The first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship will be played Friday, but nearly all of the world’s top players are already on site preparing for the three-day tournament.
A professional golfers’ practice round was scheduled for today and the official pro-am event is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.
Tournament sponsors are also bringing Grammy Award winner Kenny Loggins to Northwest Arkansas as part of this week’s events. Loggins will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 22 at Orchards Park in Bentonville.
The importance of the three-day, 54-hole competition being played Friday, Saturday and Sunday goes beyond the fact that it brings thousands of tourists to Northwest Arkansas to see 144 of the world’s top female golfers.
The tournament is a key part of the region’s growing number of high-quality events that help make Northwest Arkansas into a better place to live and work.
Certainly, major facilities such as Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, and Arvest Ballpark in Springdale and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville provide venues for hundreds of events each year, but annual events like the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at other sites are important to the overall success of the region.
Past winners participating in this year’s tournament include Jiyai Shin (2009 winner), Yani Tseng (2010 and 2011) and Ai Miyazato (2012).
Other participants include the world’s three top LPGA money winners: Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and former University of Arkansas star Stacy Lewis.
The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G website is http://www.nwachampionship.com/
