Out of the Rough: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (2026)

The LPGA Tour resumes for the first time since the Solheim Cup two weeks back with this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Last year’s edition was cut short, when mother nature pushed the remainder of round-two into Sunday due to inclement weather. The course received an additional 3.25-inches of rain overnight and the remainder of the event was canceled.

It is worth noting that the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship is a three-round, 54-hole event. Just about a round-and-a-half was able to be played a season ago.

This season marks the 20th installment of the LPGA Tour staple. Each of its 20 installments have been held at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.

The Field

As the dust of the Solheim Cup continues to settle and the LPGA getting ready to enter its Asian swing in three weeks time - and a stop in Hawaii next week - many of the World’s best will be idle this week.

Miyu Yamashita (fifth) comes in as the highest ranked golfer within the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings to be playing this week.

She’ll be joined by Lottie Woad (seventh,) Charley Hull (eighth,) Gaby Lopez (16th,) Lauren Coughlin (17th,) Mao Sigo (18th,) Ina Yoon (19th,) Nasa Hataoka (20th,) Hye Jin Choi (22nd,) Aki Iwai (23rd,) Auston Kim (24th) and Jin Hee Im (25th) as those ranked within the top-25 of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings to be playing this week.

Thidapa Suwannapura won the latest full installment of this event in 2024, topping Lucy Li in a playoff. Suwannapura won’t be back this season to defend her title but Li will tee it up in hopes to avenge the playoff loss.

Hataoka (2018 and 2021) is the only former champion of this event to be teeing it up this week.

The Course

Pinnacle Country Club, pressed against the Ozark Mountains, is highly considered one of the best golf courses in all of Northwest Arkansas.

It’ll play as a par-71 at 6,438 yards this week.

Off-the-tee golfers, will be welcomed by the beautiful rolling terrain of the Ozark Mountains,

The fairways are generous in width but are framed by mature hardwoods, penal rough and strategically placed bunkering.

Additionally, water serves as the course’s main line of defense, coming into play on all but two holes here at Pinnacle Country Club.

The fairways are not all that challenging to hit, but finding the correct landing area to set up the second-shot is not.

With that being said, Pinnacle Country Club is a second-shot course. Golfers will often opt for driver off-the-tee, but with an emphasis on landing areas, and plenty of obstacles listed above, an accurate approach off-the-tee could be favored.

From there, golfers will need to keep the accuracy going into their approach shots. Landing areas on these large Bentgrass greens are precise.

These greens are severely contoured and some multi-tiered. Missing the correct tier or side of these greens will result in run-offs and in turn, challenging chips and three-putts.

The list of challenges continues for this golf course as the green complexes may be the most challenging area of defense.

The greens are surrounded by both tight collars and thick rough, requiring a complete around-the-green game to recover.

Sharp and deep greenside bunkers, that are heavily featured on this golf course, often require a force-carry to find the correct landing area on these greens.

Additionally, unlike most par-71 courses that feature three-par fives, Pinnacle Country Club has four par-fives but has an additional par-three in lieu of a traditional tenth par-four.

In all, a complete, patient game will be needed to compete here this week.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Friday is calling for just a ten-percent chance of precipitation. Saturday is calling for the highest chance at 25-percent and Sunday is calling for a 15-percent chance. Temperatures are set for a high of 79-degrees for both Friday and Saturday before peaking at 81-degrees on Sunday. Winds are set to peak at ten miles-per-hour, but due to the nearby Ozark Mountains generating natural wind tunnels and the elevation changes featured on the course, winds could be higher than what forecasts suggest.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Ball Striking

• Driving Accuracy Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Scrambling

• Three-Putt Avoidance

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Three-Round scoring average

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Par-5 Scoring Average

• Par-3 Scoring Average

• Sand Saves Percentage

Betting Card

Somi Lee (+2800)

