by Jeff Skinner
The dream season on the LPGA Tour continued yesterday at the WalMart NW Arkansas Championship. Michelle Wie was the story early in the week with back to back 66’s but the week of celebration may have took its toll on the 2014 U.S. Open champion as she faded with a 73 and toppled down the leaderboard.
But that left the stage open for a host of players to make a charge. And charge they did. Angela Stanford and Cristie Kerr shot 67s. Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis shot matching 65’s for the low round of the tournament. That was good news for Lewis as she started the day four back of Wie and one slim stroke ahead of Ko. Click here for Kurt Voight’s AP game story.
When the smoke had cleared Lewis finished at 12 under, one stroke ahead of the trio of Ko, Kerr, and Stanford. It’s Lewis’ third win of the season and eleventh career victory which includes two major championships.
Now technically, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship isn’t a major but for a University of Arkansas graduate like Lewis it certainly is. This is as much a home game as any place on tour for any golfer and Lewis wanted this one bad.
Lewis, although a Texan, has strong roots to the University and the people of Arkansas. She had been very vocal about her desire to win “her major” and came close last year with a tie for fourth.
This year she crosses another one off that bucket list.
Most alum are loyal to their colleges but Lewis’ love and devotion to all things Razorback runs deeper than most. Arkansas stayed loyal to Lewis during the tough times and Lewis has returned the favor.
It goes back to when Lewis was a high school senior and had accepted a golf scholarship to play at Arkansas only to find that she needed back surgery to correct the scoliosis in her back. Lewis was crushed as she had dreamed of playing college golf and her dream was in deep jeopardy.
The University of Arkansas took the high road and held her scholarship for her while she recovered from the steel rod and five screws that were inserted in her back. It was a difficult time for a teenager with a dream.
Lewis spent months recovering, not able to take full swings but able to chip and putt. She was a fixture around the practice green with her assistant coach, Shauna Estes-Taylor assigned to her rehab.
The two developed a very close relationship and grew to be good friends. Estes-Taylor caddied for her when she was the medalist at LPGA Q-School.
Estes-Taylor is now the head coach for the women’s golf team at Arkansas. Stacy Lewis is listed as a volunteer assistant. What goes around comes around.
The loyalty the coach and the school showed Lewis has come back in spades.
“I mean, this place just means so much to me. I say it all the time, I felt like if I go anywhere else to school, I don’t think I end up where I am. And I’m pretty fortunate I got around a lot of good people here and that’s why I support this tournament and this area so much, just because I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
“So to win here, it’s just crazy how far I’ve come, you know,” said Lewis. “I guess it’s been seven years since I won as an amateur. Now to come to this point being No. 1 in the world and having a bunch of wins on tour, it’s pretty mind boggling when you think back all that’s kind of changed over the last few years. It’s just really, really special to win here.”
Lewis loves the big tournaments and she had put so much pressure on herself to win before her “hometown crowd” the nerves almost got to her.
“It’s so hard to play here, it’s so much harder than people think. I can tell you I was more nervous today than I was at the U.S. Open last week, that’s just how much this place means to me. The fans today were just, it was unreal. I’ve never heard cheers so loud. It’s just really, really special to win here.”
It’s a love affair: Stacy Lewis & Arkansas. And it’s going to last a long time.
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