Hae Ran Ryu took home $345,000 for her first victory on the LPGA thanks to a back-nine 29 on Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The total purse for the longtime LPGA event was $2,300,000.

Former Arizona standout Bianca Pagdanganan came into the event with $65,512 in season earnings and nearly doubled that with a $112,775 payday for a share of third. The long-hitting player made two eagles on the back nine at Pinnacle Country Club in her closing 29.

Former No. 1 Lydia Ko turned heads with her opening 65 but then dropped down to a share of 48th after rounds of 72-70. Ko came into the week 84th on the money list with $209,776. She made over $4 million last season.

Check out the prize money payouts at the 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Rookie Hae Ran Ryu began the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship with a two-stroke advantage, and when the leaderboard bunched up Sunday afternoon, Ryu hit the gas on the back nine with a closing 29 to win by three.

The shot of the day came when Ryu hit her second shot within inches of an albatross on the par-5 14th. The well-struck 7-iron set up a short eagle putt.

Aim. On. Point.

Hae Ran Ryu is giving herself great looks at @NWAChampionship today pic.twitter.com/vVe5I2XNpN

— LPGA (@LPGA) October 1, 2023

Ryu, a five-time winner on the KLPGA, finished the tournament at 19-under 194 for the 54-hole event. She’s the fifth rookie to win this season, setting a new LPGA benchmark.

Sweden’s Linnea Strom finished solo second after a closing 64.

Ryu said she struggled with distance control on the front nine, recording a couple of bogeys after hitting her approach shots too far. She adjusted, and checked off a major goal for the year.

“Before the season, I want to get a Rookie of the Year,” said Ryu, “but now I got winner on the LPGA and I want to get Rookie of the Year and so now, so meaningful.”

Ryu came into the Arkansas event with a 113-point lead in the rookie race despite not yet winning on tour.

Lexi Thompson, coming off a strong Solheim Cup showing, posted her best finish of the season. The veteran American player briefly held a share of the lead at the midway point but played the last six holes in even par. Still, her closing 66 gives momentum to what’s easily been the worst season of her career. Prior to the Arkansas event, Thompson’s lone top-20 finish of the year came at the Kroger Queen City Championship.

“It’s the highest honor,” said Thompson of playing in her sixth Solheim last week, “and to be able to pull off some good shots and make some putts for my country, there is absolutely no better feeling.”

Lexi Thompson of the United States plays her shot from the 16th tee during the Final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club on October 01, 2023 in Rogers, Arkansas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Bianca Pagdanganan shot 65-64 over the weekend to vault into a share of third. The long-hitting Pagdanganan was 179th coming into the week on the CME points list and and in danger of losing her card. She’s projected to move to 77th after her strong performance in Rogers, Arkansas.

Pagdanganan played the last three holes birdie-birdie-eagle.

Ryu took home $345,000 for the victory.

It’s been a minute for Lydia Ko.

The former world No. 1 shot a 65 on Friday in the first round of the 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, which is, believe it or not, her best round in a most forgettable season.

Ko had seven birdies and just one bogey and posted her best round of the year so far by a shot. Ko has 19 wins and 102 top-10s in her career but her only top 10 this year came back in February. Her average finish in 2023 is 43rd. She’s played 15 events prior to this week at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas, but has missed four cuts. She did make the weekend in three of the five majors but still, this has been the most un-Lydia-Ko-like season.

In 52 rounds in 2023, she’s broken 70 only 15 times, including Friday’s round. Her lowest point this year came a month ago in the third round of the CPKC Women’s Open, where she bottomed out with a 10-over 82.

She’s 84th on the LPGA’s 2023 money list with $209,776. She won the money title a year ago with $4,364,403.

Maybe this is the spark that gets things turned around.

