No one could quite match Anna Nordqvist in the second round of the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship on Saturday. Nordqvist hasn’t made a bogey yet at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. An opening 64 followed by a stunning 9-under 62 on Saturday left her out of reach.
In fact, no one could get closer than three shots. That’s the margin Nordqvist will take into the final round of the Arkansas LPGA event.
Nordqvist kept giving herself opportunities and she kept capitalizing on them.
“I would say like it’s just nice to see hard work pay off, and also see a lot of, you know – I feel like I’ve been off for a little bit last couple years, but it’s just nice to have some sort of consistency back,” she said. “Yeah, not every week it’s not going to pay off, but I been trying to keep my head up and just keep going, keep working at it. Certainly when it does pay off, it’s a great feeling.”
The last of Nordqvist’s eight career LPGA victories came in 2017. She won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and the Evian Championship, an LPGA major, that year.
It has been a bumpy road back to this level of confidence in her game, but Arkansas is a place that feels familiar.
“There is something about Arkansas,” she said. “Always liked this place. Probably one of the few places in the U.S. I could really see myself being because I like the atmosphere here.”
The closest player on Nordqvist’s heels on Saturday evening was Sei Young Kim, who won the CME Group Tour Championship in November. Kim had a second-round 64 to reach 13 under.
Nelly Korda, Jenny Shin and Austin Ernst were all tied for third at 12 under.
