Walmart NW Arkansas Championship notebook

ROGERS — Knowing this is her last year on the LPGA Tour, Ai Miyazato is ready to enjoy her time at this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

The former world No. 1 announced her retirement last month, but already knew for the better part of the year she would be done with professional golf.

Miyazato said she felt it was finally time to step down after she had been struggling with the choice for the past four years.

“I was thinking so many things about my game at the time,” Miyazato said. “The reason I’m retiring now is because I lost motivation to play golf, but I thought I was too young to retire four years ago. I thought I could still do something with it, but without the motivation, it was so hard.”

“I’m finally listening to what my heart says.”

The Okinawa, Japan native has not won an event since 2012 and has only placed in the top 10 once in the past year. The lack of success contributed to her losing motivation, she said.

She said she’s been emotional ever since her announcement because of the responses and outpouring of support she has received.

“Everybody has told me, ‘Oh, I’m so happy for you,’ but also that they’re sad to see me go,” Miyazato said. “I have great memories of the past 12 years I’ve been on this tour. I did my best out there and made so many friends on this tour; they’re definitely my family.”

Returning to the site of her last championship, Miyazato said her time at the Pinnacle Country Club has been one of her fondest memories during her time here.

“I played well,” she said. “I love this tournament because all of the local people are very supportive of this tournament. It’s always nice to be here, so I’m very excited.”

Miyazato is one of only nine golfers to hold the No. 1 ranking, which she held for 11 weeks back in 2010. She won nine events from 2009-2012 but never finished better than third at any majors.

Stackhouse hopes to grow at tournament

Mariah Stackhouse plan for this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship is to work on her game to ready herself for a hopefully long LPGA career.

“I’ve been seeing some improvement in my game, so I’m just trying to keep progressing at the tournament this week,” Stackhouse said.

The rookie is still adjusting to her new life as a professional athlete, which has been a whole different experience for the Georgia native.

“It’s been busy,” Stackhouse said. “It’s a lot of travel, a lot of in and out of hotels, Airbnbs and host families, which are always the nicest. Getting used to the lifestyle and constantly being on the road and remaining focused is what I’m learning.”

Stackhouse has only played in seven LPGA events after spending some time on the amateur Symetra Tour, but she has the resume and pedigree to prove she belongs among the seasoned veterans.

A former three-time All American at Stanford, she was instrumental in helping the Cardinal win the 2015 NCAA Championship. She clinched the final matchup against a strong Baylor squad to help her team take the 3-2 victory. Stackhouse also was a part of the U.S. team that won the 2014 Curtis Cup against Great Britain and Ireland.

She’s also a cousin of former twotime NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse.

Top player backs out

The field at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship will be without the LPGA’s top golfer after Ariya Jutanugarn backed out earlier this week. Tournament chairman Jay Allen said she 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. Jutanugarn took over the No. 1 ranking from Lydia Ko on June 12, following her first-place finish at the Manulife LPGA Classic. She is not the only top golfer who will be absent from this week’s tournament. Lexi Thompson, the world’s No. 4 ranked golfer, also bypassed the event.