Lydia Ko snagging a share of the lead to end her round pic.twitter.com/TrWOQHGF0Q

— LPGA (@LPGA) September 29, 2023

“I played pretty solid. I don’t think I put myself in too many crazy positions where I had to make up and down. Actually hit it in the water on the par-3, 6 or 5, whatever it is, and I had to drop and I chipped it in for par. So that was definitely good momentum because I had gone birdie, bogey, birdie, and if I didn’t chip it in, would’ve been bogey or more,” she said, recounting her round. “So I think that just helped my day going. I set up a lot of good birdie opportunities, especially from 9 onwards, and couple where it was only like a couple feet. So it’s definitely nice to have those kind of stress-free birdies.”

Ko counts the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas event among her 19 wins. She noted that seven years ago seems like a long time.

“I see the picture of me in the clubhouse and it feels like a really long time ago. It was 2016, so like seven years ago. A lot of things have happened since then,” she said. “It’s always good to be back at a place where I have a lot of good memories. Played with the same pro-am group for eight years, so it’s just feel like it’s home away from home. Outside of my golf, just seeing them is also like a treat for me when I come here to Arkansas.”

Ko has one of six first-round 65s, which are all tied for the lead. Also in the group is Christina Kim and Hannah Green.

When Stacy Lewis gives her word, it means something.

Despite dedicating a massive chunk of time over the last two years to her job as captain of the American side in the Solheim Cup, Lewis has boasted in the past that she’s proud that Northwest Arkansas — where she honed her craft in college as a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks golf team — is home to an LPGA event.

So even though she’s dragging quite a bit after her team drew last weekend in Spain — meaning Team Europe got to retain the coveted trophy — Lewis is back at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship this week, keeping alive a streak that dates back to the inaugural event in 2007. It was during that magical week in this plush part of the state that she secured her first LPGA victory, pulling off the feat as an amateur as she edged out Katherine Hull, Teresa Lu and Kristy McPherson.

And while Lewis might be still licking her wounds, at least she’s doing so at a place that’s long felt like a second home. She grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, just outside Houston, and still lives there, but maintaining a strong presence in this corner of Arkansas still means plenty to the two-time major champion.

“That’s part of why I’m here. I want to keep the streak alive and support the event. Yeah, I mean, I’m running low on energy, haven’t played a whole lot of golf, so who knows what this week will be like,” Lewis said. “Just to be back and see all the people that you know, in a familiar place, and try to get my body and brain back into normal routine and what I normally do.

“That’s really what this week is about.”

Since she was leading the American side at the Solheim, Lewis’ preparation for this week’s event has been minimal. She hadn’t played a full round of golf for four weeks before taking part in the pro-am this week, and she admits she might be rusty when the action starts at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas, on Friday.

Lewis is still close with Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Taylor, who was an assistant with the Razorbacks in 2007 when the former captured the NCAA individual title, marking the first time it had been done in school history.

But while she’s eager to relive some distant memories this week, she’s still working through the recent pain of tying the European side after holding a large early lead at the Solheim. Even with the results, Lewis is still pleased with the way she and her team prepared for the event.

Captain Stacy Lewis of Team USA holds her daughter on the first tee on Day One of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 22, 2023, in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

“I guess I was proud of myself of how much I trusted the process and what we had in place. It’s very easy to second-guess yourself or you kind of get under the gun and you have to make a decision in the moment,” Lewis said. “I really trusted our process of our stats and the facts and what we held as true. Really stuck to the plan. I guess I was most proud of myself. There are some moments where you’re kind of like do I go a different direction? No. This is what we talked about, what we’ve worked on. This works. You need to stick to it.”

One thing Lewis has been mulling over is the lack of a tiebreaker, something that’s been in the rules since the event began in 1990, even though this year marked the first tie. Originally, Lewis sided with history and tradition, but she’s since changed her mind.

“They asked me about that on Sunday when we finished. At the time I was kind of torn on it, of what should you do. The more I thought about it, it’s just we put so much work into this, so much time and so much energy, to end in a tie it’s like a terrible finish. Just a blah finish,” Lewis said. “I do think there needs to be a playoff. I would do a team format. Like one of the first two days where you got to send your best two players and let them go duke it out.

