Every September, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G gives Northwest Arkansas somewhere very special to be.
Restaurant kitchens prepare thousands of small plates before the BITE Experience opens its gates. Volunteers pull their official polos out of the closet, some for the 20th consecutive year. Runners lace up before sunrise for the 5K @ LPGA benefiting Mercy Health Foundation. Children make a beeline for the Walmart and P&G Kids Confidence Club while golf fans stake out favorite spots around Pinnacle Country Club, waiting for the first groups to arrive. By the time 144 of the world’s best golfers begin competing for one of the LPGA Tour’s premier events, the #NWAChampionship is already well underway.
Teeing off in 2007 as a professional golf tournament, the week has grown into one of Northwest Arkansas’ signature annual events, highlighting some of the best parts of our region for the tens of thousands of visitors welcomed from across the country and abroad every year. That spirit is exactly what organizers hope to celebrate as the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G reaches its 20th anniversary this September. The milestone season has stretched beyond the on-site experience, with anniversary events bringing the championship into the community throughout the spring and summer. A special BITE event at Walmart’s Home Office gave guests an early taste of the flagship culinary festival, while a July celebration in downtown Fayetteville blended live music, golf activities, local vendors, and another BITE pop-up into the city’s Independence Day festivities.
For Megan Timberlake, Global Walmart Team Leader at Procter & Gamble, that broad community impact captures why P&G has remained invested since the tournament’s inaugural year. More than half of her nearly 26-year career with the company has been spent working on the Walmart business, giving her firsthand insight into how Walmart and P&G have worked together to build the #NWAChampionship in its first two decades. Since the very beginning, the relationship was so much more than just seeing P&G’s name on marketing materials.
Over the past two decades, that investment has expanded in ways both visible and behind the scenes. The Walmart and P&G Kids Confidence Club has introduced thousands of young fans to golf through hands-on activities and confidence-building experiences, while partnerships with local nonprofits let the tournament pour back into the community, like helping provide millions of meals through the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. The BITE Experience @ LPGA spotlights the restaurants that help define the region, while wellness initiatives, family programming, sustainability efforts, and volunteer projects invite visitors to experience championship week in their own way, whether they follow golf or not.
That focus on creating accessible experiences carries into P&G’s year-round support of “Choose Confidence” school programming, developed with Arkansas Razorback Women’s Golf Coach Shauna Taylor. The project brings confidence-building lessons into local elementary schools, where students can build self-esteem, try new things, and feel supported while they’re still developing a sense of themselves. “What is especially powerful is the focus on confidence at such a formative age,” Timberlake offers. “Confidence — especially for kids — is one of those foundational life skills that shapes everything from how they show up in school to how they engage with the world around them. And because it’s both on-site at the tournament and embedded in local schools, it scales in a way that creates lasting impact, not just a one-time experience.”
“In the early years, P&G and Walmart partnered on programs that created meaningful impact, like Pantene Beautiful Lengths, where participants donated their hair to make wigs for women recovering from breast cancer,” Timberlake explains. “Over time, we have brought many more of our brands’ missions to life through experiences like the Walmart and P&G Kids Confidence Club, the Always ‘Like a Girl’ campaign at the 5K, the Pampers Family Tent, and programs tied to health and confidence. These events are holistic and embedded in the experience of attending the tournament.” But what’s stayed consistent, she adds, is P&G’s mission to improve lives in the places where its teams live and work. “And that requires long-term commitment to make a real difference.”
Walmart Tournament Chairperson Courtney Naudo, Senior Vice President and General Manager of VIZIO at Walmart, echoes that feeling. “Walmart’s purpose is to help customers save money and live better, and we want to do that in communities all around the world. We are the community, not just part of it,” she attests. “There is no better place to set the standard for community and how we want to show up than in our own backyard of Northwest Arkansas. We want people to see and feel how special this community is, and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G is a great way to show off what makes this place so special.”
It’s yet another example, Timberlake says, of the ways the #NWAChampionship mirrors P&G’s approach to community investment: starting with a real consumer or community need, then building practical, inclusive programs around it. Rather than centering on a single initiative, she points to the combination of wellness programming, youth experiences, and nonprofit partnerships that make the festivities feel accessible to families. “As a parent, that really resonates,” she says. “It’s not just transactional or symbolic — it’s things you can participate in, things your kids can benefit from, and they can be part of something bigger than any one company or organization could achieve on their own.”
