New: Tournament officials announce new biking and sustainability initiatives
Community: Tournament to offer guided bike ride to the #NWAChampionship
Competition: The #NWAChampionship announces 2022 Sponsor Exemptions
Rogers, Ark. – The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G returns September 17-25, with new biking and sustainability initiatives, as well as a strong local field – including six Razorback Golf Alumni and two Northwest-Arkansas-local Sponsor Exemptions. Tournament tickets and volunteer registration are available at NWAChampionship.com.
NEW: Event Officials Announce New Biking and Sustainability Initiatives
In 2021, the #NWAChampionship established its commitment to sustainability by embarking on a three-year plan to become a certified sustainable event by the GEO Foundation after the 2023 event. This year, the tournament will be introducing several new initiatives to contribute to the event’s overall sustainability goals.
To help reduce the carbon footprint of the event, spectators are encouraged to ride their bikes directly to the tournament for the first time in the tournament’s history. Onsite Valet Bike Parking will be offered in partnership with Pedal It Forward at the event Friday, September 23, through Sunday, September 25, starting at 7 a.m. each day. All bike riders will receive free admission into the tournament. Bike parking location and other details can be found at NWAChampionship.com.
Additionally, the tournament will be expanding its partnership with Food Loops to implement a comprehensive waste plan onsite at the tournament. A three-bin waste system will be featured throughout the course to sort compostable, food and recyclable waste in order to divert as much from the landfill. Last year, by sorting the waste in the event’s hospitality and BITE Experience locations, the #NWAChampionship was able to divert more than 17,000 pounds of waste, a total of 95% waste diversion from these areas.
To continue to reduce paper consumption onsite at the tournament, spectators can download the official mobile app. Search ‘NWAChampionship’ in the IOS App Store or Google Play to view daily pairings, course map, leaderboard and more.
COMMUNITY: Tournament Announces Community Bike Ride to the #NWAChampionship
New in 2022, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G is offering a community bike ride to the tournament hosted in partnership with Walmart, Trailblazers, Bike.POC, and Mercy. The 4.3-mile guided bike ride will begin at the Sam’s Club Home Office (2101 SE Simple Savings Drive, Bentonville) on Saturday, September 24 at 11:00am. All levels of riders are invited to participate.
Registration for the Community Bike Ride to the #NWAChampionship is free. The first 100 registered riders will receive free access to the tournament grounds and the BITE Experience @ the LPGA on Saturday, September 24. Spectators can register at NWAChampionship.com.
Through a broader partnership with Trailblazers, a nonprofit formed in 2021 through the merger of NWA Trailblazers and BikeNWA, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G has also announced its financial support of the organization’s Adult First Ride program – a class that provides a learning environment for people who have never ridden a bike or have not ridden since they were a child.
“We are grateful to the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G for a gift that provides new bikes for all Adult First Ride attendees to use during the class. This means everyone will have the opportunity to learn on identical bikes,” Gordon Venturella, Senior Director of Development for Trailblazers commented.
Adult First Ride classes are held at partner community organizations and in public parks to reduce the barriers for participation by underserved community members. Many former students have remarked the class has changed their life.
COMPETITION: The #NWAChampionship Announces Sponsor Exemptions
Tournament officials announce today that Brooke Matthews, Kajal Mistry, and Lilly Thomas will join the field of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G as sponsor exemptions. Former member of the University of Arkansas women’s golf team, Matthews and current member, Mistry, will compete alongside former Razorbacks Stacy Lewis, Gaby Lopez, Maria Fassi, and Alana Uriell in the tournament field of 144.
Kajal Mistry received a sponsor exemption on behalf of Walmart through the tournament’s Road to the #NWAChampionship program. The program, presented by General Mills, awards an exemption annually to the top-ranked member of the Razorback Women’s Golf Team. Mistry was recognized as an All-SEC First Team choice, as well as a Golfweek All-American Honorable Mention choice last season. She will compete in the tournament for the second year in a row, after finishing the 2021-2022 season as the top-ranked golfer on the team.
As a former Razorback golfer and Northwest-Arkansas local, Matthews will compete at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G for the first time as an LPGA Tour professional. The Rogers native also competed in the 2020 and 2021 #NWAChampionship as a sponsor exemption, notching a top-50 finish in 2020 and a top-75 finish in 2021 amongst the field of professionals.
Lilly Thomas has secured the final sponsor’s exemption spot for the 2022 #NWAChampionship. Graduating from Bentonville High School in 2019, Thomas will be returning to Northwest Arkansas to compete in the tournament for the first time. Thomas is a senior at the University of Tulsa and competes on women’s golf team as a three-year letterwinner. She has played in 24 career stroke play tournaments, placing top-25 in 14 career events, as well as top-10 in five career performances.
Official tournament play begins Friday, September 23. Tickets are on sale now at NWAChampionship.com with daily tickets offered for $10 and weekly tickets available for $25. Military personnel and first responders, as well as kids 17 and under, receive free admission.
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