“I think the event deserves that. It would be a cool way to finish on Sunday other than just a team retaining the Cup.”

Lewis will tee it up in the first round Friday alongside one of her Solheim Cup captain’s picks, Cheyenne Knight, as well as a member of the victorious European squad, Georgia Hall.

Stacy Lewis sat next to LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan during the Solheim Cup’s closing ceremony in Spain and the topic of a playoff came up.

For the first time in Solheim Cup history, the matches ended in a 14-14 tie. Because Europe won in 2021, they retained the cup. While members of Team Europe carried Spanish hero Carlota Ciganda around Finca Cortesin on their shoulders, Lewis’ squad had a good cry.

Captain and commish got to talking: Should the Solheim Cup institute a playoff?

“I don’t know, I mean, it obviously would be better TV,” Lewis told the media when it was over. “It would be a better experience for the fans if there was a – whether it was a team playoff or something like that, I think that would be pretty cool.

“But if you want to stick with the history of the event and history of what the men do as well, you probably stick with retaining the Cup.

“I don’t know how I feel about that either way, to be honest.”

Team Europe captain Suzann Pettersen celebrates with the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club in Casares, Spain. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

While this was a first for the Solheim, on two different occasions the Ryder Cup has ended in a tie. In 1969, the United States retained against Great Britain, and in 1989, Europe retained at The Belfry.

After the 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a 17-17 tie in South Africa, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els went into a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner. After three holes, it was decided between captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player that the two teams would share the Cup.

Woods called the playoff one of his most nerve-wracking experiences in golf.

“To have two guys decide the fate of the whole team in extra holes like that, I don’t think any of the sides felt comfortable with that to begin with,” said Woods 20 years ago. “It’s just part of the captains’ agreement and part of the rules of the competition.

“But we didn’t like it. It’s a team event, not an individual event. We’re here as a team together and we’d like to decide as a team together and not on an individual basis.”

Nowadays, if the Presidents Cup ends in a 15-15 tie, the two teams will share the trophy.

In the aftermath of the Solheim, players and fans weighed in on social media. Juli Inkster, a three-time captain for Team USA, said the captains should have to play for it.

In a Golfweek Twitter poll that saw 2,513 votes cast, opinions were split on the implementation of a playoff, with 51 percent voting yes, including former Solheim Cupper Brittany Lincicome.

Should the Solheim Cup institute a playoff so the whole thing can’t end in a tie?

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) September 24, 2023

Here’s what other folks had to say about the event’s first tie:

On paper, the outlook might seem bleak. For the first time in history, the Americans have lost three Solheim Cups in a row. Scroll back a bit more, and it’s a whopping five of the last seven.

Stacy Lewis told her team they didn’t lose – it was a tie. And while the scoreboard indicated such with the first 14-14 finish in Solheim Cup history, one team celebrated on the 17th green and one team cried. The U.S. failed to accomplish what it set out to do, as Europe retained the Cup in dramatic fashion.

And yet, there’s no need to panic.

When the U.S. lost by eight points on home soil in 2013 in Colorado, it certainly felt like there needed to be a cultural shift. Enter Juli Inkster with her hard hats and lunch pails. She got rid of the hair ribbons and face paint and told her team to get to work.

Two years later in Germany, the U.S. pulled off the greatest comeback in history, and the Inkster era was born.

Stacy Lewis came to southern Spain with a fresh-faced, hard-working team that’s naturally more reserved. They didn’t need rah-rah. They needed guidance and experience. The overprepared Lewis, stats book in hand, provided that in spades, leaving no detail to chance.

Lewis also worked hard to make sure this next generation understood what they’d become part of in Spain. From the stars and stripes on their bags to the “88” on their hats, each U.S. Solheim Cup player was a walking display of history.

