Jasmine Suwannapura Takes Early Lead at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G
By Jeremy Friedman
ROGERS, Ark. – Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura is having a “fun week” in Northwest Arkansas at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. She met up with past host families who are out supporting her this week. She had a blast yesterday playing in the Official Pro-Am alongside executives from Tito’s.
And today, she turned in her lowest round in 2024 to take the early lead at the #NWAChampionship with an 8-under par 63 at Pinnacle Country Club that featured eight birdies and no bogeys.
“It’s been a pretty fun week so far,” said Suwannapura following her round. “It’s been amazing. I think this community that has been supporting us – the LPGA, all the pros – they welcome us, cheer us and walk around with us.
“I think it’s a big thing. It’s very important for us,” continued Suwannapura. “You feel like you come from anywhere in the country and this kind of feels like home.”
For University of Arkansas greats Maria Fassi, Maria José Marin and Gaby Lopez, Pinnacle Country Club and Northwest Arkansas are home, and they took advantage of the hometown atmosphere to post scores that puts them on the first page of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s second round.
“Today was awesome. To have some of the current Razorbacks on be on the [first] tee there in the morning was very special,” said Fassi, who turned in one of her best opening round starts in her LPGA career with a 7-under-par 64. “For me it was a great day. I mean, getting to play with Maria (José Marin) was awesome as well. I think that in a way helped both of us to kind of enjoy it a little bit more.”
Maria José Marin, a sophomore All-American at the University of Arkansas, is competing this week on a sponsor exemption as the top-ranked player on the Arkansas women’s golf team heading into this week’s championship. In making her LPGA Tour tournament debut today competing alongside Fassi, she turned in eight birdies – including the two finishing holes – for a 6-under 65 and T6 heading into Saturday.
“It felt amazing to play my first LPGA event in here in Arkansas in front of all the Razorback fans,” said José Marin. “It means a lot to represent the University of Arkansas and to ‘Call the Hogs’ on 17. “I feel really proud of myself, and it just felt amazing.”
Today José Marin played her opening round with Fassi. On Tuesday she played a practice round with Lopez. Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Estes followed the pairing on Tuesday and the opening round today with Maria and Maria. Lopez is excited for José Marin’s future. She also channeled the Razorback Nation today with her own solid opening round 5-under-66, standing at T9.
“I’ve been playing here for probably 12 or 13 years, so I can see myself from when I was in college all the way here, said Lopez. “It’s just amazing to see the Razorback community and the women’s golf team have this opportunity. They can also see this as a taste for the future.
“Maria [José Marin] is an amazing girl,” continued Lopez. “We should keep our eyes on her because she is probably going to join us on Tour anytime soon.”
Saturday’s round two of play at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G will begin at 7:15 a.m. with morning and afternoon waves of tee times. Admission gates will open at 7 a.m.