WALMART NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

WNWA Logo NEW (1).jpg Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G Pinnacle Country Club | Rogers, Ark. | Aug. 28-30, 2020 Second-Round Notes Course Setup: 36-35—71, 6,308 yards (Scoring Averages: R1, 69.95; R2, 70.19) Weather: Cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms, with highs in the lower 90s Media Contacts: Paula Hong, (386-405-9811), Brianne Wigley, (386-341-7331) Quick Links: Leaderboard Transcripts Online Media Center (groupings, statistics, hole locations, yardages, etc.) Monday Box (points structures for the 2020 LPGA Tour season and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship) LEADERBOARD Player To Par Score 1 Anna Nordqvist -16 64-62 2 Sei Young Kim -13 65-64 T3 Nelly Korda -12 67-63 T3 Jenny Shin -12 67-63 T3 Austin Ernst -12 65-65 ANNA NORDQVIST TAKES THREE-SHOT LEAD INTO FINAL ROUND IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS Major champion Anna Nordqvist was feeling like her old self on Saturday in the second round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. Lucky for her, her old self is someone who can fire a bogey-free 9-under par 62. Through 36-holes the Swede has hit 35 greens in regulation and has converted 16 of her birdie chances to take a three-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round at Pinnacle Country Club. After her round, Nordqvist reflected on her journey the last few seasons and said learning to focus on the things she’s doing right has been one of the keys to her resurgence this week. “2017 was hard because I did get mono in July and didn't have enough knowledge about how to manage it and probably tried to push it a little bit too early,” Nordqvist reflected. “So it really took me a couple years. Made a few swing changes in the wrong directions. Been working with Drew Steckel now the last year and a half. Starting to feel like myself again. But it has been a little bit of bumpy road, especially when you know what you're capable of. But I been working hard throughout all these years, and hopefully it will pay off.” Chasing Nordqvist is 10-time LPGA winner Sei Young Kim at –13, with Nelly Korda, Austin Ernst and Jenny Shin close behind at –12. And Nordqvist knows there’s no letting off the gas pedal if she wants to hoist the trophy come Sunday. “There is obviously low scores out here, so you got to keep going,” said Nordqvist. “It's just so competitive out here. In order to win out here you really have to be on top of your game. So feel good so far, but I'm going to have to post a low one tomorrow, too.” Korda matched her career-best on Saturday finishing at 8-under par thanks to an eagle at the last. She said she has one strategy for tomorrow: go low. “Going to take it as low as I can,” Korda, who is looking for her first win on American soil, said. “It's going to take a low one to win tomorrow. Just going to stick to my game plan, try to have fun out there, and try to shoot a low one.” Former World No. 1 Stacy Lewis and second-year Tour player Maria Fassi lead the pack of seven University of Arkansas Razorbacks as they head into the final round tied at 8-under par. The long-hitting Fassi removed driver from the bag this week, and the change of strategy paid off as she safely made her first cut out of three previous tries at Pinnacle Country Club. “It's always good to play good out here, said Fassi after a second straight round of 67. “I've always wanted to kind of have a good tournament. I think it just kind of feels like home to me, so I'm kind of excited that I got that behind me and that I'm in good position for tomorrow.” Out of the seven Razorbacks in this week’s field, four made the cut and will play the final round on Sunday: Stacy Lewis, Maria Fassi, Gaby Lopez and sponsor invite Brooke Matthews. SEI YOUNG KIM PLAYS WITH FEEL AND THIS WEEK, THAT FEEL IS GREAT “Rather than having my routine, I follow the feeling and atmosphere of that day a lot,” said Sei Young Kim who carded her best round of the 2020 season in the form of a 7-under par 64 at Pinnacle Country Club on Saturday. For a golfer who plays more with feel than mechanics, a lot can affect the end result. On Saturday of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, a rain delay very well could have reversed Kim’s astounding front nine. Immediately after ending her front nine on hole 18 with an eagle, Kim and all of the players in the morning wave were stopped due to poor weather. “Originally, when I'm nervous I feel like I should prepare something or make plans to do something. But today I wanted to talk with friends, so I chatted with In Gee Chun, Jennifer Song, and Robynn Ree. They asked so I started telling them about which cosmetics I use. They said my eyebrows looked good, so I said that I would teach them how to do it later,” Kim said while chuckling. Letting loose with a few close friends fortunately kept Kim and her “good feeling” in play as she returned after the 58-minute rain delay. “It is important to play as comfortable as possible in order to play the best game. Since it's a physical game, it's important to play comfortably.” AUSTIN ERNST KNOWS THE WAY TO WIN AT PINNACLE COUNTRY CLUB With nothing but pars, four birdies, and an eagle during the second round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, Austin Ernst gives away the secret to playing well this week—grab as many birdies as you can. “I'm trying to birdie every hole out there. I know that you can birdie every hole out there, too...When I can attack, I'm going to try to hit it right at it and get as close of a look as possible,” Ernst said after her six-under par second-round. The strategy may be easy in theory, but