Lady Golfers Gear Up For Return To Rogers

BENTONVILLE — The rowdy 17th green is about to get noisier this summer at the LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

“We want it to be the loudest hole in golf,” said Jay Allen, tournament chairman, during a news conference Tuesday.

The Rogers tournament offers spectators the rare chance to cheer birdies and boo bad shots at the 17th green. The viewing area will be expanded this year, Allen said. The kid zone also will be larger with more children’s games. Organizers are working to make the experience of spectators on the course better.

At A Glance

Golf Tournament

The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G is an official LPGA Tour event featuring 144 of the top female golfers in the world.

The event will be held from June 17-23 at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.

Winners are awarded part of the $2 million purse with $300,000 for the champion.

Past champions include:

• Ai Miyazato in 2012

• Yani Tseng in 2011 and 2010

• Jiyai Shin in 2009

• Seon Hwa Lee in 2008.

• In 2007, the tournament’s first year, Razorback Stacy Lewis took the unofficial win. She won the first round, but the second was rained out. Lewis has committed to play in this year’s tournament.

Admission is free June 17-20.

Daily tickets are $15 for June 21-23.

Weekly ground passes are $30.

Source: Staff Report

“I want everyone to come, not just people who like golf,” Allen said.

The tournament, now in its seventh year, will be held June 17-23 at Pinnacle Country Club.

The event is about more than just the tournament, said Gisel Ruiz, Walmart’s U.S. chief operations officer. Area charities are supported through the event, and the community has a chance to interact with golf pros.

“You come to the tournament, and you’re three, four feet away from the players in this amazing game,” Ruiz said.

Admission rates have been lowered by 40 percent this year, Ruiz said, making attending the tournament the price of a movie and dinner.

Anecdotal evidence suggests a boost to the local economy, Allen said, but quality of life is the true purpose of the event.

Two years ago, at 13, Hanna Brauburger played with Pat Hurst and Katherine Hull-Kirk through the tournament. Hurst was sociable, and Hull-Kirk gave her a lesson, Brauburger said. Both women greeted her last year at the tournament. Now 16, Brauburger, is still eager to follow their progress.

“I always go back and watch them,” Brauburger said.

Katie McCloskey, 15, volunteered as a walking score bearer last year. She discovered golfers who share her passion for art or who started getting serious about their game at her age.

Her mother, Tiffany McCloskey, said she doesn't play golf but volunteered at the tournament the past two years. You can feel the energy, McCloskey said.

Sometimes you can hear it.

Defending champion Ai Miyazato first heard Arkansans call the hogs on hole 17 while playing against former Razorback Stacy Lewis.

“I don’t know what they were saying, but it was a great moment for Stacy,” Miyazato said.

Lewis, ranked No. 1 in the world, plans to play the June tournament.

Miyazato, speaking by video from the North Texas LPGA Shootout, said she looks forward to playing at Pinnacle Country Club this year.

“I just love the golf course’s design,” Miyazato said.

A little wind can change the dynamic of the course and requires players to manage their game well, she said.

“Every year it feels like I’m playing a different golf course,” Miyazato said.

While she didn’t remember last year’s heat, she did remember the competition. The three-day tournament makes players aggressive on the golf course, she said.

“I always wanted to be champion of this tournament,” Miyazato said.

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