Captain Lewis truly cared about more than results this week. She wanted her team to leave Spain with a deep passion for the Solheim Cup. The week represented a building block for the future.

“I mean, for me, the whole week in general feels like a win,” said Lewis. “Just where we were coming from out of Toledo to where this team is at now, it was a win, and that’s all that matters.

“I think it’s more about these girls, where they are mentally, how they felt about this. They were crying because it meant something to them, and that’s all I was trying to achieve this week.”

In less than one year, Team USA will get another chance to stop Europe’s streak at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. Lewis said she won’t change much about her process going forward because it worked, and she likes the direction they’re headed.

Next time around, Lewis can build from first-time partnerships that found success in Spain, such as Nelly Korda/Allisen Corpuz (2-0 foursomes) and Lexi Thompson/Megan Khang (2-0 foursomes).

Solheim Cup team U.S. golfers Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee react during the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Casares on September 22, 2023. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

Danielle Kang played her best golf all year in Spain and had nothing but praise for what Lewis put together.

“I know people like to decide on the process on whether we win or lose, but without Stacy’s process,” said Kang, “I think we could have gotten crushed.

“Because she gave us the best opportunity and best chance of percentages to go up against what they brought, and if we have to shoot 10 under to go up against Carlota Ciganda, we did. If we lost, that’s OK. Same thing with Linn Grant, same thing with Maja Stark. She put us up together with the probabilities and gave us the best chance to go up against them.”

Which brings up perhaps the most important point of all: These teams have never been more evenly matched. The quality of golf on display in Spain was exceptional. Birdies or bust.

Team USA has only lost on home soil twice since the Cup began in 1990: 2013 and 2021.

Many, if not all, of the rookies on the 2023 roster will be back next year and they’ll have a number of aspects in their favor: They won’t be rookies anymore; they’ll have the support of a home crowd; and they’ll have history with their partners.

In other words, they’ll be much tougher to beat.

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Angela Stanford, an assistant captain who has been part of Team USA since her Solheim debut in 2003, wrote on Instagram in the aftermath that learning how to win in Europe is one of the most difficult things she’s ever done. There’s a reason, she noted, that the U.S. has only won three times on foreign soil in the Solheim Cup, and it’s been 30 years since a U.S. Ryder Cup team accomplished the feat.

This was a changing-of-the-guard year for Team USA. There’s been another shift.

“I watched something special happen this week,” wrote Stanford. “Looking forward to next year and years to come for this team.”

After representing Team Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup in 2017, Linn Grant debuted in the Solheim Cup in 2023. She burst on the international scene in 2018 during the U.S. Open when she was tied for fourth at Shoal Creek Golf Club at the tournament’s midpoint. She couldn’t maintain the pace, but she placed tied for 57th.

The Arizona State University product had a storied amateur career and picked up her first LPGA victory in July 2023 at the Dana Open, where she earned $262,500.

“It was a big goal coming into this year,” Grant said about winning an LPGA event. “Obviously, since I played well on the LET last year, I knew if I just continued to play my game I would be there in September. And I guess it’s even more clear now.”

Here’s a look at Grant’s career in photos.

Stacy Lewis begins the 18th Solheim Cup looking like a genius. Team USA dominated the Friday morning session in Spain, sweeping foursomes for the first time in history. Europe led only four holes the entire session.

“I think everyone that paired together had really good chemistry,” said Nelly Korda of the 4-0 start. “Our captain, she paired us up really well.”

Korda’s partner, rookie Allisen Corpuz, drained a 6-foot putt on the final hole to fully shut out Europe and end the session.

Lewis raised plenty of eyebrows putting a struggling Lexi Thompson out first for the Americans, but the most experienced player on Team USA paired with Megan Khang to make an early statement, beating a strong rookie duo of Maja Stark and Linn Grant, 2 and 1. Stark and Grant had never lost a foursomes match together in previous competitions and begged European captain Suzann Pettersen to stay together.

