Golf: Parks enjoys perks of magazine pictorial

ROGERS -- When ESPN The Magazine hits the newsstands with its latest The Body Issue on July 10, the LPGA Tour will once again be represented in the annual issue which showcases athletic bodies.

Sadena Parks, a 24-year-old Tour rookie, was approached by the LPGA and ESPN The Magazine representatives about appearing in this year's Body Issue edition. Parks, who said she was always a fan of the issue in the past, was immediately open to the idea.

"To be honest, I always wanted to be in the issue and it seemed like a really cool issue to be in," Parks said Wednesday after finishing her pro-am round at Pinnacle Country Club. "I had to make sure that my father was OK with it, and make sure a few people that are important to me were OK with it. And they said it's a good opportunity for me and they weren't going to stop me from a great opportunity."

The Body Issue features athletes posing in their respective sports in tastefully nude body shots. Parks said she felt comfortable with the pictures and the shooting thanks to a great team from ESPN The Magazine.

"When I did it, I remember thinking to myself 'I can't believe I'm here doing this and I can't believe I'm exposed,'" Parks said. "But the team made me feel really comfortable. I got to know them and they made me feel relaxed through the whole shoot."

Parks isn't the first LPGA golfer to appear in the Body Issue. Past LPGA players who have graced the pages include Christina Kim, Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien, Suzann Petterson, Belen Mozo and Carly Booth.

"All the girls are pretty excited to hear that I'm in it," Parks said. "They've given me a nickname and they call me Body Issue now. That's quite funny, but I think everybody is quite interested to see how it turned out."

Lewis hoping to snap streak, defend title

Stacy Lewis won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship for the first time last year in emotional fashion in front of a large, supportive gallery.

Lewis was the top-ranked player in the world when she left Pinnacle Country Club a year ago. And while she's recorded eight top-10 finishes this year and was a runner-up at the ANA Inspiration, the year's first major, she hasn't won since last year's tournament while sliding to No. 3 in the rankings.

Her stretch without a win is her longest since 2012, between the first and second of her 10 LPGA victories. She followed up a missed cut in early June with a tie for 13th at the Women's PGA Championship two weeks ago.

"My game hasn't exactly been where I wanted it this year," Lewis said. "But early in the year, maybe it wasn't perfect, but I was still playing well, having good finishes. The last month or so, it kind of caught up with me, so my coach and I just went back to the drawing board about two weeks ago and said, 'What do we do well? Let's get back to that.' And made some good strides at Westchester (for the PGA). Felt like I played a little bit better there. And made some good work last week into this week. I really like the direction I'm going."

There's reason to expect Lewis will have a strong showing this week in defense of her title. In addition to last year's win, she has recorded three top-10 finishes and has finished 21st or better every year since 2008.

"Everybody's been giving me a hard time because there's even more pictures of me everywhere because I'm here defending," Lewis said. "It's different, but in a good way. I feel a little bit more relaxed this year just having gotten the win. I put a lot of pressure on myself the last few years to get the win. ... It's probably one of the coolest wins of my career."

Walmart donates to local Boys & Girls Clubs

The Walmart Foundation announced two grants totaling more than $360,000 to Fayetteville and Bentonville Boys & Girls Clubs at the opening of the tournament's Kids Center near the 17th and 18th holes Wednesday.

The Walmart Foundation made a $221,687 grant to the Benton County Boys & Girls Club to support its "Health Starts Here" program. It made a $138,880 donation to the Fayetteville club, which will allow area families and children in need the ability to participate in club programs.

In addition, the tournament and Unilever donated $15,000 to the two clubs.

The Kids Center is a free, air-conditioned facility where parents can bring their children for games and activities. The locale also provides a view of several holes.

Sports on 06/25/2015

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