NORTON, Mass – Inspired by the positive vibes and the more than 25,000 fans that turned out this week at TPC Boston for the inaugural FM Championship, the LPGA and FM Global executives announced the tournament will return in 2025 over Labor Day weekend August 28 – 31.
It’s been over two decades that women’s professional golf has visited the Boston area and the success of this week’s tournament warrants a repeat, despite a few flaws, like minimal advertising, not enough portable toilets on-course, not enough volunteers, sparse corporate sponsorship, 5 1/2 hour rounds, slow response from rules officials and TPC Boston charging LPGA players $365 for practice rounds the week before the event.
Also, this year’s tournament lacked top names on the LPGA tour such as Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Minjee Lee, Charley Hull, Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho, yet thousands of golf fans still showed up for the four-day event. According to a Meet Boston report, the bulk of ticket purchasers came from the six New England states and New York with the LPGA and FM adding that fans came from 25 other states and five countries.
FM, which is based in Johnston, R.I., inked a five-year sponsorship deal with the LPGA last year. The deal was not site specific, meaning the tournament can relocate as mutually agreed. FM Global provided free hotel lodging for all players for the week and paid each player that missed the cut a $1,000 stipend.
“We are thrilled to return to TPC Boston for the 2025 FM Championship,” said Malcolm Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of FM, in a statement. “Over the last week, this world-class venue provided an amazing experience for the athletes, fans and New England community. We would like to thank our incredible hosts at TPC Boston for their hospitality and support and our partners at the LPGA Tour for helping us launch such a successful and exciting tournament.”
Despite several top players missing the cut like Westborough, Mass native Alexa Pano, Celine Boutier, Yuka Saso, Alison Lee, Anna Nordqvist and Brittany Lincicome two names carried the bulk of fans interest – Megan Khang and Lexi Thompson. Both players were paired together in Round 3 starting the day at 3-under and Round 4 starting at 4 -under par. Thompson finished T-15 while Khang faded T-35.
The $3.8 million FM Championship purse is the largest non-major, non-tour championship purse on the LPGA Tour.
https://www.fmchampionship.com/
(PHOTOS – Pat Eastman)
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