Not even a triple bogey could derail Gaby Lopez on Saturday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, and the 30-year-old is now in contention for her fourth career LPGA Tour title with one round remaining in Rogers, Ark.

Competing just down the road from her alma mater, the former University of Arkansas Razorback kicked off her week with a 5-under 66 on Friday, carding three bogeys and eight birdies in the first round at Pinnacle Country Club. The 66 is the Mexico native’s lowest round on Tour since she carded a 65 on day two of the Dana Open back in July and is one of just three scores of 66 or better that Lopez has posted across the entire 2024 LPGA Tour season.

“It was very solid overall. I think we hit a couple of tap-in birdies that made my round very, very easy,” Lopez said of her first-round effort. “I knew it was a lot of wind in the afternoon for sure. We played with tough conditions out there. Still feel like the greens are very soft, so you can go for pins. Overall, I’m very happy with how solid we played today.”

Needing another strong performance on day two if she wanted to climb into the conversation ahead of Sunday’s final round, Lopez gave her all on Moving Day in Arkansas. Starting on the back nine, she birdied the par-4 10th hole to immediately move to 6-under and then grabbed another birdie on 12 to quickly jump to 7-under.

But a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 14th hole threatened her second round and knocked Lopez back to 4-under for the tournament.

Instead of letting that mistake rattle her, Lopez dug deep and battled onward, picking up a birdie on the par-3 15th hole to get back to 5-under and then making a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to once again sit at 6-under overall with nine holes to play.

After making the turn, Lopez landed a one-two punch of birdies on the first and second holes at Pinnacle Country Club to get to 8-under, and she then grabbed another birdie on the par-4 5th hole to move to 9-under overall. Lopez got to 10-under after making a birdie on the par-5 7th hole but dropped back to 9-under after a bogey on the par-4 9th hole, ultimately posting a 4-under 67 to sit in the top five with 18 holes to play at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

“It's probably the best mental round that I've had,” said Lopez on Saturday. “After having a triple bogey, it's so easy to lose yourself and lose patience. But deeply, I feel that I'm playing very, very well. I feel that I'm making a lot of birdies, so I just told myself, hey, you're playing awesome. There is a ton of golf left. I just tried to give myself a pat on the back and keep the gas pedal down.”

This is Lopez’s 19th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and while she has only missed four cuts in her 18 previous events, it’s felt like a quiet year for the 30-year-old. She has earned just two top-10 results so far this season, tying for eighth at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro in April and then tying for seventh last week at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. Lopez also has three other top-15 finishes on her 2024 resume, including a tie for 14th that came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in June.

Despite all of those solid results, it’s still been frustrating for Lopez to not see the finishes or even the wins that she feels like the solidity of her golf has warranted this season, an aggravating reality that professional golfers face much more often than not.

But the LPGA Tour veteran has been working hard to stay patient and let the good results come to her, and it now appears that Lopez might have turned a corner over these past couple of weeks, a momentum shift that couldn’t be coming at a better time considering she is currently on the bubble to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

“It's been a rollercoaster mental year for me,” shared Lopez, who is currently 59th in the Race to the CME Globe. “I've played awesome. I've played great overall and haven't really seen results until last week and this week also. I feel that if I keep doing the same thing, stick to my game plan, keep being patient and kind to myself, I think good things will turn around.”

With that in mind, Lopez will be doing everything she can on Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship to chase down her fourth LPGA Tour title and first since the 2022 Dana Open, a goal she knows she can accomplish if she keeps focusing on her process instead of the final result.

“It kind of brings me back to when Rory (McIlroy) had this tournament, and he took the lead on the 71st hole. You don't really have to have the lead until the last couple of holes to give yourself a chance,” said Lopez. “As much as I want to be up there leading, I want to be just playing good golf. At the end of the day, the result is actually what I can't control. I can't control what the others do.

“I control my attitude and how I swing the golf (club), and that's about it. Just trying to remind myself that a good break or not good break is out of my control. I can only go enjoy fearless golf out there.”

Gaby Lopez Lurking Near Top of Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Leaderboard

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