Walmart NW Arkansas Championship R1

NW Arkansas 2021 R1
September 24-26
Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Arkansas
$2,300,000
Round 2, Round 3

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

South Korea’s A Lim Kim and Eun-Hee Ji and Australian Katherine Kirk recorded 8-under 63s to top the leaderboard heading into the weekend. Kim’s 63 is her career-best score while Ji tied her low mark last recorded in the first round of the Honda LPGA Thailand. Kirk’s round is her lowest since a 62 at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

NW Arkansas 2021 R1

“Today I think my condition very nice, tee shot, or second or putting, that’s good. I tried my best today,” said Kim in her first appearance in Arkansas.

“It was fun. I got off to a good start, and this is the kind of golf course where you just have to keep the pedal down. I was fortunately able to do that and rattled in, what, I think four birdies on each side. I’m really happy with the round,” said a bogey-free Kirk. “You have to get off to a good start here. This is more of a sprint than a marathon, so super happy.”

NW Arkansas 2021 R1

Kirk is playing in her 15th Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, one the few who has taken part in every edition since its inception. This is her 20th event of 2021, where her season-best result so far was a tie for 25th at the Pure Silk Championship. After a hole-in-one at last week’s Cambia Portland Classic, the T26 result provided a much-needed “confidence boost” as she prepared for the three-day event.

“It has been a bit of a grind this year, so I have been hitting the ball well but haven’t been scoring well. It’s been a bit frustrating. As a veteran, I know I’ve got to remain patient and just keep doing the right things and eventually you’ll turn a corner. I felt like last week was a little bit of a turning point. I love this golf course, good memories and good vibes and it was just a matter of going out there and having some fun.”

NW Arkansas 2021 R1

One stroke behind in fourth place, Sarah Burnham recorded a career-low 7-under 64 thanks to seven birdies. Four players are tied for fifth at 6-under, including Nasa Hataoka and Pajaree Anannarukarn. Hataoka aced the 11th while Anannarukarn rebounded quickly from a triple bogey at the 6th with a chip-in eagle at the 7th.

“Obviously I didn’t hit that [shot on No. 6] good and it just went left of the pin. Yeah, it went in the water and I was just kind of messing around, yeah, it’s golf. Like I should have stayed more focused, but kind of missed on that,” said Anannarukarn. “Honestly [No. 7] was a great hole. I hit good off the tee and good second shot, and then the third shot was just great. I was trying to get it close but wasn’t really intending to make it in. But, yeah, made it.”

Six players sit in a tie for 10th at 5-under 66s, including major champions Ariya Jutanugarn and In Gee Chun.

