ROGERS -- The Northwest Arkansas Championship comes in the middle of a long stretch of 12 consecutive weeks of LPGA tournaments.
The timing of this tournament, which falls one week before the KPMG Women's PGA Championship -- the second major of the year -- is likely a factor in several of the top-ranked golfers being absent from the field.
The Grind
The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship is the sixth LPGA tournament in a 12-consecutive week period.
Date^Event^Location
May 18-21^Kingsmill Championship^Williamsburg, Va.
May 25-28^Volvik Championship^Ann Arbor, Mich.
June 2-4^ShopRite LPGA Classic^Galloway, N.J.
June 8-11^Manulife LPGA Classic^Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
June 15-18^Meijer LPGA Classic^Grand Rapids, Mich.
June 23-25^NW Arkansas Championship^Rogers
June 29-July 2^KPMG Women’s PGA Championship^Olympia Fields, Ill.
July 6-9^Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic^Oneida, Wis.
July 13-16^U.S. Women’s Open^Bedminster, N.J.
July 20-23^Marathon Classic^Sylvania, Ohio
July 27-30^Ladies Scottish Open^North Ayrshire, Scotland
Aug. 3-6^Women’s British Open^Fife, Scotland
Top 10 Rolex Rankings players who are not in the field this week include No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 4 Lexi Thompson, No. 5 In Gee Chun, No. 6 Shanshan Feng, No. 9 Anna Nordqvist and No. 10 Sei Young Kim.
Morgan Pressel, an 11-year tour veteran with more than $7 million in career earnings, said she decides in January when the LPGA schedule is released which tournaments she will play in and which ones she will miss.
"We knew that this was coming, even in January," Pressel of the 12-week stretch. "You look at the schedule as a whole and you have to prepare yourself. I don't really like to play more than four weeks in a row, so this week is one of a three-week stretch and I'm going to play next week and that will be four weeks, so I kind of had to strategically take off events."
Gaby Lopez is in her second year on the LPGA Tour and still is learning how to prepare for the weekly schedule, which is far different from the schedule she played as an All-American golfer at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Lopez said it's almost impossible to play 12 consecutive weeks without a break, so planning her schedule with her coach was done in advance.
"I learned a lot from last year," Lopez said. "It's as important to rest as it is to practice. Sometimes you have to take a week off and prepare yourself mentally, emotionally and physically for the next three to four weeks. It's a grind, but you have to be good in every aspect to perform well."
Lopez ended her second round Saturday in a tie for 10th place at 6-under par after a second consecutive 68.
Inbee Park, the 2013 tournament champion and already an LPGA Hall of Famer, said playing in a tournament the week before a major is something she tries to do to gauge what's working and what's not.
"It gives me a good feel of where my game is at and what I need to work on," Park said. "I think it just helps you get going. I've had some good results from this tournament, and it gives me good confidence going into a major championship, so I always like to play the week before."
Park finished Saturday with a 6-under 65 to move to 8-under for the tournament and a fifth-place tie.
Michelle Wie, who enters today's final round at 6 under, said she found time this week to rest, breaking from her normal schedule to compensate for the long string of tournaments.
"It definitely is a grind, especially when it's hot early in the week," Wie said. "I took Wednesday off completely, which I never do, because you just have to conserve energy, especially with next week being a major."
Pressel said golfers have to be smart in planning their schedule to prevent injury.
"You just try and keep your body healthy," she said. "You can't push too hard, but I'm out here to win every week, so I want to give every week my all."
Sports on 06/25/2017