2021 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
September 24, 2021 10:00 am EDT
This Friday morning, the LPGA Tour presents the first round of the 2021 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship!
Before I discuss my favorite matchup bets for the first round of the 2021 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship let’s take a look at the current leaders in scoring average on the LPGA Tour.
*It should be noted that this week’s LPGA Tour event will begin on Friday due to the fact that the tournament is a 54 hole (three rounds) tournament.
Here is a list of the top ten ranked golfers in scoring average on the LPGA Tour that are in this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship field with that player’s average individual round score this season.
Top Ten Golfers in Scoring Average
- Lydia Ko 69.81
- Jin Young Ko 69.97
- In Gee Chun 69.98
- Lexi Thompson 70.19
- Patty Tavatanakit 70.21
- Brooke Henderson 70.24
- Danielle Kang 70.25
- Amy Yang 70.38
- Sei Young Kim 70.42
- So Yeon Ryu 70.42
Now that we have established who the top ten golfers with regard to scoring average are on the LPGA Tour (in this week’s field) let’s shift our attention to my favorite first round matchup bets for this week’s 2021 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship!
Jin Young Ko -135 over Lydia Ko
Jin Young Ko has been playing simply exceptional golf on the LPGA Tour recently. Let me provide you the relevant data to better shed light on my previous statement. Jin Young Ko has accumulated two wins (2021 Volunteers Of America Classic, 2021 Cambia Portland Classic) in her last three events played on the LPGA Tour. As you can see, Young Ko’s game is certainly in a great place currently!
Young Ko also checks the box for me when it comes to key player statistics. Young Ko is currently ranked eighth in GIR (greens in regulation-75.56%), tenth in driving accuracy (79.94%), and sixth in scoring average (69.97) on the LPGA Tour.
It should also be noted that Young Ko has played well at this week’s LPGA event in the past. Jin Young Ko finished ninth at the 2018 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Nasa Hataoka -125 over Yealimi Noh
Hataoka has played five tournaments on the LPGA Tour since the beginning of June. In those five events just mentioned, Nasa Hataoka has accumulated four top 29 finishes, including a win at the 2021 Marathon LPGA Classic in July.
I also like the fact that Hataoka certainly seems to like playing the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Nasa has played the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship three times since 2018. In those three events just mentioned, Hataoka has two top 28 finishes, including a win at the 2018 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Upon reviewing Hataoka’s statistics for the year, one specific statistical category popped off the page. That statistical category was putting average. Nasa Hataoka is currently ranked 17th in putting average (1.77) on the LPGA Tour. Let’s hope that Nasa Hataoka brings that hot putter to her first round on Friday!