As a longtime supporter of the event, championship week is a fixture on the Timberlake family calendar. “My husband and two sons love the tournament, and I am so thankful for the memories we have been afforded over the years,” she reflects. “I remember when our boys were around 5 and 7, they got all dressed up with their bow ties, combed their hair — win! — and were very excited to go to the Kids Confidence Club to play putt-putt. We had an awesome time, great snacks, and snagged a family picture that remains one of my favorites.” The bow ties have disappeared for her now-teenagers, miniature golf giving way to the BITE Experience, but the annual tradition still means spending time together, so there’s no question the whole brood will be out on the course. Timberlake also looks forward to Friday each year, when the entire P&G team gathers at the 17th hole to spend time together outside the office, cheering on the players at the “Gatorade Loudest Hole on Tour.”
It takes a massive network of thousands of people collaborating year-round to bring this caliber of event to life, making those treasured family memories possible. Over the life of the tournament, volunteers have contributed more than 180,000 hours to the #NWAChampionship, including 31 who have never missed a year. But it also takes the consistent commitment of nonprofits, schools, restaurants, local businesses, corporate partners — and, of course, fans showing up! — to create the ecosystem that has brought an estimated economic impact of more than $180 million to the region, while also earning a reputation as one of the LPGA Tour’s favorite stops. “We continue to experience this level of success because of the community care, relentless focus, and dedication from volunteers. The success we have seen with the tournament is a testament to the unique and close community we have here in Northwest Arkansas,” Naudo says. Timberlake agrees: “It’s not just happening in the community; it truly belongs to the community.”
Serving as Walmart Tournament Chairperson gives Naudo a different perspective on the weeklong celebration. While spectators are following leaderboards, she is listening to players, checking in with caddies, and paying close attention to the countless details that influence their experience. Those conversations begin months in advance and continue as the week gets underway, giving organizers a steady stream of ideas to improve both the current championship and refine the next one. “Through consistent active listening, we have made substantial changes, from everything to food options to the volunteer events players can participate in while they are here,” Naudo details. Sometimes, that means making adjustments on the fly. “Last year, the tournament took place during challenging weather conditions, and we expressed our gratitude to players with a coffee bar, thank-you notes, and a quick plan of action.”
Naudo has been around the game most of her life. She was the only girl on her high school’s golf team, playing from the back tees alongside the boys. Rather than viewing it as a disadvantage, she welcomed the challenge, crediting the game with reinforcing lessons that had a major influence on who she is as a leader because golf “emphasizes the importance of integrity, belief, and perseverance,” she says. “Many of Walmart’s values are also inherent in golf: strive for excellence, act with integrity, and respect for the individual. It is why I love both Walmart and golf!”
Making the sport feel approachable has become one of Naudo’s personal priorities, and the #NWAChampionship gives her a chance to introduce families to the game in a way that’s difficult to replicate anywhere else. With affordable ticket prices, complimentary admission for children 17 and younger, and galleries that bring spectators within a few feet of elite athletes, she hopes the week leaves young visitors curious enough to pick up a club themselves. “I want more kids to see the beauty of golf and benefit from the experience of playing. The next generation experiences a lot of digital noise — I would like more kids to see golf as an opportunity to digitally disconnect, socialize with others, and be active outside.”
Returning to Pinnacle Country Club September 21–27, the #NWAChampionship continues to find new ways to celebrate the region that has grown alongside it. Fans will also find expanded anniversary programming this year, including a new Opening Ceremony, commemorative merchandise, and additional youth-focused activities. “Walmart has been involved from the very beginning of the tournament, supporting these exceptional women athletes, and NWA locals have consistently stepped up to make the tournament bigger and better every year,” Naudo enthuses. That enduring support from businesses, nonprofits, volunteers, and fans has given the championship a character that feels unmistakably Northwest Arkansas. “Our community has rallied behind this tournament for two decades, and we are proud to support women’s golf.”
The 20th anniversary of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G arrives at a moment when women’s sports are drawing more attention than ever, but Naudo points to consistency as one of the tournament’s greatest contributions. Since its first year, the #NWAChampionship has continued providing a premier stage for the world’s best female golfers while giving fans the chance to experience professional sports in a uniquely personal setting. From longtime volunteers returning each September to young fans seeing the game up close for the first time, she’s proud to witness the audience expanding with each generation.
That combination of world-class competition and connection is what Timberlake hopes continues in the years ahead. “It’s high-level professional sport, but it’s wrapped in a way that feels accessible, meaningful, and relevant to the whole NWA community,” she says thoughtfully. “I love how intentional the event has become about supporting local nonprofits and bringing the community in. It doesn’t feel like something that’s happening ‘to’ the community — it feels like something that’s built with the community.” And she’s excited to see where that connection leads next. “This event has such special memories for me both personally and professionally, and is something I know I would never get to experience living anywhere but here in NWA.”
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