aggressive.
“Now I feel like I can go out there and make birdie on any hole and keep moving myself up the leaderboard, and it’s almost a fear factor of not being afraid to fail and to hit a bad shot,” she said. “It’s just really changed my approach to how I play different holes.”
After shooting a 1-overpar 72 in the first round of the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic last Thursday in Waterloo, Ontario, Lewis recovered to finish tied for fifth at 15-under 269.
“I had a bad first round, but I still found a way to get it done and still was in contention over the weekend,” Lewis said. “Every time it’s different. I feel like I’ve learned something every week, so it’s a general progression of learning. The main thing is the confidence is just high right now.”
Lewis has never really beenshort on confidence. She wore a back brace for more than seven years to improve the flawed curvature in her spine caused by scoliosis until undergoing corrective surgery following her senior year of high school. After winning an SEC title for the Razorbacks as a freshman in 2005, she won an NCAA championship twoyears later.
Lewis became a full-time member of the LPGA Tour in 2009 and finished fourth on the money list last year with $1,356,211 in earnings. She won her first LPGA tournament last April at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
She comes into this tournament as the hottest golfer on tour, and she could take over the top spot on the money list with a victory this weekend. Sunday’s champion will receive $300,000, and Lewis ($906,299) trails Tseng ($1,005,527) by less than $100,000.
“It’s awesome,” Lewis said. “I mean, it’s what you practice for, it’s what you’re out there hitting balls for is to give yourself a chance to win and just to be able to relax out there and have fun with the fans and enjoy the crowds and the people cheering for you.
“It’s been so much fun these last couple weeks.”
Shauna Estes-Taylor, Arkansas’ women’s golf coach, said Lewis has put in the work to be the No. 1 player in the world.
“Watching her develop and grow as a young lady, I’m just super proud of how far she’s come and where she’s going,” Estes said.
Lewis may have come a long way, but the strong ties she maintains with the Razorbacks help keep her grounded.
“She plays with a Razorbacks cover on her driver,”said Razorbacks junior Emily Tubert, who will play in this weekend’s tournament on a sponsor’s exemption. “She came out and watched us at nationals the week before she won a tournament.
“For her to still be involved and have so much invested in the program even though she’s four years removed is a huge testament to her and who she is.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 06/28/2012