Rogers LPGA Event Gets CBS Coverage

Women’s professional golf doesn’t enjoy wide exposure on network television, but that won’t be the case for the Procter & Gamble Beauty Northwest Arkansas Championship presented by John Q. Hammons.

In its inaugural staging last September, the event suffered from rain-shortened play and was ruled an unofficial competition after only one round could be completed over three days. The University of Arkansas’ own Stacy Lewis scored the “win” with a 65 at Pinnacle Country Club.

The date of the tourney was moved up to the theoretically drier July 4-6 weekend and CBS will cover both the second and final rounds, including the last groupings.

Tickets from 2007 will be honored in 2008, organizers announced last fall after the rainout.

In 2007, only eight LPGA events were televised, including the four majors. There are 35 events in 2008 with a total prize pool of $60.9 million.

The prize purse at the NWA Championship last year was $1.25 million, attracting many of the top 20 players, and a full tournament schedule would have brought in $10 million to $12 million for the area economy.

“This represents a significant and exciting development for our event, and particularly for all our sponsors and supporters in Northwest Arkansas,” said tournament chairman Jay Allen. “With this announcement and several others we’ve made recently, our tournament is well on its way in becoming one of the premier events on the whole LPGA Tour.”