▲ Kim Sei-young plays during the first round of the FM Championship.
Kim Sei-young has surged to the top of the leaderboard after a stellar performance in the opening round of the LPGA Tour FM Championship, which boasts a total purse of $4.4 million.
Playing the first round on the 28th (Korean time) at TPC Boston (par 72) in Norton, Massachusetts, Kim carded an eagle and six birdies without a single bogey, finishing with an 8-under-par 64 to claim the sole lead.
She sits one stroke ahead of co-runners-up Miyu Yamashita of Japan and Emily Pedersen of Denmark, who both shot 7-under-par 65.
Kim, a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is revving up her engine for her first victory in about 10 months, following her win at the BMW Ladies Championship held in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, in October last year.
World No. 9 Kim has recorded six top-10 finishes this season, including a third-place finish at the CPKC Women's Open last week.
Starting her round on the 10th hole, Kim picked up birdies on the 14th hole (par 4) and the 18th hole (par 5) on her front nine.
Gathering momentum on the back nine by picking up birdies on the 2nd hole (par 5), 3rd hole (par 3), 5th hole (par 4), and 6th hole (par 4), she reeled in an eagle on the 7th hole (par 5) to claim the top spot on the leaderboard.
On this day, Kim missed the fairway twice and the green five times, while needing only 24 putts.
Reflecting on her round, Kim said, "The course was softer than last year, creating an environment where we could make a lot of birdies. Although I missed many opportunities on the front nine, the temperature warmed up on the back nine, allowing me to make many birdies."
Pointing out that "the eagle was huge," she explained, "The tee was moved far forward, leaving me with only about 190 meters after my driver tee shot. My controlled shot with a hybrid landed about 3 meters to the right of the pin, and I made the eagle with a chip-in."
Miyu Yamashita, who secured her second win of the season at last week's CPKC Women's Open, started the tournament tied for second, one stroke behind Kim, as she pursues back-to-back victories.
Lee So-mi positioned herself in fourth place (6-under-par 66), while World No. 3 Yoo Hae-ran and No. 4 Kim Hyo-joo tied for fifth place (4-under-par 68).
Yoo Hae-ran is the inaugural champion of this tournament from 2024.
Kim A-lim, Lim Jin-hee, and Choi Cheon-jung tied for 15th place (2-under-par 70); Lee Dong-eun, Lee Mi-hyang, and Joo Su-bin tied for 24th place (1-under-par 71); and Choi Hye-jin, Shin Ji-eun, World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States, and World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand tied for 39th place (even-par 72).
Yoon Ina and Hwang Yu-min struggled to a tie for 77th place (2-over-par 74), Ko Jin-young finished tied for 108th place (4-over-par 76), and Yang Hee-young withdrew due to injury.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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