NW Arkansas Championship betting tips: Ko with the flow

Korean-born New Zealander Lydia Ko (pictured above) spent a staggering 85 weeks ranked first in the world between February 2015 and June 2017.

She then suffered a dip in form and was ranked out of the top 50 in July 2020 but she has been helped by swing coach Sean Foley. Her ultra-smooth swing is back, along with a resurgence of form, which started in April when she took the PGA Lotte Championship in Honolulu.

Ko has finished with either a share of second or outright second on three other occasions this year, has recorded top-10 finishes in eight of the 16 LPGA tournaments she’s played this year and also took bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. She is 12/1 to win this weekend in the NW Arkansas Championship betting tips.

Minjee Lee overturned a seven-shot deficit to defeat Jeong Eun6 Lee in a play-off to take her first major in the Evian Championship in July.

It was the Australian’s sixth LPGA Tour victory and she has had three other top-five finishes this season and is a 14/1 shot this weekend.

Larger odds

Lexi Thompson (pictured above) was T2 at both the Gainbridge LPGA and Kia Classic, and then a fine third at the US Women’s Open. Though looking for her first win of the season, the 26-year-old American has four top-10s this season (74 overall), and is as consistent as they come. She is a 25/1 chance this week.

A winner here three years ago, US Women’s Open runner-up Nasa Hataoka gained her first win of the year last month at the Marathon LPGA Classic and has performed well at this course, so has obvious claims at 25/1.

AIG Women’s Open winner Anna Nordqvist has nine career victories under her belt and her sole win this term came on the back of a decent T12 showing at the Scottish Open. She may well hold her form and is 28/1.

Elsewhere

In Gee Chun has been a little boom or bust in recent weeks, missing the cut at both the Pure Silk Championship and the AIG Women’s Open, but she has also posted a couple of top-six finishes at the Meijer LPGA Classic and the Evian Championship. She is not to be overlooked readily at 30/1.

Last year’s winner Austin Ernst (40/1) and home-town favourite Stacy Lewis (90/1), a winner here in 2007 and 2014, are also expected to contend in the NW Arkansas betting tips.

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All odds and markets correct at the time of publication