FM Championship, LPGA, TPC Boston planning to expand from year one

NORTON — The first FM Championship wasn’t done yet, but Patrick Healy was already making plans for the second one.

During the two-hour delay that held off the conclusion of Sunday’s final round at the TPC Boston in Norton, Healy expressed satisfaction about how the first year of the event had transpired.

“It was amazing. … First time the LPGA has been in New England for over 20 years and there’s no professional golf right now in New England,” he said. “I think we’re uniquely positioned here where we’re able to pull from, obviously the greater Boston community, we’re able to reach into Connecticut, we’re able to reach into Rhode Island. So I think from a northeast positioning standpoint, it’s been cool to kind of see play out, not just this week but kind of in the lead-up to the event.”

Healy expected the event to grow.

“Definitely, this is the starting point. Our focus this year was: whatever we were able to bring to the table, we needed to focus on executing it really well, to sort of set the foundation,” he said. “I think now that the foundation has been set, certainly learn from this year. It’s been an awesome week. We’ve certainly learned things as well. … (The course). has gotten rave reviews from players, rules and competition team. It’s exceeded expectations from our perspective. So super excited to return.”

Healy said they were happy with how the field of competitors came together. It was a difficult year as the event fell between the Olympics and the British Open before and the Solheim Cup afterward.

“It’s definitely presented challenges this year. I think it’s a unique year where we’ve got the Olympics and the Solheim Cup and then everything, positioning-wise, schedule-wise, kind of pushed everything against this week,” he said. “I don’t think that hurt us frankly in terms of enthusiasm in the community.”

The event’s $3.8 million purse was the largest non-major, non-tour championship event on the tour’s calendar. As the winner Haeren Ryu took home $570,000.

“For a first year title sponsor and for long-term title sponsors, like, they’ve definitely stepped up in a massive way,” he said. “That’s been definitely awesome to see.”

Megan Khang said the purse and the treatment of the golfers was well received.

“A lot of the word that was spread around was that FM did an amazing job of hospitality. It’s something that we weren’t necessarily expecting,” she said. “I kind of gave FM a little insight to what the girls would like in a tournament. To say they went above and beyond isn’t enough. They put on this huge dinner Thursday after the round, and I personally love lobsters and lobster rolls, tenderloin, salmon, so many options. They didn’t have to do that. They put the girls up in a hotel. They didn’t have to do anything in that sense. We go to tournaments here and there just on our own dime, but it’s pretty cool to see tournaments like FM, like the JM Eagle, putting girls up in hotels and really incentivizing them to play. and providing a missed-cut stipend.”

The LPGA, which has a contract with FM and the TPC Boston is for five seasons, announced details for the 2025 event which will be held from Aug. 28-31.