Lewis said she’d heard from team helpers all week how good Thompson was hitting the ball early at Finca Cortesin. She looked at the stats put together from their practice rounds and gave Thompson the nod. She’ll go back out in the afternoon with two-time major winner Lilia Vu in fourball.

Lexi Thompson of Team USA warms up during Day One of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 22, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Lewis introduced a Solheim Cup-specific analytics program to Team USA and used it as her starting point for every decision this week.

“It’s not the be all,” said Lewis. “There’s certainly personalities of people do or don’t want to play together, maybe it’s a golf ball issue, but analytics are a huge part of what we’re doing and it’s helped justify things to me in my head and it’s helped justify things with the players as well.”

Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight put the first point on the board, drumming a formerly successful duo of Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen, 5 and 4. The Americans were 6 up at the turn.

“We were ready to take on the day,” said Ewing, a captain’s pick Lewis has leaned on for experience.

Andrea Lee was the third American rookie to score a point in the morning, pairing with Danielle Kang, who’s like a sister to the former Stanford standout. The pair were 3 under on the day in alternate shot.

“I don’t think my heart ever pumped that fast before in my life,” said Lee of a 10-footer down the stretch that helped the U.S. defeat a decorated European partnership of Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall, 1 up.

It all added up to a shocking start for the Americans, who came to Spain having lost the past two Cups.

“It’s huge,” said assistant captain Angela Stanford. “But we have to understand it’s Friday morning. Hopefully by Sunday night we can look back and talk about the history.”

LPGA veteran Amy Olson announced on Instagram that she and husband Grant welcomed their first child, Carly Gray Olson, on Sept. 15.

“We are so blessed and grateful to God who gives good gifts!” Olson wrote. “So many answered prayers in this little bundle.”

Olson, 31, played the U.S. Women’s Open in July at Pebble Beach while seven months pregnant. It was her last competitive event before going on maternity leave.

An LPGA veteran since 2014, Olson wasn’t sure what motherhood would mean to her playing career.

“Truly I like couldn’t tell you either way,” said Olson in the run-up to Pebble. “I want to see how it goes. I have been super, super blessed and thankful for everything I’ve been able to do out here. I love it, and I think I probably will never do what I’ve done over the last nine years, playing 25 weeks out of the year.”

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Olson is the winningest player in college golf history, claiming 20 titles while at North Dakota State. Husband Grant is a special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at North Dakota State. He has been part of three NCAA Division I FCS national championship teams as a player and three as a coach with the Bison.

CASARES, Spain — There’s nothing like the first-tee experience at a Solheim Cup. But there has never been a first tee setup quite like what players will experience in Spain. More than 1,000 fans will pack an elevated grandstand that overlooks a drivable par 4 with ample risk/reward and views of the sea.

“I don’t think everyone will go for it,” said European vice captain Laura Davies of a downhill 280-yard tee shot that requires players to carry a lake. “But I think 80 to 90 percent will have a go.”

While the drama that plays out live on television will be eye-popping from the start, the behind-the-scenes luxury at Finca Cortesin will be talked about among players for years to come.

“As far as what we’ve had in years past to this one,” said U.S. captain Stacy Lewis, “the accommodations and just the ease of it – probably the best we’ve ever had.”

Lewis toured the resort on a site visit but will stay at Hotel Cortesin for the first time with her team this week.

“There’s a snow room,” marveled Lewis of the luxury spa. “They were cleaning it the day we were there, but legitimately has snow in it.”

A look inside the snow cave at the resort’s spa. (courtesy of Finca Cortesin)

The golf course at Finca Cortesin, located in the south of Spain in the Costa del Sol region, debuted in 2007 and the hotel opened two years later. In 2020, “Travel + Leisure” named it the best resort in Spain and and the second-best in all of Europe.

With only 67 spacious suites on property, there’s an intimate feel to Finca Cortesin, where small, one-of-a-kind details like the ornate doors and floors that were salvaged from an old convent make every turn about the place feel special.

