For almost two decades, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G has brought some of the best golfers in the world to the region with an LPGA Tour stop known industry-wide for its signature mix of top-tier competition and community spirit.
María José Marín makes her second tournament appearance this month, and at just 19, golf insiders and casual fans alike are eager to watch her star continue to rise. In her junior year studying accounting at the University of Arkansas, José Marín is sure to feel a sense of homecoming during #NWAChampionship Week as the Northwest Arkansas community always shows extra love to current and former Razorbacks competing. José Marín’s T17 finish at last year’s event marked an impressive Tour debut — made even more meaningful by the fact that her father was on the bag, caddying for her as he has on several special occasions. Her ever-growing stack of record-setting achievements signals a young player poised to help shape the future of the sport.
A Cali, Colombia native, María’s golf journey began before she was even tall enough to see over the bag. As a toddler, she often shadowed her father on the practice green, an accomplished player who represented their country at several high-level amateur events. “The story goes that I saw him practicing, and I was just hanging around him and always trying to hit his golf clubs and messing with the golf balls,” she says with a smile. “There’s actually a really cute video that he showed me like a month ago of baby me — I think I was like a year-and-a-half — already trying to swing and hit the ball.”
That little 18-month-old would eventually nail that perfect stroke … among just a few other skills she’s honed along the way. One key milestone that crystallized her ambition came early, too: “The moment that really got me to say, ‘Ok, this is what I want to do,’ was when I won my first national championship when I was 8,” she admits. That same year, she competed in Pinehurst, North Carolina at the U.S. Kids World Championship, soaking in the atmosphere of competition on a grand stage. “That was an amazing experience for me as a kid.”
Those early triumphs cemented her path from junior standout to collegiate star, and now to one of the sport’s brightest young competitors. By the time José Marín arrived at the University of Arkansas, she had already built an international reputation as one of the most accomplished rising amateurs in the game. She notched 11 World Amateur Golf Ranking wins in 2022 alone and claimed titles from Miami to Mexico City to Paraguay — often by commanding margins. She became the first South American to make the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, then did it again the next year. José Marín helped bring home team victories for Colombia, medaled at the South American Games and World Junior Girls Championship, and competed on elite stages across North America and Europe.
“She is one of the hardest working junior golfers I have ever met, and it shows when she competes,” University of Arkansas head women’s golf coach Shauna Taylor said at the time of José Marín’s commitment to the school. “She leaves no stone unturned in her preparation, and she loves to win. María understands her strengths and is laser-focused on executing a plan that plays to her strengths in every round she plays. She will bring an intensity to what we do, and I look forward to helping María on her journey to the U.S. to play collegiate golf.”
Her Razorback tenure has only added to her legend. As a freshman, José Marín burst onto the scene with SEC Freshman of the Year honors and an All-SEC First Team selection. By sophomore year, she was rewriting her own record book, firing two rounds of 65 — including one at the NCAA Championship — to top her previous best of 66. She collected three individual titles, posted 23 rounds of par or better, and, in Carlsbad, walked off the 18th Green a national champion. Her -12 finish tied for the third-lowest score in NCAA Championship history, placing her alongside Razorback greats Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi as the only women in program history to win the title. That trio also shares another distinction: they’re the only Arkansas golfers ever named SEC Player of the Year. The season wrapped with a second WGCA First Team All-American honor and the Honda Sport Award for golf, recognizing her as the top female collegiate golfer in the country. And José Marín’s year wasn’t just big in college golf — building on her 2024 LPGA debut at the #NWAChampionship, she made the cut in both of her 2025 major appearances, the U.S. Women’s Open and the Evian Championship, a rare feat for someone not yet playing the Tour full time.
Yet, even in a season lined with titles and trophies, growth can come from setbacks. José Marín was so excited for her second outing at Augusta National Women’s Amateur this spring, but couldn’t recover after a tough first round. “I had a real low this year, and it was Augusta,” she reflects. “I didn’t perform well. I missed the cut, and I didn’t get the chance to play the full weekend. But that got me motivated and just pushed me to work harder and harder and harder and, well, you can see the results after that,” she says with a grin. “All of this is a process, and of course, you’re not going to get excited with the lows of the process. But how you face the lows, it’s about how you overcome them.”
Since its inception in 2007, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G has become a hallmark of the LPGA schedule. Beyond world-class golf, it’s built on a foundation of local involvement — free junior clinics, charitable initiatives, and corporate partnerships that funnel proceeds back into the community. The tournament’s signature onsite food festival, the BITE Experience @ the LPGA, showcases more than 50 local restaurants and breweries and supports many community organizations such as the NWA Food Bank, Seeds that Feed, NWA Equality, Black-Owned NWA, and more. The tournament is also recognized for its one-of-a-kind atmosphere. Unlike many stops on the Tour, fans here enjoy remarkably close access to the athletes — from autographs to photos to a friendly knuckle-bump as they’re walking between holes.
