ROGERS - Major championships are the crown jewels in golf and the fields they attract are always star-studded.
In 2013, World No. 1 Inbee Park has already gotten the first two major championship jewels - winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April and the Wegmans LPGA Championship earlier this month. Park will prepare for next week’s third major championship, the U.S. Women’s Open, beginning today when she leads a 144-player field at the three-day Wal-Mart Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club.
Winning in Rogers won’t be easy for Park, who has won four tournaments this year and took the No. 1 ranking away from Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) in mid-April. She’ll have to contend with 22 of the top 25 players in the Rolex World Rankings as well as 48 of the top 50 on the LPGA money list.
“I think this week is a good preparation for next week,” Park said. “And next week, everybody looks forward to that tournament and that’s the biggest tournament of the year.”
If Park encounters any slips around the par-71 Pinnacle layout this weekend, Lewis, World No. 3 Suzann Petersen and last year’s tournament champion and World No. 10 Ai Miyazato definitely know their way to the trophy stand.
“This tournament means a lot to me,” said Lewis who has won twice in 2013 and seven times in her career. “It’s one I look forward to right behind a major.”
Lewis, who has had a busy week hosting the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior Open across town as well and other events affiliated with that tournament, didn’t have the success in last year’s Championship as she probably would like (tied for 19th). She did have top-10s in 2011 (tied for eighth) and 2010 (tied for ninth).
Lewis said staying No. 1 a few months earlier this year then sliding back to No. 2 has taught her how to deal with the pressures on and off the course.
“I think the last few years I’ve definitely put a lot of pressure on myself that I wanted, really, really wanted to play well,” she said. “And I’ve learned from becoming No. 1 and over these last few months that you can’t play that way. You’ve just got to take care of every shot and you can’t control what anyone else is doing.”
Miyazato handled the pressure in last year’s final round by overcoming a five shot deficit and sinking a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to defeat Azahara Munoz by a stroke.
“This is one of my favorite tournaments and it’s always a nice feeling to play in this tournament, but last year was very special,” said Miyazato who celebrated her 28th birthday on Wednesday. “This week is really special because it’s my birthday week and I’m defending champion. So I can feel it’s going to be a good week.”
Norway’s Pettersen said Pinnacle’s layout will be a test heading into the U.S. Open at Sebonack Golf Club in Southhampton, N.Y.
“You have to hit shots off the tees, and shape it,” she said. “It’s playing not as firm as it was last year, I think. It’s going to be a good preparation for the U.S. Open next week, which is the reason I love coming here and play.
“I like to play leading up to a major instead of practicing. I think that for me personally that sharpens my game a lot, just to get rounds under my belt, just keep plugging, putting a score together and just hitting numbers.”
The field includes two impressive amateurs in Lydia Ko and University of Arkansas sophomore Gaby Lopez who both got in on sponsor’s exemptions. Lopez, who will be a sophomore for the Razorbacks in the fall, had the benefit of playing a practice round with Lewis on Tuesday and again with the former four time UA All-American during a pro-am round Thursday.
Ko, who won last year’s CN Canadian Open and has made 14 consecutive cuts said projected temperatures in the 90s this weekend has got her attention.
“It’s going to be quite hot,” said Ko, who recently turned 16. “So my main goal is actually to keep cool and have my wet towel with me or I’m going to boil by the looks of how hot it’s going to get.”
Ko’s game has gotten the other attention of her fellow golfers, including Lewis.
“I played with her the final day when she won in Canada last year, and that back nine she played was world class,” Lewis said. “It was the best back nine of a big tournament like that I’ve ever seen. And to be 15 [at the time] that’s even more impressive.
“So, she’s a great player right now and I’m interested to kind of see what happens for her over the next few years.”
