Can Inbee Park Pick Up a 4th Win at the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship?

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The WalMart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G is the final tournament leading up to the US Women’s Open. Who’s hot among the 144 player international field? And what’s at stake?

Jun 9, 2013; Pittsford, NY, USA; Inbee Park gets water dumped on her by Chella Choi after Park sunk the winning putt on the 3rd playoff hole during the final round of the Wegmans LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Ai Miyazato (Japan) is the defending champ at the WalMart tournament. Is she ready to make a run for the big share of the $2 million purse? At #10 in the Rolex Rankings, Miyazato has the numbers to take home some money. But she hasn’t had a strong finish since the LPGA Lotte Championship in April. I wouldn’t bet on Miyazato to finish in the top ten at the WalMart NW Arkansas

Coming off her 1st place finish at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, Inbee Park (South Korea) is hot. No doubt about it. The Rolex #1 ranked payer is a strong front-runner at the WalMart. She already has 3 wins this year, the Honda LPGA Thailand, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and the North Texas LPGA Shootout. Top ten finishes at the LPGA Lotte Championship and the Kingsmill Championship further strengthen my sense that she’s already leading the pack at the WalMart and could well be the one to beat.

Catriona Matthew (Scotland) may be the player to eclipse Park. Matthew, at #12 in the Rolex Rankings, gave a performance at the Wegmans that was nothing short of heroic. She lost the tournament at the final putt in a 3-hole playoff with Park. Although she didn’t make the cut at the North Texas Shootout, the Pure Silk-Bahamas, and the Shoprite LPGA Classic, she’s a steady player and looking for redemption after her Wegmans loss. Don’t discount Matthew at this point. I intend to keep Matthew on my tournament radar.

Can Arkansas work some special magic on Razorback grad Stacy Lewis? She won the HSBC Women’s Championship in February and the RR Donnelley Founders Cup in March and despite some lackluster playing in recent tournaments has a lock on the #2 slot in the Rolex Rankings. She’s carded top-ten finishes at the Honda, Kia Classic, LPGA Lotte, North Texas Shootout, Kingsmill, and Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. She’s due another win. Arkansas is a place where winning would be especially sweet. But does she actually have the will to win?

Others to watch: Yani Tseng (Taiwan), Morgan Pressel (USA), Suzann Pettersen (Norway), and Lydia Ko (amateur, New Zealand). Tseng, at #6 in the Rolex Rankings, could easily give Park, Matthew, and Lewis a game to beat if she finds the sweet spot on her clubs. Pressel has not had an impressive year but her 3rd place finish at the Wegmans has whetted her taste for a victory. She says she’s ready for a win and I sense that she wants this win. Pettersen, at #3 in the Rolex Rankings, definitely bears watching. She won the Lotte and has carded top-ten finishes at the Kraft Nabisco, North Texas Shootout, the Kingsmill and the Wegmans tournaments. Ko continues to play top notch golf and she and Park have a special one-on-one running competition that could make this tournament especially interesting.

Conditions at the last 3 tournaments, the Wegmans, the Shoprite, and the Pure Silk-Bahamas, have been soggy and stormy. After Thursday, Arkansas promises heat and sun, ideal golf weather for this run-up to the US Women’s Open and the Solheim Cup. Settle in to watch some goof golf unfold beginning on Friday. Let’s get teed up!