Across her last three starts on the LPGA Tour, Lee has two top-tens. She placed ninth in her latest outing at the FM Championship, 23rd at the CPKC Women’s Open and tenth at The Standard Portland Classic. If you take a look prior to her missed cut at the AIG Women’s Open and withdrawal from the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, she also placed tenth at The Amundi Evian Championship, 19th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, tenth at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, third at the Dow Championship, 40th at the Women’s U.S. Open and fourth at the ShopRite LPGA powered by Wakefern. Stats wise, she also fits perfectly to Pinnacle Country Club. Lee is currently 13th on Tour in three-round scoring average, 15th in scrambling, 18th in both ball striking and driving accuracy percentage, 19th in par-five average scoring, 21st in three-putt avoidance, 28th in birdie-or-better percentage, 38th in par-three average scoring, 48th in SG: PUTT, 62nd in SG: APP, 82nd in SG: ATG and 107th in sand saves percentage. Lee did miss the cut at this event in 2023. 

Celine Boutier (+3400)

This was my first click this week and at 34/1, I think that is tremendous value for Boutier. She is currently first on Tour in par-three average scoring and if you remember from the course preview above, there are five of them at this venue. Boutier is also 17th in scrambling, 20th in sand saves percentage, 31st in three-round scoring average, 38th in SG: PUTT, 42nd in both SG: APP and driving accuracy percentage, 43rd in three-putt avoidance, 53rd in par-five average scoring, 80th in ball striking and 90th in birdie-or-better percentage. She did miss the cut in her latest outing at the FM Championship, although on the number. She also placed fifth at The Standard Portland Classic and 12th at the AIG Women’s Open. Boutier has a victory on the season, winning the ShopRite LPGA powered by WakeFern. She also has some decent course history here at Pinnacle Country Club. She placed 37th in 2024, fifth in 2022 and 34th in 2021. 

Pajaree Anannarukarn (+4100)

Anannarukarn is the complete package this week. She popped in my stats-based model, is in good form and has great course history. She is currently tenth on Tour in SG: APP, 43rd in sand saves percentage, 47th in all three of three-round scoring average, birdie-or-better percentage and par-five average scoring, 49th in scrambling, 53rd in driving accuracy percentage, 54th in ball striking, 78th in both SG: PUTT and SG: ATG, 86th in par-three average scoring and 103rd in three-putt avoidance. Anannarukarn placed 38th in her latest outing at the FM Championship. She also placed 13th at the CPKC Women’s Open, fifth at The Standard Portland Classic, missed the cut at the AIG Women’s Open and third at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open. Anannarukarn placed 17th at this event a season ago. She also placed 27th in 2023, missed the cut in 2022, placed eighth in 2021 and 21st in 2020. 

Jenny Shin (+7400)

This is a play based more so on course history than anything else. Shin is not in great form, although she did win the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open within her last four starts. She placed 47th at the AIG Women’s Open after her victory, 67th at the CPKC Women’s Open and missed the cut at the FM Championship following her victory. The stats are not awful for Shin however. She is currently fifth on Tour in SG: ATG, 17th in SG: PUTT, 30th in scrambling, 40th in sand saves percentage, 46th in three-putt avoidance, 51st in par-three average scoring, 59th in three-round scoring average, 69th in driving accuracy percentage, 71st in par-five average scoring, 94th in SG: APP, 95th in birdie-or-better percentage and 134th in ball striking. As previously mentioned about her course history, it is great. She placed 12th here in 2024, third in 2023, 12th in 2022, 25th in 2021 and fifth in 2020. 

Chella Choi (+17000)

My longshot this week is Choi. She is currently second on Tour in driving accuracy percentage, 12th in par-five average scoring, 46th in ball striking, 51st in par-three average scoring, 52nd in SG: ATG, 55th in birdie-or-better percentage, 61st in scrambling, 62nd in three-round average scoring, 69th in SG: APP, 80th in sand saves percentage, 81st in SG: PUTT and 124th in three-putt avoidance. She does have a top-ten within her last three outings, placing tenth at The Standard Portland Classic. She missed the cut at the CPKC Women’s Open and placed 53rd at the FM Championship most recently. Choi does have some great course history here as well, although she last played here in 2022. She placed third in 2022, eighth in 2021 and 28th in 2020. In all, this is not a bad resume for someone priced at 170/1.