FAYETTEVILLE — Three current student-athletes on the Arkansas women’s golf team will be playing on Monday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. Kajal Mistry, Kendall Todd and Reagan Zibilski will playing in the qualifying round for an opportunity to play in the tournament field this upcoming weekend at Pinnacle Country Club.
Miriam Ayora has received the sponsor exemption and is already in the tournament field along with pro Hogs Stacy Lewis (2004-08), Gaby Lopez (2012-16) and Maria Fassi (2015-19).
This year marks the fifth time Arkansas has received three invitations to the championship qualifier, an opportunity not many other collegiate golf programs have. Monday’s round will tee off at 1 p.m. for 18 holes of stroke play. The top two finishers will advance into tournament play that will run Friday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 1.
Mistry is quite familiar with this event and has the potential of playing in her third NW Arkansas Championship. In 2022, Mistry was the team’s sponsor exemption, finishing 2-over par (73-71) over two rounds. The year prior in 2021, Mistry qualified on the Monday. Mistry is coming off her senior season having led the squad in birdies (83), rounds in the 60s (three) and tying for rounds at par or better (10). The Johannesburg, South Africa native is taking her fifth year and is coming off a 16th place finish at the Carmel Cup with an even 216.
Todd is in her junior season, second season with the Hogs. Last season, Todd held a 74.07 scoring average and tallied three rounds at par or better. She delivered her best finish at Arkansas with 16th place at the Blessings Collegiate. Todd came into Arkansas after a season at UNLV where she logged a 74.06 scoring average and was a Mountain West All-Conference Team Second Team recipient.
Zibilski is coming off her freshman year, having played in 20 rounds and holding a 74.80 scoring average. She logged five rounds at par or better and ended the 2022-23 season on a high note with a 14th place finish with a 3-over 219 at the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional. She started her sophomore campaign with a 2-over 218 to round out in 21st at the Carmel Cup. Todd and Zibilski will be playing in their first Monday qualifier at the NW Arkansas Championship.
Ayora led the Hogs with a 73.21 scoring average and tied for a team’s most rounds at par or under with 10 last season. She played in the qualifier last year with and finished with a 2-under 69 to finish in fourth. Ayora was the second lowest scoring Hog at the Carmel Cup to open the 2023-24 season, tying for 13th with a 1-under 215.
The NW Arkansas Championship is in its 16th season at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. More information on the LPGA event can be found here.
Pinnacle Country Club – Rogers, Ark. – Par 71 – 7,001 yards
1:33 p.m. (hole 1): Kajal Mistry
1:55 p.m. (hole 1): Kendall Todd
1:55 p.m. (hole 10): Reagan Zibilski
