When Stacy Lewis left Texas for college at the University of Arkansas in 2004, she admitted to being “extremely shy” and that being a part of the golf team for the Lady Razorbacks helped her come out of that shell – personally and professionally.
That’s why this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship ranks very high for the 30-year-old.
“Not a lot of pros have the opportunity to go play at home. I’m just going to really try to enjoy the event and I know people will be cheering for me and people will be happy for me no matter how I play, so it's just a matter of going out and enjoying it.” – Lewis in 2007 prior to her debut as an amateur, where she won an unofficial title based on 18 holes.
“This place just means so much to me. I say it all the time, I felt like if I go anywhere else to school, I don't think I end up where I am. And I'm pretty fortunate I got around a lot of good people here and that's why I support this tournament and this area so much, just because I feel like I wouldn't be where I am without them.”
- Lewis after winning in 2014
Here are some nuggets to support Lewis’s return home to Arkansas:
- 1: Lewis can actually claim two wins at Pinnacle Country Club. As a senior at Arkansas, she opened the 2007 tournament with a 65 but the final two rounds were rained out. Therefore she was deemed the unofficial winner of the tournament. Lewis shot 34-31 at Pinnacle in that round. That victory can be positioned as the unofficial 12th career LPGA victory for Lewis.
- 26: Lewis is in the middle of her longest victory drought since winning the 2011 ANA Inspiration. Since winning the Walmart NW Arkansas last June 29, Lewis has recorded five runner-up finishes, 12 top-10s and missed just one cut.
- 2007: Prior to “winning” the 2007 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Lewis won the NCAA Women’s Championship, shooting a final-round, course-record 66 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., to claim medalist honors. Lewis was a four-time All-SEC and All-America selection.
- 2014: Last year, Lewis closed 66-65 on the weekend to rally to victory and corral a $300,000 first prize, upping her career earnings in Arkansas to $523,720.
- Here is Lewis’s record in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, which includes a 68.8 stroke average and 17 consecutive rounds at par or better over 22 rounds:
| Year | Scores | Finish | Noteworthy |
| 2007 | 65 | Win | Unofficial victory because of rainouts of second and third rounds |
| 2008 | 69-69-75 | T49 | Finished T3 in professional debut at U.S. Women’s the week before |
| 2009 | 73-67-71 | T21 | Par was changed from 72 to 71 this year |
| 2010 | 69-69-69 | T9 | Finished seven behind winner Yani Tseng |
| 2011 | 66-69-70 | T8 | Led after the first round |
| 2012 | 70-69-70 | T19 | Streak of sub-par rounds reached nine |
| 2013 | 67-65-71 | T4 | Led entering final round; 14 consecutive rounds par or better |
| 2014 | 70-66-65 | Win | Birdied three of the last four holes to win |
More Arkansas connections
Gaby Lopez is making her third consecutive start as an amateur in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Lopez, from Mexico City, just completed her junior year at Arkansas. The top-ranked player for the Arkansas women’s team – based on stroke average and academic standing – earns a spot in the field.
Lopez finished second at the NCAA Women’s Championship last month in southwest Florida as she shot a final-round, bogey-free 66 at the Concession Golf Club to place one stroke behind Alabama’s Emily Talley. Lopez earned All-America honors last season.
Lopez made the cut at last year’s Arkansas event and also finished T23 at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in her hometown of Mexico City.
In Monday’s open qualifier, Arkansas sophomore Samantha Marks shot an even-par 71 to earn a spot in this week’s field.
Field by the numbers
This week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship has a stellar field. It includes:
- 3: The top three players in the world, all current of formerly ranked No. 1, in Inbee Park, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis.
- 17: Of the top 20 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
- 39: Field includes 39 major championship wins.
- 245: Total wins in the field.
- The entire 2013 USA Solheim Cup Team and the current top 10 in points for this fall’s event in Germany.
Fantastic finish
Pinnacle Country Club concludes with two short par 3s and a three-shot par 5 among its final four holes, all featuring water.
The course’s signature hole is the 150-yard, par-3 15th which plays from an elevated tee to an island green. The 150-yard, par-3 17th is titled “the loudest hole in golf” because of fan involvement. The 526-yard finishing hole is a dogleg left with a pond guarding the fairway on the second shot.
Etc.
Golf Channel will air all three rounds Friday through Sunday. Friday’s first round is scheduled for an 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. EDT, air time on Golf Channel. Saturday’s third round is slated for 3-6 p.m. and Sunday’s final round from 5-8. … Brooke Henderson won the Four Winds Invitational on the Epson Tour last week, received a Epson Tour minimum-age waiver from LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan afterward and will tee it up again this week in the Epson Tour’s Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich., and the following week at the Tullymore Classic in Stanwood, Mich. She has qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open July 9-12 in Lancaster, Pa. … World No. 1 Inbee Park is riding a streak of 56 consecutive holes without a bogey from the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship victory two weeks ago. Earlier this year, Park went 93 consecutive holes without losing a stroke to par.
)
)
)
)
