Na Yeon Choi provided some drama for the Wounded Warrior Weekend last week in Arkansas. And Gaby Lopez provided a little hometown flair.
Choi won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship with a rousing finish. Trailing by one entering the par-4 16th hole, she one-hopped an 8-iron from 145 yards into the hole for an eagle-2. The shot gave her a one-stroke lead on Stacy Lewis, she followed with a birdie on the next hole and won for the second time in 2015.
Lopez, an amateur and a member of the University of Arkansas women’s golf team, was competing in her third consecutive Walmart event. Early in the final round, on the par-5 seventh hole, the Mexico City native made an eagle en route to a final-round 69. She shot 65 in the second round.
Those were the only eagles in the final round.
The Wounded Warrior Weekend takes place during the final two rounds at LPGA tournaments (final round only in 54-hole events), with CME Group donating $1,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project for each eagle that is recorded. This amount will increase to $5,000 for each eagle during the weekend of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship and a formal check will be presented to the Wounded Warrior Project during the trophy ceremony. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
The season total moved to 138, increasing the total money raised for the Wounded Warrior Project to $138,000, which is on course to meet last year’s total.
For the 2014 season, 283 eagles were made on the weekend, raising $283,000. While no eagles were made on the weekend in Naples, the CME Group generously rounded up to $300,000. The 2014 season also had a lot of aces and double eagles. Of the 31 holes in one, 15 came in weekend play. Of a record four double eagles during the year, three were scored on the weekend.