Foreign News
Sei Young Kim leads FM Championship after first round
NORTON, Mass. — The crisp late summer air at TPC Boston provided perfect conditions for low scores on Thursday morning, and Sei Young Kim took full advantage on her way to posting an 8-under 64 and carrying the first-round lead at the FM Championship.
Kim, who started at the 10th, began strong with a bogey-free opening nine that saw her birdie the 18th hole at the turn, foreshadowing the final nine holes where her putter caught fire.
Kim carded four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 seventh during a six-hole stretch that led to a final-nine 30 and vaulted her to the top of the leaderboard — where she managed to stay for the remainder of the day.
“Little tough to wake up the early morning,” said Kim, who teed off at 7:44 a.m. “I flew from the Canada on Monday, so I kind of too short time for the prepare this week.”
Kim finished third at the CPKC Women’s Open last week, and said she’s still feeling the effects of the traveling from Edmonton, Alberta. She showed no signs of jetlag so far at TPC Boston, where she holds a one-shot lead over Miyu Yamashita and Emily Kristine Pedersen.
Yamashita, who secured her second career win in Canada last weekend, birdied seven out of eight holes on her back nine. She told reporters after the round that was she’s feeling good from the victory in Canada and trying to ride momentum into this week.
In total, the Japanese native recorded 10 birdies during Round 1 but also posted a costly double at No. 8 as well as carding a square at the final hole.
Pedersen also got in with a 7-under 65, despite teeing off after noon on Thursday when the course became windier and firmer.
The 30-year-old from Denmark birdied the final hole to finish T-2 with Yamashita heading into Friday’s second round.
Pedersen is in search of her first career win on the LPGA Tour after battling back this season following wrist surgery earlier this year.
“It’s been a lot harder to come back than I thought it would be,” Pedersen said. “I still feel like my good golf is good and I still feel that I haven’t peaked or reached the point that I have yet, so it’s nice to see that I can have a day like today,” she added.
Lottie Woad sits T-5 after shooting 4-under 68 on her opening round, where she played alongside Jeeno Thitikul and Charley Hull with a generous group of spectators following throughout the morning.
The 22-year-old Englishwoman, who is set to make her Solheim Cup debut in two weeks, said she overall felt pretty good about her first round of the FM Championship.
“There was a few sneaky pins out there that you had to play away from, but overall tried to be pretty aggressive,” Woad said.
Lauren Coughlin also ended the day pleased with her T-5 finish more than five hours later, crediting her ball striking while lamenting a few missed putts. Coughlin also said she tried not to take too much stock in what the morning groups were able to do, and stressed that she just tried to play her best in the current conditions.
“Once I got out here and saw how windy it was I knew, it was going to be playing a lot more difficult this afternoon,” Coughlin said.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda headlined the afternoon group but finished T-38 at even par on the day. She had four bogeys during the round and never found momentum. Her lone highlight came at the same par-5 that Kim eagled earlier in the day.
Korda gained two strokes on that hole on her way to a final-nine 34, helping offset her bogey-filled first nine.
Round 2 airs on Golf Channel starting at 9 a.m. ET on Friday.
The LPGA is back in New England for the third FM Championship at TPC Boston from Aug. 27-30 and features a field of 144 players.