Players, coaches, and visitors seem to all agree that this Tour stop is special; the community bond brings a special flavor to the week and makes the experience unique among the LPGA outings. And nothing captures the championship’s electric energy quite like the Gatorade Loudest Hole on Tour. Fans pack the amphitheater-like stands at Hole 17 and are encouraged to cheer freely rather than following traditional golf etiquette. Players even sometimes toss specialty Gatorade gear into the stands as they approach the tee. “I always, always remember the moment when you’re walking up the par-3, Hole 17. That’s a really nice moment,” José Marín says, recalling how the crowd’s roar felt like a wave of energy. “Calling the Razorbacks along with Maria Fassi, getting to play with Lexi Thompson … it was my first LPGA [Tour Event], I was really nervous,” she admits with a small laugh, “and getting to play with such figures of the game, it was great.”
Spectator experience is equally prioritized at the #NWAChampionship. Kids under 17 enjoy free admission with a ticketed adult courtesy of Nestlé and can spend hours at the Walmart & P&G Kids Confidence Club, a covered, air-conditioned space offering interactive exhibits from First Tee – NWA, Crystal Bridges, the Amazeum, The Jones Center, and more. Next door, the Pampers Family Tent provides a respite for families, complete with nursing stations, diaper-changing bays, and quiet seating — a small detail that underscores the tournament’s family-centric focus and commitment to inclusivity.
The event’s emphasis on youth and families resonates deeply with María. “It means a lot because when I was younger, there was someone who was [an inspiration] to me and that’s lasted all this time. That’s the thing that I want to do — inspire little kids and little girls to get into the game, to start loving the game,” she shares. More than a sport, she sees golf as a gateway to lifelong friendships and lessons in perseverance. “I’ve had my golf friends since I was like 6 or 7 years, and I still maintain those relationships.”
Tournament organizers have doubled down on sustainability, too. As only the second LPGA event ever to earn GEO Certified status, the #NWAChampionship invites fans to tour its Sustainability Showcase by the ninth tee, learn about waste-diversion efforts in partnership with Food Loops, and even valet their bikes courtesy of Mercy and Pedal It Forward. Officials aim to divert more than 90% of event waste from landfills, signaling a commitment to environmental stewardship that resonates with today’s audiences. All of it reflects the effort to make the Tour stop — and the game itself — feel open, welcoming, and rooted in the spirit of Northwest Arkansas.
For José Marín, that sense of community isn’t just something she notices during tournament week; it’s something she lives. “Moving to Fayetteville at first was kind of hard,” she confesses. “Saying goodbye to my family … I used to do everything with them and suddenly not having them there, it was like a shock to me. I used to call them every night crying, ‘I want to go back!’” But eventually, the structure of college life — and the camaraderie she found on the team — helped ease the transition. Travel, tournaments, and the competitive energy they shared became a rhythm she could settle into.
Still, even the hardest-working athlete needs a break. On José Marín’s off days, you won’t find her on the range. “No golf that day!” she says with a laugh. After sleeping in and some TikTok scrolling, she’s more likely to be heading to a movie, enjoying a meal at one of her favorite spots on Dickson Street — “It would be sushi. I love sushi” — or getting in a little retail therapy with some shopping. “Maybe baking something; I love to bake things and to cook,” she adds. “Just doing things apart from golf.” That balance between drive and downtime, pressure and play is part of what makes María such a compelling presence in the sport. She’s focused, yes. Disciplined, certainly. But behind every stroke-by-stroke triumph, she’s also a young woman who treasures normalcy as much as excellence.
As the Northwest Arkansas community readies for another week of championship golf September 15–21, José Marín will tee it up again, this time with more experience, more fans in her corner, and a deeper understanding of everything the game can give back. She returns to Pinnacle not as a newcomer but as a featured competitor, selected as a sponsor exemption through the Road to the #NWAChampionship program, which highlights top performers from the Razorback women’s team.
Ranked No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (as of July), José Marín’s blend of ambition and authenticity fuels her view of the future. “I always feel that you can do better. Even if it’s not a better golfer, you can be a better person and you can get a lot of things out of the experience — that’s my motivation,” she reflects. In Rogers, where community and competition intertwine, her pursuit of that incremental improvement makes María José Marín not just a competitor but a beacon of possibility and a reminder that with passion, perseverance, and a touch of Razorback spirit, greatness can grow from the smallest of swings. “I always want to be the best version of myself. I know that I can do a lot more things. I know I can do better. I always want to be 1% better.”
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