New York (AFP) – Jodi Ewart Shadoff birdied her last four holes to share the first-round lead alongside Kim Sei-young and Allisen Corpuz in the LPGA FM Championship at TPC Boston on Thursday. South Korean veteran Kim had set an early target with seven birdies in a seven-under 65. But American Corpuz and England’s Ewart Shadoff pulled off strong finishes to join her atop the leaderboard, one stroke clear of China’s Miranda Wang.
Ewart Shadoff teed off on 10 and was four under through her first 12 holes. After a bogey at the par-four fourth, she came alive with birdies at the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth. “It was very steady,” Ewart Shadoff said. “I was striking the ball really well and I finally got some putts to drop. (I) holed a lot of putts outside 20 feet, so that definitely helps. And then the last four, just good ball striking and some really nice putts,” she said, adding that it was exciting to feel her game getting sharp after more than a year of struggling in the wake of yet another injury. “For the first time in the last year and a half I kind of feel like I can do it again, so it’s exciting for me,” she said.
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Corpuz also teed off on 10 and was four-under through nine. She followed with back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth, and after a bogey at the sixth, she birdied two of her last three. “The putter was rolling really well today,” Corpuz said. “I had a lot of really good looks and got to convert a lot of them.”
Kim, 32, is chasing a 13th LPGA tour title but her first since 2020, when she won her lone major at the Women’s PGA Championship. She said birdies at the second and fourth helped her relax. Kim would add another at the seventh and picked up four more coming in with back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 and another brace at 15 and 16. “If you get the birdies, good momentum, it’s going to be good vibes,” Kim said.
Wang, a 26-year-old LPGA rookie who played collegiate golf in the United States, teed off on 10 and was one-over through nine holes before a remarkable seven-under second nine. She reeled off four straight birdies through the first four holes and followed a bogey at the fifth with four more birdies to close her round. “I had a par-free back of my round today,” Wang said. “Usually what I think I want to do out there is a bogey-free round, but today it’s a par-free half of the round, so it’s an amazing experience.”
Eight players were tied for fifth on five-under 67. World number two Nelly Korda headlined the group and was joined by fourth-ranked Australian Minjee Lee, France’s Celine Boutier, Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen, China’s Zhang Weiwei, and Americans Gurleen Kaur, Andrea Lee, and Madison Young.
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