NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Haeran Ryu kept making birdies and wanted to post her lowest round on the LPGA Tour on Friday. She accomplished that with a 9-under 62 that gave her a six-shot lead among early starters in the FM Championship.
Ryu had a run of four straight birdies on the front nine and the back nine at the TPC Boston with its small targets and firm greens. And she had a simple explanation for them.
“Just an amazing day because my shots, everything next to the hole. And my putts, everything get in the hole,” Ryu said. “Amazing day, yeah.”
Even more amazing was the size of her lead. Ryu was at 13-under 131, six shots ahead of Yealimi Noh and Robyn Choi, who each shot 68.
Marina Alex, who had the 18-hole lead after a bogey-free 68, followed that with a 72 that left her nine shots behind.
Lauran Coughlin and Solheim Cup teammates Allisen Corpuz and Lexi Thompson were among those playing in the afternoon. They faced a tall task just to stay in range of Ryu, a 23-year-old from South Korea who was LPGA rookie of the year last season.
Birdie runs are nothing new for Ryu, a five-time winner on the Korea LPGA before earning her LPGA card as the medalist at its Q-Series. She won the Walmart NW Arkansas Open last year with a 29 on the back nine.
She started her big run with a birdie on the par-4 fourth and then birdied the next three holes to seize control. She had two birdies in three holes to start the back nine, and then made four in a row starting on the 14th hole.
Ryu was hitting it so well that she thought she might have holed out for an eagle on the par-4 15th because of the cheer. Turns out there was one person in her cheering section that might have been over the top for a ball that settled about 4 feet away.
“My mom’s reaction is almost getting the eagle, but the ball still on the green,” Ryu said. “Just fun facts for today. My mom is really happy … just the ball is next to the hole. Yeah, just for 10 seconds I just think, ‘Oh, I got an eagle.’ Just birdie.”
The 62 was her low round by two shots on the LPGA. She previously had rounds of 64 on three occasions. Noh played bogey free on the TPC Boston, the course that previously hosted the PGA Tour for two decades. She managed only one birdie on the par 5s.
Megan Khang, who was born in nearby Brockton, Massachusetts, had the biggest cheering section. She had a 71 and was at 4-under 140. Khang was seen talking to Ryu outside scoring and someone asked if she had given the South Korean any advice about the TPC Boston.
“I didn’t give her any advice. I was like, ‘What did you do?’ That was a super phenomenal round she put together — flawless, I believe. It’s hard to ignore that. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. I might go ask her for some advice after this.”
The FM Championship is in its first year, and the company already raised the prize money to $3.8 million from when it first announced it would sponsor the LPGA event. FM also has offered free lodging to the players and is giving a $1,000 stipend to anyone missing the cut.
