Sei Young Kim of South Korea went 6 under par over a six-hole stretch coming in to take the first-round lead at the FM Championship on Thursday at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.
Kim played the back nine first and made the turn at 2 under. After birdies at Nos. 2 and 3, she went birdie-birdie-eagle from Nos. 5-7 and signed for an 8-under 64.
That placed the 33-year old one shot better than Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen, tied for second at 7-under 65. Somi Lee of South Korea is alone in fourth at 6-under 66.
Kim, a former World No. 2 and 2020 Women’s PGA Champion victor, broke a five-year winless drought last October when she captured the BMW Ladies Championship in her native Korea.
“Tee is little up, so and then with the downwind it’s pretty close,” Kim said of the reachable par-5 seventh hole. “And I hit the driver, finish little right of the fairway, and I got the 190 meter to the pin. But it’s a strong downwind, so I took a hybrid, but with the hybrid a little bit can be over.
“But I try to counter-shot and I finish just three yard right of the pin, so I chip it in.”
Yamashita is aiming to go back-to-back after winning last week’s CPKC Women’s Open in Edmonton by nine strokes. She tied the LPGA record for lowest gross score in a 72-hole event with a 257.
She carried that form with her to the East Coast in a major way. She shook off a double bogey at the par-3 eighth hole by birdieing Nos. 10-13. She added another three straight birdies from Nos. 15-17 and would have been tied for the lead were it not for a bogey at the par-5 18th.
“Last week I’m happy, so today I’m feeling, yeah, good,” Yamashita said. “This course (is) tricky and (has doglegs), so rough tough.”
Pedersen is also in striking distance of what would be her first LPGA victory. She has collected five titles on the Ladies European Tour, but none since 2020.
It would taste extra sweet after she missed several months at the start of the season while recovering from wrist surgery earlier this year.
“I still can’t hit to the extent that I normally do,” Pedersen said. “I’ve always been someone that practices a lot and I’m still a little bit on a ball count.
“… So I think mentally I’ve tried and learned to like be a little bit more efficient with my time and be more prepared, and not just be hitting balls for four hours because I can and I feel like I have to punish myself or whatever.”
A large tie for fifth at 4-under 68 includes Jenny Bae, Allisen Corpuz, Lauren Coughlin, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, England’s Lottie Woad, Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol and Koreans Haeran Ryu and Hyo Joo Kim.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda and World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand each opened with even-par rounds of 72.
–Field Level Media