Today’s tee times
First-round groupings for the Wal-Mart Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. (World ranking in parentheses.) a-amateur
NO. 1 7:30 A.M. Sydnee Michaels (123), Stacy Prammanasudh (190), Marina Steutz 7:41 A.M. Stephanie Sherlock (483), Dori Carter (249), Jennifer Song (230) 7:52 A.M. Jin Young Pak (267), Alison Walshe (92), Jane Rah (278) 8:03 A.M. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (309), Nicole Jeray (380), Mi Jung Hur (156) 8:14 A.M. Jenny Shin (55), Hee Young Park (33), Ilhee Lee (37) 8:25 A.M. So Yeon Ryu (5), Pornanong Phatlum (51), Mika Miyazato (15) 8:36 A.M. Hee-Won Han (107), Caroline Hedwall (28), Catriona Matthew (12) 8:47 A.M. Jennifer Johnson (57), Lorie Kane (255), Pat Hurst (94) 8:58 A.M. Mindy Kim (179), Kristy McPherson (191), Breanna Elliott (441)
9:09 A.M. Momoko Ueda (100), Taylore Karle, Laura Diaz (277) 9:20 A.M. Becky Morgan (192), Paige McKenzie (211), Lindsey Wright (83) 9:31 A.M. Mina Harigae (86), Katie Futcher (110), Numa Julyanamitta (297) 12:30 P.M. Thidapa Suwannapura (197), Dewi Claire (112), Schreefel F. Johnson (248) 12:41 P.M. Meaghan Francella (419), Wendy Ward (279), Kayla Mortellaro (625) 12:52 P.M. Sophie Gustafson (155), Cindy LaCrosse (148), Tiffany Joh (213)
1:03 P.M. Mi Hyang Lee (336), Pernilla Lindberg (120), Moira Dunn (207) 1:14 P.M. Shanshan Feng (7), Irene Cho (106), Sun Young Yoo (30) 1:25 P.M. Jane Park (109), Juli Inkster (162), Se-Ri Pak (34) 1:36 P.M. Stacy Lewis (2), Morgan Pressel (49), Angela Stanford (20) 1:47 P.M. Yani Tseng (6), Cristie Kerr (11), Carlota Ciganda (24) 1:58 P.M. Amanda Blumenherst (226), Brittany Lincicome (38), Danielle Kang (70) 2:09 P.M. Christina Kim (215), Belen Moza (154), Sandra Gal (50) 2:20 P.M. Michelle Wie (79), Caroline Masson (56), Gaby Lopez (a) 2:31 p.m. Natalie Gulbis (119), Nicole Castrale (71), Lydia Ko (19, a)
NO. 10 7:30 A.M. Vicky Hurst (94), Mariajo Uribe (118), Sarah Kemp (235) 7:41 A.M. Christel Boeljon (103), Brooke Pancake (466), Heather Bowie Young (218) 7:52 A.M. Sarah Jane Smith (147), Jacqui Concolino (193), Jee Young Lee (115) 8:03 A.M. Amy Hung (272), Paola Moreno (220), Nicole Smith (482) 8:14 A.M. Suzann Pettersen (3), Paula Creamer (13), Ai Miyazato (10) 8:25 A.M. Anna Nordqvist (23), Inbee Park (1), Lizette Salas (18) 8:36 A.M. Chella Choi (36), Gerina Piller (60), Hee Kyung Seo (41) 8:47 A.M. Jeong Jang (132), Amy Yang (17), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (80) 8:58 A.M. Katherine Hull-Kirk (91), Danah Bordner (299), Austin Ernst (280)
9:09 A.M. Sylvia Cavalleri (525), Esther Choe (295), Karen Stupples (175) 9:20 A.M. Kim Welch (743), Rebecca Lee-Bentham (312), Kris Tamulis (236) 9:31 A.M. Victoria Tanco (443), Jennifer Rosales (146), Meena Lee (88) 12:30 P.M. Lauren Doughtie (413), Ryann O’Toole (257), Sara-Maude Juneau (374) 12:41 P.M. Veronica Felibert (270), Ji Young Oh (265), Karlin Beck (700) 12:52 P.M. Maria Hjorth (180), Lisa McCloskey (282), Ayako Uehara (85)
1:03 P.M. Jennie Lee (244), Daniela Iacobelli (314), Song-Hee Kim (298) 1:14 P.M. Karine Icher (26), Haeji Kang (46), Beatriz Recari (25) 1:25 P.M. I.K. Kim (14), Jiya Shin (9), Giulia Sergas (52) 1:36 P.M. Azahara Munoz (21), Moriya Jutanugarn (101), Na Yeon Choi (4) 1:47 P.M. Mo Martin (84), Julieta Granada (68), Brittany Lang (53) 1:58 P.M. Kathleen Ekey (328), Reilley Rankin (339), Julia Boland (307) 2:09 P.M. Eun-Hee Ji (74), Candie Kung (67), Marcy Hart (289) 2:20 P.M. Katie M. Burnett (268), Victoria Elizabeth (416), Seon-Hwa Lee (296) 2:31 p.m. Chie Arimura (32), Sandra Changkija (367), Stacey Keating (72)
At a glance WHEN Today-Sunday WHERE Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers PURSE $2 million; winner will receive $300,000 2012 CHAMPION Ai Miyazato ARKANSANS IN FIELD Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks), Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks), Karen Stupples (Arkansas State), Stacy Prammanasudh (Conway) TELEVISION 5:30-7:30 p.m. today, 4-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Golf Channel TICKETS INFO $30 for all-week pass, $15 for daily entrance on today, Saturday or Sunday; children 17 and under are free with a ticketed adult; all active and retired service personnel and veterans, along with accompanying families, will be admitted free by displaying appropriate identification.
Sports, Pages 20 on 06/21/2013