With nothing but pars, four birdies, and an eagle during the second round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, Austin Ernst gives away the secret to playing well this week—grab as many birdies as you can.
“I'm trying to birdie every hole out there. I know that you can birdie every hole out there, too...When I can attack, I'm going to try to hit it right at it and get as close of a look as possible,” Ernst said after her six-under par second-round.
The strategy may be easy in theory, but executing it is difficult. With hole locations to be determined ahead of the final round on Sunday, the only comfort players will find is taking every opportunity and predicting that others are, too.
“It's huge because with Sei Young and others still out there playing, you don't know. I saw that she was at 12-under when I came in, so you kind of know you can make a lot more birdies. I was just trying to make as many as I could coming in. I think it's huge for tomorrow just to not have quite as big of a gap, and then obviously see what everyone does.”
WITH A WIN
Anna Nordqvist would capture her ninth career win on the LPGA Tour and first since she won the 2017 Evian Championship
- Nordqvist would capture her fifth career win in a 54-hole event
- Nordqvist would be the second player from Sweden to win on Tour in 2020, joining Madelene Sagstrom who won the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January
- Sei Young Kim would capture her 11th career win on the LPGA Tour
- Kim would have captured at least one win in every season she has been on Tour since 2015
- With the $345,000 winner’s check Kim would become the 25th player in LPGA Tour history to cross the $9 million mark in official career earnings
- Her second-round 62 is her best round since she fired a 61 at the 2017 Bank of Hope Founders Cup
- She hit 12 of 13 fairways and 18 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
- This is Nordqvist’s 10th start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T3 in 2015
- This is Nordqvist’s 12th season on the LPGA Tour; she has eight career victories including two major championships
- A six-time member of the European Solheim Cup Team (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019), with an overall 12-9-2 record
- Represented Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing T11
Rolex Rankings No. 6 Sei Young Kim (65-64)
- She hit 9 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
- This is Kim’s fourth start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T16 in 2015
- This is Kim’s sixth season on the LPGA Tour; she has 10 career wins and was the 2015 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year
- Earned the largest winner’s check in the history of women’s golf, $1.5 million, with a win at the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship, surpassing over $8 million in career earnings
- Recorded three wins in 2019, her third multi-win season since her rookie year in 2015 and second three-win season on Tour
- Represented Republic of Korea in the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing T25
- Won five times on the KLPGA in 2014 and 2013 while also leading in driving distance both years
- Is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo and her father owned a taekwondo academy in Korea
Rolex Rankings No. 4 Nelly Korda (67-63)
- Korda’s 36-hole score of 130 beats her best 36-hole score by 1; the next best was 131 at the 2019 LPGA Lotte Championship
- She hit 10 of 13 fairway and 16 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
- This is Korda’s third start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T37 in 2017
- This is Korda’s fourth season on the LPGA Tour; she has three career wins
- Korda last placed within the top 10 at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America in January
Rolex Rankings No. 86 Jenny Shin (67-63)
- Shin’s 36-hole score of 130 is a career-best mark, she previously recorded 131 at the 2015 TOTO Japan Classic
- She hit 10 of 13 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
- This is Shin’s 10th start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T10 in 2019 and in 2012
- This is Shin’s 10th season on the LPGA Tour; she has one career win at the 2016 Volunteers of America Classic
- Shin was born in Seoul, but moved to the United States at age 9
Rolex Rankings No. 58 Austin Ernst (65-65)
- Ernst’s 36-hole score of 130 is a career-best mark, she previously recorded 132 on two occasions, most recently at the 2018 Kingsmill Championship
- She hit 9 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
- This is Ernst’s eighth start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is solo second in 2018
- This is Ernst’s eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she has one career win at the 2014 Cambia Portland Classic
- Member of the 2017 U.S. Solheim Cup Team with a 2-2-0 record
- 2011 NCAA Individual Champion at LSU where she graduated from in 2014 with a degree in Business Management
- Hosts the annual Austin Ernst Charity Pro-Am benefitting Safe Harbor, a domestic violence shelter
)
)
)
)
