Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Marks 20th Year in Rogers

The LPGA's Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship celebrates its 20th anniversary this week in Rogers, Arkansas, a milestone for a tour event on a schedule that turns over locations frequently. The tournament began in 2007 as a rain-shortened, unofficial event won by Stacy Lewis.

Who is playing this week?

This year's field features 15 of the top 30 players in the world competing for a $3 million purse. Five Arkansas-connected players are in the field: LPGA member Brooke Matthews, three-time LPGA winner Gaby Lopez, and NCAA champions Maria Fassi and Maria Jose Marin, alongside Epson Tour player Reagan Zibilski, who is making her LPGA debut. Marin won the 2026 Augusta National Women's Amateur earlier this year.

Matthews grew up near Pinnacle Country Club's eighth hole and attended the tournament's first edition in 2007. "I got to see the best golfers in the world literally in my backyard," she said, crediting the event with inspiring her own path to the LPGA.

What makes the event unique?

The tournament is built around host families, a tradition organizers say has covered nearly the entire field and caddie group for roughly the past decade. It remains one of the LPGA's few 54-hole tournaments, and tickets are priced at $10 per day with free parking. The tournament week also includes community programming such as a 5K race, a free breakfast to mark the anniversary, and a youth confidence-building program run in partnership with local schools and Procter & Gamble.

Round 1 begins Friday at Pinnacle Country Club.