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Rogers, AR - Patience, patience, and more patience. This could be the slogan for players during the week. Strong thunderstorms cancelled play for the entire day during the 1st round on Wednesday. More storms rolled through on Friday afternoon, and the 2nd round did not finish until Saturday morning. The tournament was reduced to 54-holes and the 3rd round started at 10:30 am Saturday. Little wind and soft greens provided for ideal scoring conditions. In the end, Chris Thompson (Independence, KS) cruised to a seven stroke win at 22-under-par in the 2011 Northwest Arkansas Open.
Originally scheduled to tee off his 1st round on Wednesday, Chris did not start until mid-day on Thursday due to weather delays. He opened with a 6-under-par 66 and went right back out for 2nd round play Thursday evening. He would finish his 2nd round Friday morning with another 6-under-par 66, and tied for first place at 12-under-par with local tour professional Addison White (Rogers, AR). Hours later another thunderstorm rolled through Friday afternoon and postponed play for the remainder of the day. Chris would have to wait roughly 24 hours once he finished the 2nd round before the 3rd and final round began Saturday morning. All-in-all, it did not affect his play. He opened with birdies at holes #3, 5, and 9 to go out in 3-under-par and a two stroke lead over White. He really opened it up with a phenomenal back nine performance After pars on holes #10 and 11, he finished off the last seven holes 7-under-par. This included a six hole stretch where he scored birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie. Once it was over, Chris shot a bogey-free final round 10-under-par 62 and a record three day total of 22-under-par 194.
2nd round co-leader Addison White just could not keep pace with Thompson. He opened the tournament with rounds of 68-64 to put himself in position at the top of the leaderboard. After opening the final round with a bogey on the first hole, he followed that up with a birdie on the Par 5, hole #3. He went on to make three more birdies at holes #9, 12, and 17. Addison finished with a 3-under-par 69 and a three day total of 15-under-par 201. Good enough for a T2 place.
Pablo Acuno (Guatemala City) worked his way into a T2 place after two strong rounds. Pablo last won during the regular season at the 2009 Adidas Fort Worth Classic played at Sugar Tree CC. He knows how to win and, had it not been for a slow 1st round score, may have given more of a challenge to Chris Thompson. Pablo opened the tournament with a 2-under-par 70. He followed that up with rounds of 66-65 to close at 15-under-par 201. His final two rounds included 15 total birdies.
Kevin Warrick (Valrico, FL) capitalized on the course conditions to post rounds of 72-66-64. His final round score of 8-under-par included six birdies and one eagle; no bogeys. His three day total of 14-under-par 202 was good enough to finish alone in 4th place.
Two players finished in a tie for 5th place. Drew Lethem (Overland Park, KS) and Blake D. Trimble (Rancho Santa Fe, CA). Both finished at 13-under-par 203.
The Northwest Arkansas Open is hosted at Lost Springs Golf & Athletic Club in Rogers, Arkansas. This was the first year for the tournament. Tournament proceeds went to the Joplin Relief Fund.
A special thanks to all the volunteers throughout the week, the members at Lost Springs, and the city of Rogers for their support. We would also like to thank general manager Lyle Leach, head golf professional Todd Pinneo, and head greens superintendent Chuck McCurdy for all of their hard work during the tournament and leading up to our arrival. It was a long week with the weather delays, but they exceeded our expectations throughout the week.
Chris D. Thompson 66-66-62--194 -22 $8,800.00
Pablo Acuna 70-66-65--201 -15 $4,537.50
Addison White 68-64-69--201 -15 $4,537.50
Kevin Warrick 72-66-64--202 -14 $3,450.00
Drew Lethem 67-69-67--203 -13 $2,807.50
Blake L. Trimble 71-63-69--203 -13 $2,807.50
Purse = $58,265
Complete Leaderboard / Results
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