Meadow falls back as Maguire makes four deuces to survive
Leona Maguire © USGA/Chris Keane)
Stephanie Meadow fell back into the pack as Leona Maguire dug deep to make the cut in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
After opening with a six-under 65 to lie just a shot off the lead, Meadow found the going tougher in the second round at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers and after dropping shots at the fifth, ninth and 13th, she birdied the 16th and 18th to card a one-over 72 that left her tied for 28th on five-under.
She’s 11 strokes behind Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, who fired a bogey-free, nine-under-par 62 to lead by three shots from South Korea’s Sei Young Kim on 16-under par.
Leona, who had opened with a level par 71, made one of four birdies twos on the day at the 11th to go to one-under. But while a double-bogey six at the 13th, (her fourth) left her three shots outside the cut line, she fought back and made twos at the 15th, 17th and third to shoot 69 and make the two-under par cut on the mark with a 70.
As for Nordqvist, she was pleased to hit 35 greens in regulation over the first two days, putting her resurgence in form since being diagnosed with glandular fever in 2017 to focussing on the things she’s doing right.
“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 of 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.”
With Kim three behind on 13-under and Nelly Korda, Austin Ernst and Jenny Shin only four shots adrift, 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 eight-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 cheque 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
