LPGA MEDIA DAY

Officials seeking excitement on 17

Stacy Lewis tied for fourth at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers over the weekend.
Stacy Lewis tied for fourth at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers over the weekend.

ROGERS - Hog calls will be encouraged at this year’s LPGA Wal-Mart Northwest Arkansas Championship and not just when former Arkansas Razorbacks golfer Stacy Lewis is on the course.

A little more yelling and screaming from the gallery at Pinnacle Country Club’s par-3, 17th hole won’t be totally discouraged either.

Tournament officials announced Monday they want that hole to become the loudest in golf when the LPGA event returns for its seventh year on June 21-23. Fans will have a difficult time matching the rowdiness of those who pack Skybox Village around the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, but the atmosphere is one officials hope can draw added attention to their tournament.

“They [Phoenix Open officials] built this very fun facility with thousands of people around that hole,” Northwest Arkansas Championship Chairman Jay Allen said. “We saw that and wanted to do something like that to see if it took off. We’ve been building it out for several years, adding more viewing stations and viewing opportunities. There will be a party deck there and just all kinds of options. Wewant that to be very loud.”

To get some loud cheers and possible jeers at the 17th, Pinnacle and the LPGA have agreed to move the tee box from its usual 188 yards in length down to the front tees at 144 yards to create better chances for birdies and hole-in-ones.

“Our hope is that there are more birdies, more cheers and really just create the fun atmosphere we’ve had on that hole year after year but now with more birdies to go with it,” tournament director Harry Hardy said. “That’s our challenge this year to our fans: Make that the loudest hole in golf.”

Typically, fans who have attended the Northwest Arkansas Championship greet Lewis, the 2007 unofficial champion of the rain-shortened event, with a Hog call before she concludes her round. Defending champion Ai Miyazato said she won’t be surprised to hear some louder Hog calls on the course in June.

“It’s one of my favorite tournaments,” Miyazato said in a conference call last week before missing the cut at the North Texas Shootout. “The17th hole is my favorite hole. I think a couple of years ago I played with Stacy and heard the Hog call. I didn’t know what they were saying, but I knew it was a great moment for Stacy.”

Lewis, the former No. 1 player in the world who is currently at No. 2, was the 2012 LPGA Player of the Year. She finished tied for 19th in last year’s Northwest Arkansas Championship.

Like 2012, this year’s tournament will be played the week before the U.S. Women’s Open which is set for June 27-30 at the Sebonack Golf Club in Southhampton, N.Y. Allen said the Rogers tournament’s date, hospitality and purse make it an appealing stop on the LPGA Tour.

“The first year, our prize money was $1.25 million. Our purse now is $2 million,” Allen said.

“If you have one of the top purses on tour, you will attract the top players. We also have a reputation on tour as being one of the most hospitable events in terms of how we take care of players. For the last couple of years, our event has led right into the U.S. Women’s Open. That just means all the international players will come over and play in our event and move on to New York and play in the Women’s Open.”

The winner’s share of the Northwest Arkansas Championship is $300,000.

Daily tickets for the tournament are $15, while weekly ground passes can be purchase for $30.

Children 17 and under will be admitted free with a ticketed adult.

All three rounds of the tournament are scheduled to be televised by the Golf Channel.

Sports, Pages 17 on 04/30/2013

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