ROGERS -- Stacy Lewis travels all over the world for golf, but that's not what prompted several trips to Mystic, Conn.
The University of Arkansas grad and her fiance, Houston women's golf coach Gerrod Chadwell, made a few treks to a house owned by some friends, a place they eventually settled on as the site for their Aug. 6 wedding. Some of Lewis and Chadwell's most recent visits were for wedding reasons -- cake tastings and the like.
"It is a good part," Lewis said.
The wedding is part of a jam-packed summer schedule for Lewis. It comes just a week after the Women's British Open in England and only 11 days before the Summer Olympics golf competition begins in Brazil. Not a lot of down time, especially for a player who enters this week's Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship searching for her first victory since winning the event in 2014, a stretch that's easily the longest since she earned her first LPGA victory.
Lewis is No. 17 on this year's money list, uncharacteristically low for a player who hasn't finished lower than fourth since 2010, a stretch that includes winning the money title in 2014. She's recorded four top-10s, but hasn't been in the hunt at either of the year's two major championships.
She doesn't appear far off from re-asserting herself as an elite player on the tour. She ranks among the tour's five best in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation, but her 30.16 putting average is just No. 86.
Perhaps this is the week she rediscovers her putting prowess -- she was eighth in putting average last year and has been among the tour's top 30 every year since 2010. The venue would be fitting. Regardless, Lewis is taking a level-headed approach heading into Friday.
"I'm in a great place," Lewis said. "A lot of good balance going on in my life. The golf is what it is. Your golf is going to be in cycles. You're going to have peaks where you're going to win and then you're kind of going to play bad for a little bit and then you're going to win again. That little valley just happens to be a little longer right now and I feel like I'm working on the right things and we're moving in the right direction and that's all you can really do.
"I would like to get my house a little bit more settled in Houston, but other than that things are pretty good."
No. 1 Ko in the Field
Three of the last five Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship winners were ranked No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings, but Lydia Ko said she knows that won't necessarily translate to a win for her this weekend. The other two missed the cut.
Ko, who is coming off back-to-back top-five finishes, is focused only on staying within striking distance heading into the final round.
"I think the one thing that people think is that the No. 1 ranked player should win every week," Ko said. "It's more about consistency and how many times you can put yourself in those positions to contend and lead."
In three appearances at the Rogers event, Ko has three top-10 finishes, including tying for second in 2014 and tying for fourth as a 17-year-old sponsor's exemption in 2013.
Her No. 1 ranking would likely draw a large crowd by itself, but she'll be playing in front of even more fans today because she's paired with Lewis. It won't be the first time she's been paired with the former Arkansas All-American, so she's prepared for the Hog calls.
"At first, I was like 'What's Hogs?'" Ko said. "But then I got to learn about it. ... It's always really cool when you're playing with the home girl and you see these fans who are super excited to see her play well."
Rain Expected, Again
Local forecasts are calling for rain this afternoon, which could cause delays for the third consecutive year.
The first round was delayed twice because of rain last year, but that didn't seem to bother Ko. Each time she resumed play, she came away with a birdie.
"My mom was jokingly saying that maybe they should blow the horn on every hole," Ko said. "But you can't do much about it. The weather, it's totally out of our hands."
Rain has become a constant at the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship. In addition to the delays the last two years, rain shortened the first event to one round in 2007, suspended the first round in 2008 and plagued pro-ams or Monday qualifiers in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
Sports on 06/24/2016