ROGERS -- Emma Nevin's friend may have been a bit skeptical when Nevin said her father, Charley, knew an LPGA Tour player.
But any doubt was removed once Ai Miyazato spotted the group as she walked off Pinnacle Country Club's 16th green during the first round of the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship on Friday.
No matter that Miyazato, the 2012 tournament champion, was in the middle of her round. She made a beeline for Charley, his elder daughter Olivia, 15, Emma and her friend, exchanging greetings and giving big hugs to Emma, 11, and her stunned friend.
"She actually believed me then," Emma said. "She just stared, like, 'Hi.'"
Nevin has been a member at Pinnacle CC for seven years and played in the pro-am with Miyazato in 2011, which afforded his daughters an opportunity to meet her a year before she earned her ninth win on the tour in Rogers. They've been fans ever since, with Olivia and Emma even making two posters for her the past few years, both of which landed them on TV.
"It's pretty cool," Olivia said.
Miyazato is still a central part of the mural on the back of the No. 17 grandstand. It faces Champions Boulevard, greeting patrons as they enter the course for this week's tournament. Miyazato has been a staple on it since winning the tournament in 2012, featured alongside fellow past champions and some of the LPGA Tour's big names.
Miyazato hasn't won since earning the win in Rogers in 2012, a lengthy drought that included missed cuts at the event the last two years. But this week is shaping up as one of her best this year -- her 6-under-par score has her tied for 24th, the best showing among former champions through two rounds.
"Courses like this, you hit it in the fairway you're going to have a short club, so it's all about putting," Miyazato said. "Putting will be the key (today)."
That course setup puts Miyazato in an interesting position. She ranked fourth on the tour in putting average in 2012, when she won twice, including in Rogers. This year has largely been a struggle -- she's ranked 71st in putting average so far. But she's shown signs of her old self, sinking big putts while firing a 6-under-par 66 to finish third at the Kia Classic in March, her best showing this year.
This week, she only needed 27 putts Friday while shooting a 6-under 65 to put her in a tie for third. Saturday, it took 32, and she wound up shooting a 71.
"From 2010 to 2012, she was probably one of the top three putters on tour," said Mick Seaborn, her caddie of 11 years. "We've struggled with our putting for a couple years now, and it's just coming back. We're playing well, and we have been for quite a while, but it's just how many putts we're making."
Miyazto wasn't thrilled after missing a makeable birdie putt on No. 9, her final hole on Saturday, but brightened up quickly when she spotted the Nevins standing nearby. She enthusiastically waved and then headed over to chat with her old friends after signing her scorecard. The Nevins missed the tournament the last few years because of vacation, so Miyazato spent a good chunk of the conversation marveling at how tall the girls have gotten since she first met them.
"We have pictures of them with her (back then) -- it's amazing," Charley said.
Before the end of their chat, Emma asked Miyazato to autograph a tournament flag for her. The flag only featured a few scattered signatures, including Michelle Wie, who Nevin also played with in a pro-am.
"Emma has a very particular group she wants," Charley said.
Miyazato was at the top, for obvious reasons.
Sports on 06/26/2016