TPC Boston resides right next to a summer concert venue called “Great Woods,” a name that lends itself to its golf neighbor located nearby. Arnold Palmer designed the venue for the LPGA Tour’s FM Championship in 2002. Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon worked together to reinvigorate the facility in 2007, and that is now the layout you will see on television this week. Nestled in Norton, Mass., this immense piece of property has played host to 17 PGA Tour events prior to the LPGA’s arrival.
The par-72 scorecard at this championship course stretches to almost 6,600 yards. Running through the forest, 12 of the top 25 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings join a field of 144 players who will compete for $3.8 million and a first-place check of $570,000. Each hole on this course is a stand-alone signature setting with a beautiful combination of risk and reward, meaning accuracy on approach is mandatory, with 10 holes featuring water and native areas.
Eight of the 12 best strokes gained approach players are in this field. Three of them are also inside the top 10 in proximity to the hole. Jin Young Ko, local favorite Megan Khang and Alison Lee are serious iron specialists. But can they putt well?
Brad Faxon played a role in renovating these green complexes, so when it comes to strong putters, pay attention to Angel Yin and Hye-Jin Choi. These two are in the top five on Tour in strokes gained putting.
Yin just finished in the top 10 at the AIG Women’s Open and was the runner-up at the Portland Classic. Contending in Portland required accuracy off the tee. TPC Boston is much longer than Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Oregon, so a player will need to be long and precise off the tee.
Local star Alexa Pano is attention-catching in this field after a top 10 at St Andrews and top-15 finish in Portland. Solheim Cup captain’s pick Jennifer Kupcho is another potential prospect to keep an eye on. Kupcho just received a serious boost in confidence after her selection on Tuesday to the U.S. Solheim Cup team, and the Colorado native will be focused on playing well in preparation for those matches. This venue is a very well-rounded test, as fans will see for the first time on Thursday.
The average green size is just 5,500 square feet. When the putting surfaces are that small, also look at around-the-green acumen. Last week, we featured putters at St Andrews, and it worked out. This week, let’s lean on short game. Pano pops up again. That could be a sign for the Westborough, Mass. native. Khang and Xiyu Lin are both at the top of that LPGA list, as well.
It’s going to be a great first edition of the FM Championship. A classic New England layout has drawn a very solid field. The Labor Day holiday means so much to those in the Northeast, and my guess is after this weekend, to our first winner of the FM Championship, it will mean even more.
Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA TOUR for Golf Digest, SportsGrid, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA TOUR. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information about the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.
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