NORTON — They say it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. And that much was true for Miranda Wang on Day 1 of the FM Championship at TPC Boston.
After finishing 1-over on the front nine, Wang bounced back with a 7-under on the back nine including seven birdies.
Wang, who joined the LPGA this year, didn’t make the cut at last week’s CPCK Women’s Open in Ontario. So she spent the last week trying to get her confidence back.
“I didn’t really have a nice week last week, I was doing some changes on my swing,” she said Thursday. “Front nine I was really feeling like I need to warm up and get it going, and No. 10 I made a 30 feet putt for birdie. So that really helped me to boost my confidence.”
This year’s tournament features a strong field that includes the top two-ranked women golfers in the world in Jeeno Thitikul (No.1) and Nelly Korda (No. 2)
Wang’s back nine helped her finish in front of both of them. She also led the field with nine birdies.
Thursday marked the first time Wang played at TPC Boston. She noted the course is similar to where she grew up in Beijing.
Being a rookie comes with challenges, but Wang revealed what keeps her focused on the task at hand — especially in such a strong field.
“I think the most important thing this year for me is knowing that I’m good enough to be playing out here,” she said. “I think it’s challenging for rookies to find confidence and the sense of belonging, and I’m really happy that I’ve had great friends and my team supporting me and just guiding me through everything. And now I’m feeling settled in so that’s really good.”
HOW MASSACHUSETTS NATIVES FARED — Rockland’s Megan Khang, Shrewsbury’s Brittany Altomare and Westborough’s Alexa Pano all teed off on Thursday at TPC Boston.
Pano finished 1-over and is tied for 73rd. Altomore shot 4-over and is tied for 133rd. Khang had the best day of the trio, shooting 1-under and tied for 47th.
THREE-WAY TIE AFTER DAY 1 — Sei Young Kim, Allisen Corpuz and Jodi Ewart Shadoff all shot 7-under to kick off the tournament.
Shadoff birdied on the four final holes to put her in contention with Kim and Corpuz.
“I haven’t really enjoyed playing golf over the past year and a half, so today, finally, even the last couple weeks I’ve kind of finally started to enjoy playing and seeing all the signs of my game getting there.”
Kim went bogey-free on Day 1.
HOW WORLD’S TOP TWO RANKED WOMEN’S GOLFERS FARED — They will both look to make some headway on the leaderboard on Day 1 after Thitikul shot 3-under, while Korda shot 5-under.
“It was great,” Korda said about how she felt. “Obviously with Brooke (Henderson) winning (the CPKC Women’s Open) last week and Minjee (Lee) playing so well this year, it was a lot of fun to play against them and play with them, especially with the caliber of golf they have been playing.”
Thitikul bogeyed on the final hole. She was 4-under going into Hole 18.
Round 2 begins Friday at 7:15 a.m.
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