ROGERS — His journey from London to Northwest Arkansas could never have been scripted, said Harry Hardy, director of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, which will be played this week at Pinnacle Country Club.

“I knew I always wanted to work in golf,” Hardy said.

Hardy moved to Northwest Arkansas at the beginning of the year to take over as tournament director. During 2011 and 2012 he was tournament director for the Sybase Match Play Championship, an LPGA event in Gladstone, N.J., but he always enjoyed the Rogers event.

“I’m new to town, but I have been coming here the last four years,” Hardy said, noting he has been part of the support team at four other Rogers tournaments.

“I was always envious of the team that got to work on this,” he said.

The Rogers tournament has strong community support, a large crowd and has a home favorite in Stacy Lewis, all of which lend it atmosphere, Hardy said.

The tournament exists as a quality of life event for Northwest Arkansas, said Jay Allen, tournament chairman. Sponsors, business and entertainment mix on the golf course, but the event also plays to families.

“It’s a full week of opportunity for people to celebrate living here,” Allen said.

Hardy’s challenge will be to create a bigger and better event each year while blending it with the Northwest Arkansas vision of the tournament, Allen said.

“He comes in here with the experience. It’s more applying that experience to this community,” Allen said.

The schedule, local hospitality and the $2 million purse make the tournament popular with players, Hardy said. This year’s tournament is the week before the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open at Sebonack Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y., virtually guaranteeing a strong showing.

“The quality of player here is really as good as it gets,” he said.

The great secret of the LPGA is how accessible players truly are, Hardy said. Players recognize fans, wave or say hello and make stops at autograph alley, just after the 18th hole. He remembers seeing a group of girls follow Morgan Pressel around the course last year. That experience resonated with him.

Hardy grew up going to golfing events with his father, Martin Hardy, who wrote about the sport for the London-based Daily Express. As a boy, Hardy said he loved to watch Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros play. During a family breakfast at a golf tournament when he was about 10, Hardy spotted Ballesteros at a nearby table.

“I was giddy with excitement,” Hardy said.

His father told him not to bother the golfer, but Ballesteros called him over, patted him on the head and complimented his mother. That moment cemented Ballesteros’ status as Hardy’s boyhood idol. Ballesteros’ reputation and style hooked him on golf, Hardy said.

His own game will not earn him any followers, Hardy said, but he has played his share of golf. He joined Octagon in 2008 and was a player agent before he began working tournaments. Octagon is the sports marketing arm of Interpublic Group, an advertising and marketing communications groups, which coordinates the NW Arkansas Championship.

In 2010, he worked behind-the-scenes at the British Open, the year it was played in Scotland on the Old Course at St. Andrews.

“I’m definitely a self-professed golf geek, so for me it was like a dream come true,” Hardy said.

The most memorable tournament he has attended was the 2008 Masters, in Augusta, Ga. The moment he arrived he said he was mesmerized by the perfectly manicured greens, the design of the course and the history of Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters is his inspiration for the perfect golf event, Hardy said.

“I remember walking in and I probably didn’t speak for two hours I was so in awe of this place,” Hardy said.

Once the Arkansas tournament is over, it will be back to the drawing board to create a better tournament the next year. This year, there is more shade, more activities for children and there will be some very good golf play, he said.

“Come out, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.