Ernst edges out Nordqvist in Arkansas; Meadow and Maguire well back
Austin Ernst holds the trophy after winning the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle County Club. Picture: Getty Images
Stephanie Meadow tied for 59th with Leona Maguire five shots further back in 77th as Austin Ernst closed with a 63 to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G by two shots at Pinnacle Country Club.
Meadow followed an opening 65 with rounds of 72 and 70 to finish on six-under-par as Maguire carded rounds of 71, 69 and 72 to finish on one-under.
Ernst started the final round four shots behind 36-hole leader Anna Nordqvist, who was 16 under after a blistering second-round 62.
The Swede had hit 35 of 36 greens in regulation over the first two days but in the final round, she hit just 13 of 18 greens and Ernst, looking for her first win in six years, shot 63 to win.
She opened with three straight birdies and added three more to make the turn just one stroke behind Nordqvist. She was able to keep the pedal down as she birdied the 12th to grab the solo lead for the first time.
Heading to the 18th tee, Ernst held a one-shot lead over Nordqvist. After her eagle putt lipped out, Ernst sank her 10th birdie putt of the day on the 18th to put the pressure on Nordqvist to hole out for a tie from the fairway.
Nordqvist gave it a good go with a tight 54-degree wedge from 91 yards, but settled for par and a runner-up finish.
“I knew I needed a really low score,” Ernst said of her game plan heading into Sunday. “I kind of thought at the beginning of the week that 20-under would win and I think that's what I got to. But you knew that out here, you needed to attack and you couldn't be afraid and couldn't just kind of middle-the-green it all day.
“I didn't officially know where I stood, but I assumed I got the lead pretty early on in the back nine. I just knew I needed to attack and make a lot of birdies coming in.”
“I feel great. I mean, it hasn't fully sunk in, but to get my second win out here, I always knew that I could win more than one. To actually do it means a lot. And to shoot 20-under in three days I played unbelievable golf. I'm just so happy that I got the win.”
Americans Angela Stanford and Nelly Korda finished tied for third at 16-under, while Republic of Korea natives Jenny Shin and Sei Young Kim rounded out the top five at 15-under
Second-year Tour player Maria Fassi led the pack of seven University of Arkansas Razorbacks finishing T15 for her career-best finish at the event.
DESPITE OUTCOME, ANNA NORDQVIST IS READY FOR ANA INSPIRATION IN TWO WEEKS
“I mean, I played great this week. Just felt like it wasn't really meant to be,” said Anna Nordqvist who finished second at 18-under. “On the back nine hit a lot of good putts; they just didn't go in. Two bad drives that kind of killed me a little bit.”
Though the eight-time LPGA Tour winner may not have won, she sure put up a good fight, putting pressure on Austin Ernst until the final hole. Throughout the three days, Nordqvist posted 20 birdies and 32 pars hitting 30 of 39 fairways and 48 of 54 greens.
With her game where she wants it to be, the Swedish golfer is already thinking about the next event: the ANA Inspiration.
“A lot of positives this week. Felt like I did a lot of good things today, too. Just wasn't meant to be. The last couple weeks been a little bit of a struggle, so I'm glad things are moving in the right direction.”
U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN QUALIFYING UPDATE
The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G is the first of five opportunities for players to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open. Following the final round of the tournament Katherine Kirk (-14) and Jenny Shin (-15) have qualified for the major championship, to be conducted Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas.
Following this week’s competition, there will be four additional play-in opportunities:
ANA Inspiration (winner)
Cambia Portland Classic (top two players not already exempt)
ShopRite LPGA Classic (top two players not already exempt)
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (top three players not already exempt)
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 58 Austin Ernst (65-65-63)
Ernst’s 54-hole score of 193 is a career-best mark by five strokes, she previously recorded 198 to finish as the runner-up at the 2018 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
She hit 13 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
Made 143 starts between her win at the 2014 Cambia Portland Classic and today
Ernst joins Danielle Kang (Drive On Championship, Marathon Classic) and Stacy Lewis (Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open) as American winners on the LPGA Tour in 2020
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
Member of the 2012 U.S. Curtis Cup Team
Brother, Drew, played collegiate golf at Coastal Carolina and caddies for Austin
Dad, Mark, is the General Manager and Director of Golf at Cross Creek Plantation and taught Austin to play
