Pinnacle a major preview

ROGERS — Several LPGA Tour players headed to next week’s U.S. Women’s Open in Kohler, Wis., are finding the NW Arkansas Championship to be an ideal tuneup.

The top 10 players on the tour’s money list are competing this weekend at Pinnacle Country Club, and the 6,356-yard, par-71 course should give everyone a pretty good idea of what to expect going into the LPGA’s third major tournament of the season.

This year’s event marks the first time the NW Arkansas Championship has been held the week before a major.

“This is probably the best field I’ve ever seen the week before a major,” said Se Ri Pak, who is sixth on the LPGA’s career money list. “All the top players are here. It’s the week before the U.S. Open, so you’ll probably see a lot of great action. The golf course is in really great shape, so everybody is excited to be here.”

Paula Creamer has played the Rogers event three times and has seen her score improve each year, finishing in a tie for eighth last year at 205.

She said the Pinnacle Country Club course fits her style of play well and serves as good preparation for what golfers expect to see in U.S. Women’s Opens, which generally put a premium on good iron play and hitting the ball to the right spots on the greens.

“That’s what this course is about,” said Creamer, who was ninth on the LPGA money list last year and is 33rd this season. “I’m not the longest player out there, and I don’t even use a driver that much.

“It’s not really a contest about length, necessarily. It’s more about control and hitting shots.”

Jodi Ewart is playing this week for the first time at Pinnacle Country Club, and she believes the experience will benefit her as she heads into the Open.

“It’s good to come the week before to see where you need to improve for the week afterward, where you need to spend your time at the U.S. Open practicing,” said Ewart, who is 40th on the money list with $138,999 this season. “It’s definitely a good tournament and a great course to prepare for the U.S. Open. You’ve got to put yourself in the right place in the fairway and in the right place on the greens.”

It also doesn’t hurt that the Northwest Arkansas Championship is a 54-hole event instead of 72 holes. Most LPGA events are four-day events, but the three-round format at Pinnacle allows golfers to have a little bit more time to relax heading into a major tournament.

“It’s only a three-day tournament, so I just figured I’d take it easy before the event since I’ve already played the course,” Lexi Thompson said. “I can just go out and relax and not grind too much.”