Take a tour of @FINCACORTESIN, the luxury resort that will host the @TheSolheimCup teams next September in Spain. This spectacular property is frequently rated the top hotel in Spain. (More on the golf to come!) pic.twitter.com/g6NSXONzJ8

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) May 26, 2023

Tropical courtyards and sweeping seaside views from private balconies will help give players a sense of calm during a pressure-packed week. If there’s a moment to spare, a walk under the arches in the rose garden might do well to clear the mind.

The restaurants on property each offer a unique and elegant experience, from the taste of Spain at El Jardin de Lutz, where the millennial olive trees are a sight to behold, to REI, the hotel’s signature restaurant that combines traditional Asian dishes with Mediterranean influences. The 14-course Tasting Menu offers guests an adventure in flavor and flare.

Francisco de Lancastre David, the resort’s general manager for golf and leisure operations, said European captain Suzann Pettersen had the hotel’s Beach Club reserved for an evening’s festivities. Located less than one mile from the hotel, the breathtaking oasis features an infinity pool overlooking the sea.

With roughly 80 courses in the region, de Lancastre David said the golf season ­– September to mid-November and then March to May – is crucial in extending the area’s popular summer leisure season.

Those who have made bucket-list trips to Scotland and Ireland often pick Spain as the next destination on their list, de Lancastre David notes, and with five of Spain’s top-10 courses, including Valderrama, the 1997 Ryder Cup venue, in the Sotogrande area, Finca Cortesin is uniquely positioned.

“We have the best hotel by far in the region,” he said.

Critics agree.

A view of the one of the resort’s courtyards. (courtesy Finca Cortesin)

American players will arrive in Spain on Sunday, and while Lewis calls Monday a free day, she predicts all 12 will find their way out to the course.

While the Americans get a crash course leading into the Sept. 22-24 competition, Ireland’s Leona Maguire was part of a European contingent that took a trip to Finca Cortesin last November.

With travel restrictions keeping European fans away at Inverness two years ago, Maguire looks forward to playing in front of home fans for the first time.

“I know there’s a lot of Swedish that winter down there,” said Maguire of southern Spain. “There’s a lot of Irish people that do as well.”

It’s a short walk down a stone path from the hotel lobby to the clubhouse at Finca Cortesin, though players will have their own entrance to the locker room.

“It’s always a bit nicer when you stay onsite,” said Davies. “The bus rides are good fun, but it’s just nice when you come off the course after a long day, go to your room and then come down to the team room.”

Set on more than the 500 acres of land on the Andalusia coast, resort visitors can fly into the Malaga airport, less than an hour away.

The golf course, designed by Cabell B. Robinson, hosted the Volvo World Match play in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Players who are familiar with and fond of Bermuda grass will have an advantage on Finca Cortesin’s hilly terrain.

While this week’s setup is not a particularly long test, it is a ball-striker’s course, and as de Lancastre David is quick to note, the importance of being able to work the ball both ways, sometimes on the same hole, is crucial.

The course will be rerouted for the event, with what’s typically the fourth hole serving as the dramatic opener. Only the first six holes are impacted by the reorder.

“I think it’s a really good match-play course,” said Davies, “a very fair course. You hit a good shot, you get rewarded. You hit a poor one and you’re going to be on the side of a mountain and good luck. Having said that, there’s plenty of room. The fairways are very wide.”

The 17th hole at Finca Cortesin (courtesy photo)

Elevation changes and long distances from green to tee will be a challenge for spectators, making it a long haul for double-round days.

The setup of the course, however, is short enough that Lewis said she was freed up to choose who was playing the best, rather than worry about length off the tee or penalizing rough.

Team Europe comes to Finca Cortesin looking to win three in a row as the Solheim Cup is contested on Spanish soil for the first time. For most, next week’s broadcast will be their first look at this lush Mediterranean property.

Truly one of the game’s most luxurious escapes.

***

Take a look at some resort pictures here: