P&G NW Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart - LPGA Golf - Arkansas - September 6-12, 2010 - Home

Defending Champion Shin To Compete In P&G NW Arkansas Championship

2010-07-27T15:06:00Z

ROGERS, Ark. – Defending champion Jiyai Shin, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, will return to the P&G NW Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart in September with hopes of winning her second title. Tickets are now on sale for the tournament held at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, September 10 – 12.

Shin carded a bogey-free final-round 64 and held off Angela Stanford and Sun Young Yoo in a sudden-death playoff to win the 2009 Championship. Her final round included five birdies on the back nine and seven total. She finished the tournament at 9-under 204. The win was part of tremendous season in which Shin posted three victories and 12 top-10 finishes to become the LPGA’s 2009 Louis Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year winner. Shin became the first South Korean to lead the LPGA Tour Official Money List in 2009 with over $1.8 million earned.

In April, at a ceremony held during the Masters in Augusta, Ga., Shin was honored as Female Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America. The following month, Shin became the top-ranked player in the world according to the Rolex Rankings following the retirement of Lorena Ochoa.

Shin held the No. 1 spot for seven weeks before emergency appendectomy surgery forced her out of two tournaments. She reclaimed the No. 1 ranking on July 26 following a victory at the Evian Masters Presented by Societe Generale in Evian-les-Bains, France. Shin carded a one-stroke victory over three players who tied for second, including 2010 P&G NW Arkansas Championship sponsor exemption Alexis Thompson. The second-place finish gave Thompson, a 15-year old who turned pro in June, her best finish as a professional.

Shin’s victory at the Evian Masters was her first of the season. She previously finished third or tied for third in four tournaments – the HSBC Women’s Champions, the KIA CLASSIC Presented by J Golf, the Sybase Match Play Championship and the LPGA Championship Presented by Wegmans. Shin has posted eight top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season.

Tickets to the tournament are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.nwachampionship.com or by calling (479) 715-6100. Daily tickets are $25 for championship play, Friday – Sunday. Week-long grounds badges can be purchased for $50. Admission is free to the public Monday – Thursday. Children 17-years old and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult.

Fans also can support local charities by purchasing an LPGA weekly ticket through one of eight participating organizations. These charities are selling $50 weekly tickets and keeping 100 percent of the proceeds.

To learn more about the tournament’s charitable ticket program and for other tournament information, visit www.NWAChampionship.com or follow the event at www.facebook.com/NWAChampionship and www.twitter.com/NWAChampionship.

P&G NW Arkansas Championship Seeks Additional Volunteers

2010-07-23T13:17:00Z

ROGERS, Ark. – With the 2010 P&G NW Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart quickly approaching in September, tournament officials are asking area residents to consider supporting the event by serving as volunteers. Golf knowledge is not required to be a volunteer. The LPGA event, now in its fourth year, will be held September, 6 - 12 at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.

“We are proud that our LPGA event in Northwest Arkansas continues to grow and improve, but one constant of any professional golf tournament is the need for a strong and committed base of volunteers. In fact we cannot put the tournament on without them,” said tournament chair Jay Allen. “Anyone, no matter age or golf knowledge, can play an important role in the success of the tournament, and it is a great opportunity to get an insider’s look at a major league professional sports event and to literally interact with the best female golfers in the world.”

“The P&G NW Arkansas Championship needs the assistance of more than 500 volunteers to make the tournament a success,” said Allen. There are many different volunteer committees and assignments including Golf Channel support, hole marshals, walking scorers, and hospitality. Training will be provided for committees requiring specific knowledge.

Those interested in volunteering can sign-up online at www.NWAChampionship.com/volunteers. The volunteer fee is $45 and includes an official tournament golf shirt, jacket and hat, as well as a volunteer badge valid for week-long tournament access, four weekly grounds badges for guests, an invitation to the annual volunteer appreciation party and meals and beverages during assigned shifts.

15 year-old Thompson to Play P&G NWA Championship

2010-05-25T15:19:00Z

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ROGERS, AR – Fifteen-year-old Alexis Thompson will compete on a sponsor exemption in the P&G Northwest Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart, tournament officials at Octagon announced today. Thompson, who will turn pro in June, is the No. 1-ranked amateur female golfer in the United States. The LPGA Tour event will be held at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, September 6-12.

The P&G Northwest Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart will be one of six LPGA Tour events this year in which she will compete on sponsor exemptions.

In 2007, at age 12, Thompson became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open. She has won four amateur events during her career, and was named Golfweek’s Women’s Amateur Player of the Year and the Junior Girls Player of the Year in 2009.

Thompson, from Coral Springs, Florida, has played as an amateur in two pro events this year – the Women’s Australian Open and the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Thompson finished T16 at the Australian Open and T24 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She will represent the United States in the 2010 Curtis Cup and turn professional afterwards.

“We have two sponsor exemptions for this year’s event, and we wanted to utilize one of those for Alexis Thompson so that people attending our tournament would have the opportunity to see one of the top young golf talents in the world,” said Jay Allen, Tournament Chairman.

Allen added that the tournament would announce the recipient of the second sponsor exemption later this year.

P&G Northwest Arkansas Championship Announces 2010 LPGA Charity Ticket Participants

2010-05-10T13:44:00Z

Rogers, Ark. – Eight Northwest Arkansas charities have been chosen to participate in the 2010 charity ticket program as part of the P&G Northwest Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart, tournament officials announced today. The LPGA Tour event will be held at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, September 6-12.

Between now and the tournament in September, each of the participating charities will have an opportunity to sell weekly tournament ticket badges to the event, valued at $50 each, and will be able to keep 100 percent of the ticket proceeds. In addition, there is a special matching component to the program which provides the charities an opportunity to receive dollar-for-dollar matching funds once they reach a threshold level of 50 tickets sold.

