I went down to northwest Arkansas Thursday for two days (Friday and Saturday) of the Walmart Northwest Arkansas LPGA Championship.
I love going to that tournament, which is held annually, partly because it’s an easy drive — about four hours — and also because Walmart does a fantastic job of organizing the tournament and making it a pleasurable experience for the public. As an example, there’s none of the gouging you see at major league baseball or NFL games. At this tournament, a soda costs $2 and bottled water $1, unless the weather is oppressive, and then they give the water away.
I missed the tournament the last two years — in 2016 because of upcoming knee-replacement surgery and last year because of a conflict — and was eager to return. The tournament is held at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, just south of Bentonville, where, in 1950, Sam Walton opened a “Five and Dime” store, which led to more stores and, of course, Walmart.
Before heading to the golf tournament, I spent Friday morning in and around the Bentonville town square. Over the last 30-plus years, I have watched Bentonville develop from a drive-through town on U.S. 71 (now Interstate 49) to a lively, appealing city with a blend of new, old and updated buildings on the square and adjacent to it.
Nearby, of course, is the fabulous Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, developed by Alice Walton through the Walton Family Foundation. (I didn’t get to the museum this trip.)
Are you ready for some photos?
I thought so…
Part of the square. The Spark Cafe Soda Fountain is on the ground floor of the three-story building at left. Walton’s first Five and Dime is next door.
The soda fountain was doing good business.
In The Cafe is a photo of young Sam, in about 1950, making ice cream at his first Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, AR.
An old hotel off the square has been converted to a bike shop.
The new City Hall and the old one (left)
A block off the square is the ultra-modern 21c Museum Hotel. The hotel opened in 2013. 21c, which is out of Louisville, KY, is close to completing a renovation of the Savoy Hotel and Grill in downtown Kansas City.
The hotel lobby
Now to the golf…
The winner (on Sunday) was Nasa Hataoka of Japan, but I followed a group that included Aryia Jutanugarn of Thailand (front) and Anna Nordqvist of Sweden.
The third player in the group I followed was Minjee Lee of Australia.
Pinnacle Hills, which lies within a gated community, was designed by the late Donald Sechrest, who was born in St. Joseph and designed more than 90 courses, mostly in the Midwest. One of his courses is Heritage Park in Olathe. A daughter of his, Kelly Wilson, lives in the KC area.
The group of Jutanugarn, Lee and Nordqvist heads toward a hole (batween the sand traps).
Nordqvist setting up to drive
If this guy looks familiar to some of you, it’s because he’s the 29th-ranked golfer in the world — Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Kiradech — who is called “Barn Rat” for short — was taking a week off the men’s tour and was in Arkansas to root for fellow Thai golfers Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn. He’ll be back on tour this week at the Quicken Loans National in Potomac, MD. (If you’re wondering, yes, I introduced myself.)
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
First, I am surprised that you were able to take pictures during the tournament. I remember Kent or John taking pics at a PGA tournament in Chicago and receiving a stern look of displeasure from Davis Love III (I haven’t liked him since!!!)
Second, the pics of downtown Bentonville are fantastic. I have a visit to Bentonville on my Bucket List. I am a Big WAL-MART fan. Was a cashier at Wally World in Oklahoma for 6 months. Have read a couple of books about Sam Walton.
Third, Allegiant Airlines flies from Sanford, FL (suburb of Orlando) non-stop to Bentonville. 2 1/2 hour flight. Around $150 round trip…before seat selection, baggage, and peanuts. SOOOOO. I would love to meet you in Bentonville next June. Wouldn’t that be a hoot.
Thanks, John. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, especially those of Bentonville…An airline has a non-stop flight from Orlando to Bentonville? I can’t see how that could be profitable. If that flight is still around next year, yes, maybe we can meet up.
Regarding photos at golf tournaments, I remember one tournament I attended six or seven years ago where people had to check their cellphones at the gate. What a hassle that was!
In recent years, I think most if not all tournaments have given up the cellphone battle, much like public schools have thrown in the towel. In addition, the click of the cellphone camera is much quieter than that of most stand-alone cameras, so the chances of disrupting players’ concentration is greatly reduced. Still, I think the understanding is you don’t shoot photos during players’ swings. The one I took of Nordqvist was when she was addressing the ball. No problem there.
Nice report!
Thanks, Jack.
There are so many gorgeous areas of Arkansas just a few hours away. Places like Bentonville and Eureka Springs (they have a fantastic blues festival every year) make wonderful weekend jaunts.
Thanks for the report. I thought about driving down too. And isn’t it nice to See a PGA pro taking a week off and watching an LPGA tournament? I had Mr. Aphibarnrat on my team Sunday at the US Open. He didn’t do well for me but overall he had a good open. And I expect wins will soon come.