The LPGA Tour returns to Rogers, Ark. this week for the 16th edition of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club. Six of the fifteen previous winners of the event are in the field, including United States Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis, Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 4 Lydia Ko and defending champion Nasa Hataoka, who won the 2021 edition of the tournament over 2009 U.S. Women’s Open champion Eun-Hee Ji and two-time major winner Minjee Lee.
In addition to Lee, Ko and Hataoka, three other members of the Rolex Rankings top 10 are set to compete for a purse of $2.3 million: world No. 2 Nelly Korda, 2022 LPGA rookie Atthaya Thitikul and 11-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson. Along with Lewis, five additional University of Arkansas Razorbacks are in the field, most notably Mexico natives Maria Fassi and Gaby Lopez as well as LPGA Tour rookie Brooke Matthews, who is teeing it up as a sponsors invitation. Seventeen 2022 Tour winners are also in the field, including last week’s AmazingCre Portland Classic champion Andrea Lee, Chevron Championship winner Jennifer Kupcho and AIG Women’s Open champion Ashleigh Buhai.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WALMART NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY P&G
- This is the 16th edition of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G; Pinnacle Country Club has hosted the tournament since its inception in 2007.
- The inaugural tournament in 2007, won by then-amateur and Razorback senior Stacy Lewis, is not official as it was reduced to 18 holes due to rain delays
- There are six University of Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2022 field – five graduates (Lewis, Maria Fassi, Gaby Lopez, Brooke Matthews and Alana Uriell) and one current student (Kajal Mistry (a))
- There are six past champions in the field including Nasa Hataoka (2021, 2018), Sung Hyun Park (2019), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Lydia Ko (2016), Na Yeon Choi (2015) and Lewis (2014, 2007)
- Seventeen of the 22 winners from the 2022 LPGA Tour season are competing in Rogers, Ark.
- Matthews and Mistry, along with Lilly Thomas (a), are this year’s sponsor invites
- Two-time champion Nasa Hataoka holds the 54-hole scoring record (192) from her 2018 victory
KROGER QUEEN CITY CHAMPION ALLY EWING CONTINUES LOOKING FORWARD TO FINAL STRETCH OF SEASON
After taking a week off to celebrate, Ally Ewing will return to the LPGA Tour as a 2022 champion. The 29-year-old, who took home her third Tour victory at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G two weeks ago, will tee it up at Pinnacle Country Club this week for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. Though Ewing has now earned at least one victory in the last three years, her win in Cincinnati, Ohio was especially sweet because she “persevered through a really tough year” to achieve it. In fact, she attributes part of her victory to a sound piece of advice she heard in Bible study before her winning week in the Queen City.
“It was ‘you can't plow a field looking backwards,’ and that was just something that really resonated with me to apply to my golf game,” Ewing said. “It's like you can't look back on what's happened in the beginning of the season, middle of season. All we can do is look ahead to plow the best field we can. That led to a really good week.”
As the final stretch of the 2022 season approaches, Ewing will continue to plow forward while focusing on maintaining her mental and physical strength. The seven-year LPGA veteran recognizes the end of the year can be a challenging time, especially with 17 starts behind her, 12 of which saw her make the cut. With six events left on the LPGA Tour calendar following this week, the Mississippi native is looking to conserve her energy in order to keep up her solid recent form.
“I think this time of year everyone is just kind of doing what they need to do to stay in form. I feel like I can trust in my ball striking, I can trust in my form and my game. It's just managing that strategy,” said Ewing, who currently leads the Tour in greens in regulation (77.8%). “When I show up to the golf course, I have I guess a checklist of what I want to accomplish. If it takes me an hour, then that's fine. I feel like this time of year in previous years, I might be a little bit more worn down than I am. So I'm happy with how I feel.”
This will be Ewing’s sixth appearance in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She earned her best finish, a T3 result, in 2018 alongside Lexi Thompson, Minjee Lee and three others. The Mississippi State alum loves returning to Rogers, Ark. every year for several reasons including the “pure golf course,” the tournament’s proximity to home and, of course, the abundance of Bulldog fans that can be found in SEC country.
“Being here in Arkansas this week is really exciting, somewhere near home. A lot of SEC fans around here. Bump into more Mississippi State fans than a usual tournament,” Ewing said. “Really good crowds, a lot of support. Kind of you have to get ready for a lot of the ‘woo pig sooie.’ It's a great atmosphere. Great to see people come support obviously the Razorbacks, but women's golf with the LPGA.”
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