After a one week break, the LPGA resumes its schedule this week with the playing of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G. This tournament—14th of 28 on schedule—marks the completion of the first half of the season on the LPGA.
The tournament will be played on the 18-hole "Pinnacle" course at the Pinnacle Country Club facility in Rogers, Arkansas that features 7,001 yards of golf from the longest tee and 6,389 yards for the ladies for a Par-71. The course rating is 74.4 and it has a slope rating of 142. It opened in 1990 and it was originally designed by Don Seacrest and redesigned in 2009 by Randy Heckenkemper.
Weather conditions have ruled the last three tournaments on the LPGA. The Wegmans, the Shoprite, and the Pure Silk-Bahamas, were all soggy and stormy. The weather forecast predicts a chance of thunderstorms for Thursday over Rogers, but promises heat and sun, the ideal golf weather for the three days of the tournament Friday thru Sunday.
That is good news, because a high quality, top notch field of 144 players will do battle through 54 holes over those three days for a $2 million purse and a $300,000 first-place prize. But the players’ main goal will be to get in top form for the LPGA’s third major of the year, the U.S. Women's Open Conducted by the USGA next week.
Nineteen of the top 20 players on the LPGA Priority List, and 17 of the Top 20 players on the Rolex Rankings will tee it off. The three big names missing from this week's tournament are Karrie Webb, Jessica Korda and Lexi Thompson.
Ai Miyazato is back to defend the title she won last year by one shot over Mika Miyazato and Azahara Muñoz. The tournament is on its seventh edition and all previous champs will be present: Yani Tseng (’11, ’10), Jiyai Shin (’09), Seon Wha Lee (’08) and Stacy Lewis (’07).
Miyazato has to be highly considered as one of the favorites to win and repeat as a champion. She clearly has a liking for this layout tallying a total of five Top 10 finishes in five starts at the Pinnacle Country Club. She has not won since her victory last year, achieving several very good finishes in the process, but she has been just below her best in recent weeks. She is currently 10th in the Rolex Rankings.
The undisputed No. 1 player in the World, Inbee Park, is fresh off her win at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. She already has won three more times this year, the Honda LPGA Thailand, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and the North Texas LPGA Shootout. She also has two other Top 10 finishes this year and every time she tees it off she is the one to beat.
This tournament is sort of a home coming for the World’s No. 2, Stacy Lewis. She was a four-time All-American at the University of Arkansas, and the former Razorback, fittingly won the inaugural event in 2007. She has won twice this year, but will be looking to regain some top form after a couple of uninspiring finishes at the Pure Silk-Bahamas Classic (T-27th) and the Shoprite LPGA Classic presented by Acer (T-58th).
Suzann Pettersen began the year at No. 8 in the Rolex Rankings and now is up to No. 3 after notching her fifth Top 3 finish in her last seven starts with her T-3rd at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. That run includes her 11th-career victory at the LOTTE LPGA Championship in April, and is slowly closing in on Lewis, narrowing the gap to just .31 in points average.
So Yeon Ryu missed the cut at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, but has been very consistent in recent weeks. She should be poised to bounce back after her week off that saw her move up to the No. 5 spot in the Rolex Rankings surpassing Tseng.
The Wold’s No. 1 ranked amateur, New Zealander 16-year-old phenom Lydia Ko, is also a starter ahead of next week’s US Open Championship. She is playing on a sponsor exemption and has made the cut in all of the 18 professional tournaments she has played in and has risen to No.19 in the world rankings after her T-17th finish at the Wegmans LPGA Championship.
Another player to watch is Michelle Wie who has finished in the top 10 in the last two tournaments and seems to be building momentum towards a possible Solheim Cup participation.
The Golf Channel will have the coverage over the weekend, on Friday from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM EST, and on Saturday and Sunday from 5:00 PM-7:00 PM EST. For a complete list of the pairings and tee times for the tournament, click here.