Yuna Nishimura completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, closing with a 5-under 66 to finish at 21-under par and capture her maiden LPGA Tour title.

Nishimura, who opened the three-day event with back-to-back rounds of 63, finished five strokes clear of Akie Iwai, Chanettee Wannasaen, and In Gee Chun, who tied for second at 16-under par. Holding a five-shot lead entering the final day, Nishimura admitted that managing the advantage presented its own mental hurdle.

"A five-shot lead is a pretty tough situation, but I believed in myself and just kept going until the end," Nishimura said. "I missed a lot of cuts this year, so for me to win this tournament is a surprise, but it's a dream come true."

In Sunday’s final round, Nishimura carded five birdies and two bogeys, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 14th hole to secure the victory.

That aggressive approach paid off on the par-5 14th green, where she set up her eagles-eye standard.

"I was kind of debating on the distance, but I told myself to go aggressive until the very end and I went for it," she said. "I knew it was a hole I had to be aggressive on. It wasn't an option to play up, so I told myself to be aggressive from the start and that's what I followed all the way through."

With the win, Nishimura becomes the LPGA Tour’s third Rolex First-Time Winner of 2026, joining Yana Wilson and Gina Kim, who won the Dow Championship. She is also the 17th unique champion on the LPGA Tour this season.

Nishimura becomes the 24th different LPGA Tour winner from Japan and the 15th Japanese player to become a Rolex First-Time Winner since 2006. She joins Miyu Yamashita and Shiho Kuwaki as the third winner from Japan on Tour this season, and is the first Japanese first-time winner since Akie Iwai’s victory at the 2025 Standard Portland Classic.

Additionally, Nishimura is the third player from Japan to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, joining Ai Miyazato (2012) and Nasa Hataoka (2018, 2021). Joining her hero Miyazato on the trophy carries deep personal significance for Nishimura.

"She is the reason I play golf," Nishimura said of Miyazato. "She's somebody I look up to, and when I was struggling I would call her and she would be my shoulder to lean on, so I can't wait to call her and tell her that I won."

Nishimura was surrounded by strong support from fellow players who stayed to celebrate her triumph at Pinnacle Country Club.

"Some of the Japanese players who started early this morning, they all stayed out late and waited for me," Nishimura said. "It feels amazing for all of them to stay out and wait for me to watch this event. This is one of the tournaments that I feel the most love from the fans, and especially on No. 18. It's a lot of fun. I love the energy and so, yeah, the fans mean a great deal to me.

Iwai fired a final-round 9-under 62, backed by nine birdies, to finish at 16-under 197 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

Iwai posted rounds of 66, 69 and 62 over the 54-hole event. Her final round featured stellar ball-striking and precision putting, as she hit 11 of 13 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation while needing just 26 putts.

Starting the day with an aggressive mindset, Iwai capitalized on a hot streak that included five straight birdies.

"Today I was thinking it's going to be low every player," Iwai said. "That's why I have to go. I need more aggressive, and that's why... today was a solid day."

While five consecutive birdies is a notable feat, Iwai noted it wasn't a personal record. Asked if it was her longest streak, she smiled and replied, "No. I had maybe seven, eight in Japan."

Wannasaen joined Iwai and Chun at 16-under after carding a final-round 7-under 64, highlighted by eight birdies against a single bogey. The strong closing round capped a week where Wannasaen capitalized on soft conditions to play aggressively off the tee and on the greens.

"Actually, this week I play really good," Wannasaen said. "Last year I think I might play like really good at this course because green is pretty soft. Like you can play like aggressive. I putt really good this week."

Chun completed the trio of second-place finishers at 197, shooting a final-round 6-under 65 to hold her spot near the top of the leaderboard. Knowing she was chasing the leader all day, Chun focused on staying present in her first start back from an extended layoff.

"I can't control how other players play, so I just try and focus on my game," Chun said. "Especially after having a big break, it feels good to be back here. Yuna had a really great round all three days, so I just want to say congrats to her."

Yuna Nishimura Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

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