NW Arkansas 2021 R1

Pos.	Player	To Par	R1
T1	A Lim Kim	-8	63
T1	Katherine Kirk	-8	63
T1	Eun-Hee Ji	-8	63
4	Sarah Burnham	-7	64
T5	Nasa Hataoka	-6	65
T5	Lindsey Weaver	-6	65
T5	Pajaree Anannarukarn	-6	65
T5	Aditi Ashok	-6	65
T5	Klara Spilkova	-6	65
T10	Ashleigh Buhai	-5	66
T10	Haeji Kang	-5	66
T10	Jing Yan	-5	66
T10	Chella Choi	-5	66
T10	Ariya Jutanugarn	-5	66
T10	In Gee Chun	-5	66
T16	Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras	-4	67
T16	Lauren Kim	-4	67
T16	Brooke M. Henderson	-4	67
T16	Lexi Thompson	-4	67
T16	Minjee Lee	-4	67
T16	Jennifer Kupcho	-4	67
T16	Jenny Shin	-4	67
T16	Lindy Duncan	-4	67
T16	Stacy Lewis	-4	67
T16	Esther Henseleit	-4	67
T16	Brooke Matthews (a)	-4	67
T16	Dana Finkelstein	-4	67
T16	Elizabeth Szokol	-4	67
T29	Daniela Darquea	-3	68
T29	Mind Muangkhumsakul	-3	68
T29	Maria Fassi	-3	68
T29	Wichanee Meechai	-3	68
T29	Patty Tavatanakit	-3	68
T29	Jennifer Song	-3	68
T29	Maria Fernanda Torres	-3	68
T29	Jackie Stoelting	-3	68
T29	Austin Ernst	-3	68
T29	Danielle Kang	-3	68
T29	Lydia Ko	-3	68
T29	Jin Young Ko	-3	68
T29	Moriya Jutanugarn	-3	68
T29	Min Lee	-3	68
T29	Jennifer Chang	-3	68
T44	Nuria Iturrioz	-2	69
T44	Dani Holmqvist	-2	69
T44	Jeongeun Lee6	-2	69
T44	Yuka Saso	-2	69
T44	Megan Khang	-2	69
T44	Sophia Popov	-2	69
T44	Celine Boutier	-2	69
T44	Ally Ewing	-2	69
T44	Haru Nomura	-2	69
T44	Sarah Kemp	-2	69
T44	Caroline Masson	-2	69
T44	Lee Lopez	-2	69
T44	Mo Martin	-2	69
T44	Sung Hyun Park	-2	69
T44	Cydney Clanton	-2	69
T44	Brittany Lincicome	-2	69
T44	So Yeon Ryu	-2	69
T44	Jeongeun Lee	-2	69
T44	Ana Belac	-2	69
T44	Carlota Ciganda	-2	69
T44	Alison Lee	-2	69
T44	Stephanie Meadow	-2	69
T44	Paula Reto	-2	69
T67	Gemma Dryburgh	-1	70
T67	Haley Moore	-1	70
T67	Gaby Lopez	-1	70
T67	Jasmine Suwannapura	-1	70
T67	Nanna Koerstz Madsen	-1	70
T67	Bronte Law	-1	70
T67	Jaye Marie Green	-1	70
T67	Jenny Coleman	-1	70
T67	Azahara Munoz	-1	70
T67	Pornanong Phatlum	-1	70
T67	Sarah Jane Smith	-1	70
T67	Perrine Delacour	-1	70
T67	Madelene Sagstrom	-1	70
T67	Na Yeon Choi	-1	70
T67	Mina Harigae	-1	70
T67	Andrea Lee	-1	70
T83	Brianna Do	E	71
T83	Katherine Perry-Hamski	E	71
T83	Marina Alex	E	71
T83	Mi Jung Hur	E	71
T83	Amy Yang	E	71
T83	Sei Young Kim	E	71
T83	Lauren Coughlin	E	71
T83	Alena Sharp	E	71
T83	Gerina Piller	E	71
T83	Alana Uriell	E	71
T83	Kelly Tan	E	71
T83	Matilda Castren	E	71
T83	Anna Nordqvist	E	71
T83	Mi Hyang Lee	E	71
T83	Celine Herbin	E	71
T98	Caroline Inglis	+1	72
T98	Janie Jackson	+1	72
T98	Alexa Pano (a)	+1	72
T98	Ryann O’Toole	+1	72
T98	Nicole Broch Estrup	+1	72
T98	Su Oh	+1	72
T98	Cheyenne Knight	+1	72
T98	Angela Stanford	+1	72
T98	Dottie Ardina	+1	72
T98	Ssu-Chia Cheng	+1	72
T98	Brittany Altomare	+1	72
T109	Christina Kim	+2	73
T109	Giulia Molinaro	+2	73
T109	Annie Park	+2	73
T109	Sarah Schmelzel	+2	73
T109	Kristen Gillman	+2	73
T109	Esther Lee	+2	73
T109	Albane Valenzuela	+2	73
T109	Liz Nagel	+2	73
T109	Mariah Stackhouse	+2	73
T109	Cory Lopez (a)	+2	73
T109	Pernilla Lindberg	+2	73
T109	Kristy McPherson	+2	73
T109	Sydnee Michaels	+2	73
T109	Marissa Steen	+2	73
T109	Tiffany Chan	+2	73
T124	Kendall Dye	+3	74
T124	Jillian Hollis	+3	74
T124	Mirim Lee	+3	74
T124	Min Seo Kwak	+3	74
T124	Yealimi Noh	+3	74
T124	Wei-Ling Hsu	+3	74
T124	Jodi Ewart Shadoff	+3	74
T124	Emma Talley	+3	74
T132	Anne van Dam	+4	75
T132	Benyapa Niphatsophon	+4	75
T132	Brittany Lang	+4	75
T135	Pavarisa Yoktuan	+5	76
T135	Angel Yin	+5	76
T135	Mel Reid	+5	76
T135	Babe Liu	+5	76
T135	Sandra Gal	+5	76
T135	Linnea Strom	+5	76
T135	Bianca Pagdanganan	+5	76
T142	Muni He	+6	77
T142	Kajal Mistry (a)	+6	77
144	Luna Sobron Galmes	+8	79