LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship report

Miyazato talks life after Tour

Japan’s Ai Miyazato, the 2012 winner of the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship, announced last month that she will retire from the LPGA after this season. “I still love this game and I think I want to do something a different way with golf,” she said.
Japan’s Ai Miyazato, the 2012 winner of the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship, announced last month that she will retire from the LPGA after this season. “I still love this game and I think I want to do something a different way with golf,” she said.

ROGERS -- Citing a struggle to stay motivated, Japan's Ai Miyazato decided in May to step away from the LPGA Tour at the end of this season. The 2012 LPGA Northwest Arkansas champion said plans to retire came some time before that.

"I've been struggling to make a decision since four years ago," said Miyazato, 32. "I was thinking so many things about my game because the reason why I'm going to retire is it was so hard to stay motivated to play golf. But I thought I was still young. So, I thought I could still do something with it.

"I made a decision last year in August that this year would be my last year of my career. I kept thinking about it, when I'm going to announce, but of course I want to play in Japan a few more events for my sponsors, too. I thought it would be actually good to announce before I'm going back to U.S. ... There's no reason that I announced in May or whatever. I just [wanted] to tell everybody what I'm thinking and what I'm going through right now. I just wanted to share, so that's why."

World No. 2 and last year's Northwest Arkansas champion Lydia Ko said Miyazato impacted the LPGA Tour and is glad she'll have a few more months to compete against her.

"I think all of the players would agree that she is definitely one of the sweetest, most nicest players on Tour," Ko said. "We have got a lot to thank her for. All of us are just wishing her all the best after she retires."

Miyazato has won 25 times professionally, including nine times on the LPGA Tour. Her best finish in a major includes ties for third in the Women's PGA Championship and British Open. She ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the world for the first of three times in June 2010. She finished tied for ninth in Rogers in 2010 and third in 2011 before breaking through in 2012.

Miyazato said she'll always carry a soft spot for the Northwest Arkansas Championship and Pinnacle Country Club.

"Mainly 2012 when I won this tournament because, of course, I played well," she said. "I love this tournament because everything is very organized and the local people are very supportive. It's always nice to be here."

Miyazato said she doesn't know what the future will hold and that she just wants to concentrate on the rest of the season.

"I think after I retire, I think I'm still going to live in the U.S.," she said. "I still love this game and I think I want to do something a different way with golf.

"I feel so much relaxed actually because I don't have to think about it anymore, about my game. I just want to enjoy my game right now."

Not best of best

Twelve of the top 20 players from the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings are playing in this week's Northwest Arkansas Championship at Rogers.

Among those missing are No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 4 Lexi Thompson and No. 13 Brooke Henderson, who won last weekend's Meijer Classic in Michigan. Thompson didn't play in last year's tournament, citing a back injury.

Tournament Chairman Jay Allen said Jutanugarn gave no explanation as to why she decided to pull out after she had already committed to play.

"We're disappointed, of course, that she's not playing, but the field this year is still strong," Allen said.

Also not playing this week in Rogers is 14th-ranked Cristie Kerr, who was in Chicago on Tuesday at a Cubs game where she sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch, while also hyping next week's Women's PGA Championship in Olympia Fields, Ill.

Past champions

There are six past champions in this week's field, led by two-time winner Yani Tseng, who won the event in 2010 and 2011.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, who set the 54-hole tournament record (17-under 196) last year, returns as well as Na Yeon Choi (2015), former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville standout Stacy Lewis (2014), Inbee Park (2013) and Ai Miyazato (2012).

Field of rookies

Emily Tubert (Arkansas Razorbacks) is among the 24 rookies in this year's 144-player field. Also included is Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden, who won the 2016 Symetra El Dorado Shootout.

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville senior Alana Uriell is the lone amateur in the field. Uriell secured the team's lone sponsor's exemption into the tournament and will be joined by former Razorbacks Stacy Lewis, Gaby Lopez, Emily Tubert and Regina Plasencia, who secured one of the two berths in Monday's qualifier.

Information for this article was contributed by Alex Nicoll of the NWA Arkansas-Democrat Gazette.

Sports on 06/23/2017

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