WALMART NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP Strong field set for LPGA event

ROGERS -- The world's top female golfers, including two former champions, will headline a strong field in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship this week at Pinnacle Country Club.

Defending champion So Yeon Ryu and 2013 tournament winner Inbee Park return to Northwest Arkansas this week, and both currently rank in the Top 10 of the LPGA's Rolex Rankings with Park at No. 1 and Ryu at No. 6. Nine of the top 10 golfers in the Rolex Rankings are scheduled to compete in the three-day, 54-hole event that starts Friday and ends Sunday afternoon.

"Rankings change from week to week, but we've got the top nine for sure," said tournament director Harry Hardy of the Octagon Sports Group, which runs this event. "Then Jessica Korda was 10, but she's since slipped down to No. 11. The player at No. 10 (Hye Jin Choi) is not an LPGA member, so she's not eligible to play here. So we have the top nine for sure and No. 11."

Through the first half of the LPGA season, the race for No. 1 has been a close one with the veteran Park and rising star Ariya Jutanugarn battling every week. Park leads in the Rolex Rankings, but Jutanugarn is the top money winner by a wide margin with $1.7 million entering the Meijer LPGA Classic last weekend in Grand Rapids, Mich. No other golfer has surpassed the $1 million mark this season. Park has earned $863,286.

Jutanugarn also leads in the Race to the CME Globe points with 2,450 with her sister Moriya Jutangarn second at 1,600 points, just ahead of Park, who has 1,598.

"It hasn't happened for a while that we've had a field this solid," Hardy said. "I think this just confirms that this is still a destination that players want to come to."

The NW Arkansas Championship has settled into a mid-June date for the past few years and comes a week ahead of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at the Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Kildeer, Ill.

Hardy said having this tournament immediately before a major is a factor in drawing the top golfers to Northwest Arkansas.

"I think a lot of the players like to play the week before a major," he said. "All of the players will come here later in the week because they know the course well already. I think a lot of them will show up Wednesday and Thursday. This is an easy warm-up week leading into a major."

Jay Allen, the tournament chairman for the NWA event, said the close proximity of Rogers to Chicago is also a factor in assuring the top golfers play this event, as is the shorter 54-hole format.

This marks the 12th year for the LPGA tournament in Northwest Arkansas. In the early years, the tournament dates fluctuated and included a September date at one point. Since then, the event has settled into an early summer date.

"In Northwest Arkansas, there is just so much going on," said Allen about finding the best date for the event. "There's just so much going on with the club, then you have to pick a date that there's not a Razorbacks game. But even when we were in September, we made sure it was a week when there was not a game in Fayetteville.

"So when you start looking at that and other community things, and the time of the year, we thought that September could potentially be a good time, but June worked out a lot better and, plus or minus a couple of weeks, I think that's where we're going to be."

Both Allen and Hardy said the course is in perfect condition for the tournament despite very little cooperation from the weather which jumped from a cold winter into summer with almost no spring temperatures in the middle.

The tournament will continue to have a strong University of Arkansas, Fayetteville connection as Stacy Lewis returns this season in one of her final events before taking time off with a new baby on the way. Gaby Lopez will also be in the field.

The tournament has three sponsorship exemptions this year, with one going to the Razorbacks' top-ranking player Maria Fassi. The other two were awarded to Emily Collins and Natalie Gulbis. The Arkansas women's golf team also will have three spots in the Monday qualifier tournament.

"The LPGA gave tournaments an extra spot in the qualifier for programs like this," Hardy said of the partnership with the UA women's golf program. "We're seeing some other tournaments sort of imitate what we're doing here with the UA. Nothing quite as prominent as what we do here.

"They are guaranteed one exemption for their No. 1 player (Fassi), based on stat rankings for the whole spring season, and then the No. 2, 3 and 4 players get exemptions into the qualifier."

The top two players at Monday's qualifier will earn spots into this week's field. Last season both of those were grabbed by Arkansas golfers, meaning five current or former UA women's golfers were in the tournament field a year ago.

"I think this has been a fantastic partnership for both the school and the tournament," Hardy said.

There are a number of events this week besides the tournament including a 5K race, evening food events, several health-related functions and a Women's Day at the LPGA event on Thursday. There are also two days of pro-ams on Wednesday and Thursday.

Sports on 06/17/2018