The LPGA Tour announced last weekend that the FM Championship will return to TPC Boston in Norton next year and that the dates for the event will be revealed this fall.
It will be difficult to top the drama of the inaugural FM Championship last weekend. Haeran Ryu took a roller-coaster ride en route to capturing the title in a playoff against fellow South Korean Jin Young Ko.
Ryu followed an opening-round 69 with a career-best 10-under 62 to take a six-shot lead. Then she stumbled to a 78 to enter the final round four shots off Ko’s lead. She closed with a 64 to tie Ko at 15-under 273 and parred the first playoff hole to collect the first-place check of $570,000 in the $3.8 million event. FM has the largest purse on the LPGA Tour outside of the majors and tour championship.
Unfortunately, Westborough native Alexa Pano missed the cut by a shot.
Pano, who turned 20 on Aug. 20, spent her early years in Westboro before moving to Florida to work on her golf game. She returned to Central Mass. for several summers and practiced at Blissful Meadows GC in Uxbridge for three summers.
“I’m excited to have my family out this week and a lot of friends,” she said before the tournament began. “It’s just a really special area, so it’s going to be a great week.”
Unfortunately for her, she didn’t play well enough to make it to the weekend. She shot 72-75 for a total of 3-over 147. Her father, Rick, who grew up in Westborough and played at Westborough CC, caddied for her at TPC Boston.
Pano gave a plug to Uhlman’s Ice Cream in Westborough.
“It’s a little farm that has, I think, the best ice cream in the world,” she said.
Pano has earned $476,602 this season and ranks eighth in the Rolex rankings and 55rd in the CME Rankings.
She earned her only LPGA Tour victory on her 19th birthday in the 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational.
Pano began to make a name for herself in golf at age 7 by starring in the Netflix documentary, “The Short Game.”
FM signed Megan Khang, who grew up in Rockland about 40 minutes from Norton, as an ambassador for the tournament. Khang finished tied for 35th, but she drew the largest crowds, especially when she played with Lexi Thompson on Saturday. Thompson has won 11 LPGA Tour events compared to Khang’s one, but the fans rooted for the Massachusetts native on Saturday.
“I joked with Lexi, ‘this might be the first time I hear my name louder than yours,’” Khang said. “She was so gracious. She was like, no, this is your crowd.”
Khang described the gallery as the largest she’s had this year and possibly during her entire career.
“It’s been really cool to have everyone out here, everyone knowing my name and hearing the chant, ‘Pride of Massachusetts,” she said.
Khang mentioned Pano, Shrewsbury native Brittany Altomare, who missed the event while she regains her strength after giving birth to her son Wyatt in March, and Alison Walshe of Westford as other LPGA Tour golfers from the Bay State.
“I really hope that Massachusetts produces a lot more women golfers or golfers in general,” Khang said.
When the PGA Tour played at TPC Boston, Khang played in two pro-ams, one with Camilo Villegas the other with Anthony Kim. She remembers finishing first among the four juniors each year.
Khang, 26, earned her only LPGA Tour victory so far in the CPKC Women’s Open in August 2023 when she defeated Jin Young Ko in a playoff.
Thompson, who tied for 15th, praised FM for holding a well run event. FM offered the players complimentary hotel accommodations, dining for players, caddies and guests, and provided $1,000 to those who missed the cut.
“It’s just little things like that,” she said. “Courtesy cars, just to show their appreciation for us and how they want to make the tournament one the best.”
Thompson said she’ll miss the fans, especially the little kids.
“To see the smile on their faces,” she said, “and on a bad day, they’re still saying, “Great playing, we look up to you.’ That’s what makes the difference. We’re impacting these little kids and growing the game. That’s what it’s all about.”
The FM Championship was one of the top selling competitions of the 2024 season, with tickets purchased from fans from 31 states and five countries.
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This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: LPGA plans return to Massachusetts after successful FM Championship event
