A bogey-free, 5-under par 66 in the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G left University of Arkansas alumna Stacy Lewis in a tie for sixth at 12-under overall. It was a strong finish to her homecoming week, which began with Lewis simply wanting to “get going in the right direction to finish the year out well” after a month off from LPGA Tour competition.
“I found something this week. Ball striking was so much better, and it was great today with wind picking up,” said Lewis, who secured her seventh top-10 finish in 14 starts at Pinnacle Country Club. “If I can just line up the speed a little bit better on the greens, we'll be in really good shape.
“Hit it really solid, just never really got the putter going. Today, I made five birdies and three were within about a foot and a half, and one was a chip-in.”
Her performance Sunday comes on the heels of her alma mater’s victory over Texas A&M University at AT&T Stadium on Saturday in the college football ranks. The win might have provided a little inspiration for the 13-time LPGA Tour champion and gave Lewis bragging rights in the household, as her husband Gerrod Chadwell is the head coach for the Aggies women’s golf team.
“That was awesome. I couldn't rub it in, but when my husband answered the phone last night, I got my daughter [Chesnee] to say, ‘Go Hogs’ right when he answered, so that made my day,” said Lewis. “I was looking on the TVs [around the course yesterday] to try to catch a score, people were telling me scores. I had us winning by at least a touchdown, so I wasn't too shocked.”
)
)
)
)