executing it is difficult. With hole locations to be determined ahead of the final round on Sunday, the only comfort players will find is taking every opportunity and predicting that others are, too. “It's huge because with Sei Young and others still out there playing, you don't know. I saw that she was at 12-under when I came in, so you kind of know you can make a lot more birdies. I was just trying to make as many as I could coming in. I think it's huge for tomorrow just to not have quite as big of a gap, and then obviously see what everyone does.” WITH A WIN Anna Nordqvist would capture her ninth career win on the LPGA Tour and first since she won the 2017 Evian Championship Nordqvist would capture her fifth career win in a 54-hole event Nordqvist would be the second player from Sweden to win on Tour in 2020, joining Madelene Sagstrom who won the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January Sei Young Kim would capture her 11th career win on the LPGA Tour Kim would have captured at least one win in every season she has been on Tour since 2015 With the $345,000 winner’s check Kim would become the 25th player in LPGA Tour history to cross the $9 million mark in official career earnings PLAYER NOTES Rolex Rankings No. 102 Anna Nordqvist (64-62) Nordqvist’s 36-hole score of 126, is a career-best mark; she previously recorded a 131 twice, most recently at the 2015 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Her second-round 62 is her best round since she fired a 61 at the 2017 Bank of Hope Founders Cup She hit 12 of 13 fairways and 18 of 18 greens, with 27 putts This is Nordqvist’s 10th start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T3 in 2015 This is Nordqvist’s 12th season on the LPGA Tour; she has eight career victories including two major championships A six-time member of the European Solheim Cup Team (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019), with an overall 12-9-2 record Represented Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing T11 Rolex Rankings No. 6 Sei Young Kim (65-64) She hit 9 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 28 putts This is Kim’s fourth start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T16 in 2015 This is Kim’s sixth season on the LPGA Tour; she has 10 career wins and was the 2015 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Earned the largest winner’s check in the history of women’s golf, $1.5 million, with a win at the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship, surpassing over $8 million in career earnings Recorded three wins in 2019, her third multi-win season since her rookie year in 2015 and second three-win season on Tour Represented Republic of Korea in the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing T25 Won five times on the KLPGA in 2014 and 2013 while also leading in driving distance both years Is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo and her father owned a taekwondo academy in Korea Rolex Rankings No. 4 Nelly Korda (67-63) Korda’s 36-hole score of 130 beats her best 36-hole score by 1; the next best was 131 at the 2019 LPGA Lotte Championship She hit 10 of 13 fairway and 16 of 18 greens, with 27 putts This is Korda’s third start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T37 in 2017 This is Korda’s fourth season on the LPGA Tour; she has three career wins Korda last placed within the top 10 at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America in January Rolex Rankings No. 86 Jenny Shin (67-63) Shin’s 36-hole score of 130 is a career-best mark, she previously recorded 131 at the 2015 TOTO Japan Classic She hit 10 of 13 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, with 28 putts This is Shin’s 10th start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is T10 in 2019 and in 2012 This is Shin’s 10th season on the LPGA Tour; she has one career win at the 2016 Volunteers of America Classic Shin was born in Seoul, but moved to the United States at age 9 Rolex Rankings No. 58 Austin Ernst (65-65) Ernst’s 36-hole score of 130 is a career-best mark, she previously recorded 132 on two occasions, most recently at the 2018 Kingsmill Championship She hit 9 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 29 putts This is Ernst’s eighth start at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her best finish is solo second in 2018 This is Ernst’s eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she has one career win at the 2014 Cambia Portland Classic Member of the 2017 U.S. Solheim Cup Team with a 2-2-0 record 2011 NCAA Individual Champion at LSU where she graduated from in 2014 with a degree in Business Management Hosts the annual Austin Ernst Charity Pro-Am benefitting Safe Harbor, a domestic violence shelter TOURNAMENT VIDEOS AND PHOTOS For links to pre-tournament press conference videos and complimentary tournament photos, please contact LPGA Tour Media. Tournament imagery is provided as a courtesy by Getty Images and the LPGA strictly for editorial use. All images are intended for media publishers only and cannot be redistributed, sold or licensed by any individual or company provided with access. To access additional LPGA tournament imagery for licensing, contact Brandon Lopez at brandon.lopez@gettyimages.com. SOCIAL MEDIA: #NWAChampionship #DriveOn LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram) Tournament: @NWAChampionship (Twitter), @nwachampionship (Instagram) TV TIMES (all times EST on Golf Channel) Sunday, Aug. 30: 5-7 p.m. Live, 4-7 p.m. live stream TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS 18 holes: 61, So Yeon Ryu, second round, 2017 36 holes: 126, So Yeon Ryu, 2017 54 holes: 192, Nasa Hataoka, 2018