Major champions Minjee Lee and Nelly Korda were both in fantastic form during the first round of the FM Championship in Boston, shooting matching -5 67s.
Lee got the fireworks started early, shooting a blistering first nine -6 30. Lee made birdies on three of the first four holes and continued to do so with six birdies and no bogeys on that side of the course.
While the ball striking was good on that first nine, it was really the putter that fueled the scoring for the 29-year-old Australian. A major storyline all season has been the improved work on the greens for Lee, but it may not have ever been stronger than it was Thursday in Boston. Lee looked stable and confident with short putts and was sending some in from long range as well.
Lee did have some stumbles on the second nine, including a sloppy double bogey on the par 5 seventh, her 16th hole of the day. She did finish off with a nice birdie on the final hole to bounce back though.
For Korda, it was a different story early. A bad three-putt bogey had her round off to a suspicious start, but she rallied well. Korda made four birdies in five holes during the middle of her first nine to really fuel her, but left some strokes out on the course with pars on the two par 5s.
On the second nine, the continued ball-striking dominance led to a few more birdies, but also a bad bogey on the fourth hole. As has been the case for much of the season, Korda’s putter let her down a bit. Korda only had 29 putts, but considering she had a chip-in and had phenomenal proximity on her approach shots, it is a bit misleading of a number.
With the afternoon wave just kicking off, Korda and Lee sit in a tie for second, two strokes behind leader Sei Young Kim.