The following charities have been selected by the tournament to participate in this year’s charity ticket program:

• First Tee of Northwest Arkansas (www.thefirstteenwar.org)
• Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter (nwawomensshelter.org)
• Pagnozzi Charities (pagnozzicharities.org)
• Boys and Girls Club of Benton County (www.bgcbentoncounty.org)
• Boys and Girls Club of Fayetteville (www.fayettevillekids.org/)
• Junior Auxiliary of Rogers-Bentonville (www.jarb.org)
• Youth Bridge (youthbridge.com)
• Teen Action and Support Center (www.teenaction.org)

“In addition to running a first class LPGA event for Northwest Arkansas, we also want to give back to the community from a charitable standpoint, so this program is very important to us,” said Jay Allen, Tournament Chairman. “While the participating charities certainly stand to gain through this program, we also appreciate their help in spreading the word about our tournament in the region.”

In 2009, participating charities combined to earn more than $69,000 through ticket sales and matching funds, Allen said. Overall, last year’s tournament had a charitable benefit in Northwest Arkansas representing more than $200,000.

For more information on the P&G NW Arkansas Championship please visit www.nwachampionship.com.

Shin Honored at Masters

2010-04-09T08:16:00Z

Defending Champion Jiyai Shin was honored as the Female Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Shin was recognized for her 2009 LPGA Tour performance that included three victories and 12 top-10 finishes. The 2009 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and current Rolex Rankings No.2 finished T5 at the Kraft Nabsico Championship last weekend.

September Date, Purse Increase Announced for 2010

2009-11-18T15:48:00Z

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ROGERS, AR – Tournament officials for the LPGA event in Northwest Arkansas have announced that the 2010 event will take place Monday, September 6 through Sunday, September 12 at Pinnacle Country Club, with the 54-hole tournament championship taking place Friday through Sunday, September 10 – 12.

Officials also announced that that the total purse for the 2010 event, officially named the P&G NW Arkansas Championship presented by Walmart, will be increased by $200,000 to $2 million in total. The first place prize in 2010 will be $300,000. The purse in the P&G NW Arkansas Championship has increased every year since the first event in 2007.

This is the third straight year that P&G has served as title sponsor of the Northwest Arkansas LPGA event, and in 2010 Walmart is increasing its sponsorship to become “presenting sponsor.”

“Northwest Arkansas continues to embrace our event, as underscored by the strong support from P&G, Walmart and many other sponsors,” said Jay Allen, Tournament Chairman. “The ongoing support of our sponsors and the whole community enables us to improve our tournament in all aspects every year, and increasing our purse to $2 million ensures that the best players in the world will be in Northwest Arkansas for our event in September 2010.”

“Our goal from the beginning was to become one of the truly top tier events on the LPGA Tour and for Northwest Arkansas,” said Jeff Schomburger, P&G’s President of Customer Business Development in the company’s Fayetteville office. “As we approach our fourth year we are certainly on that track.”

P&G NW Arkansas Championship Earns Gold Driver for Top LPGA Tournament Experience

2009-11-17T15:58:00Z

The P&G NW Arkansas Championship was honored by the LPGA Tournament Owners Association with two Gold Driver Awards. Gold Drivers are given for excellence in a variety of categories. The P&G NW Arkansas Championship was recognized as having the top "Tournament Experience" and also the top "Outdoor Advertising" for its displays at the Pinnacle Hills Promenade Mall.

Jiyai Shin Wins 2009 P&G Beauty Championship

2009-09-13T18:44:00Z

Shin turned in less-than-ideal rounds over the first two days, shooting back-to-back 1-under 70s. However, playing nearly two hours ahead of the final group, she shot the best round of the tournament, a bogey-free 64 that included five birdies on the back nine and seven for the day.

Following her round, Shin waited patiently to see if her clubhouse lead would stand. Song-Hee Kim, the second round leader, was never able to gain momentum on Sunday and finished 1-over on the day, dropping her to a T4 finish at 8-under.

Sun Young Yoo, who started the day at 6-under, made birdie on the final hole to earn a berth in the playoff. Stanford, playing in the final group, was even-par for the day over 17 holes before making an exhilarating 25-foot eagle putt on the final hole to make the playoff a three-way affair.

The golfers replayed the par-5 18th hole to begin the playoff and each made birdie. They then moved to the par-3 15th hole, where Shin drained a 12-foot birdie putt to win following her opponents’ misses.

“I saw that Angela's ball looks like just almost straightaway, no left to the right. But Angela's ball went left to the right. So I said that was different looking. So I trust Angela's putt, and then I set up about the cup to the left of the hole and then I made it. Angela's big help for me,” said Shin about the winning putt.

Shin entered the tournament ranked fifth in the world, and will likely move up when the world rankings are released tomorrow. Her winner’s check brought her season earnings to $1,498,861, leading the LPGA Tour. The young golfer leads the Rolex Rookie of the Year standings by a wide margin and surpassed Cristie Kerr for the lead in the Rolex Player of the Year standings.

Crowds at the tournament swelled as the day progressed and rainy weather subsided for the most part. Fans could sense an exciting finish with the logjam near the top of the leaderboard and the anticipation peaked when Stanford closed out regulation with her eagle putt. Following the first playoff hole, galleries rushed to the 15th hole to witness Shin’s moment in the spotlight.

The gracious champion was surprised by her come from behind victory and appreciative of all the support she received. Fans roared with applause as she returned to the 18th green to receive the champion’s trophy presented by Mayor Steve Womack and representatives from tournament sponsors Procter & Gamble and Walmart.

For complete information on the tournament visit www.pgbeautychampionship.com.