Out of the Rough: FM Championship (2026)

The LPGA Tour heads to just outside of Boston, MA for the third playing of the FM Championship this week.

This week marks the third consecutive week of tournaments for the LPGA Tour, which has eight events left in the season.

This event, held at TPC Boston, offers a $4.4 million purse, the second largest purse for a non-major or the CME Group Tour Championship on the season. Just the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro had a larger purse this season.

This is also the final event before the Solheim Cup which kicks off in roughly two-weeks time. 

The Field

Being the final event prior to the Solheim Cup and ultimately a three week break on the LPGA Tour schedule, this week’s field resembles more of a major field than not.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda will headline this week’s field with recent The Standard Portland Classic winner and World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul. 

Each of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings top-ten will be playing this week as well. Haeran Ryu (No. 3,) Hyo Joo Kim (No. 4,) Lottie Woad (No. 5,) Charley Hull (No. 6,) Miyu Yamashita (No. 7,) Ruoning Yin (No. 8,) Hannah Green (No. 9) and Sei Young Kim (No. 10) round out the top ten of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and will be in attendance this week.

Miranda Wang is the defending champion, having topped Thitikul by a stroke a season ago. Wang will not be back this season to defend her title.

Ryu won this event in 2024. 

The Course

Although newer to the LPGA Tour, TPC Boston is known in the world of golf.

It hosted the Dell Technologies Championship on the PGA Tour, originally the Deutsche Bank Championship, from 2003 to 2018 over the Labor Day Weekend.

It also hosted the Northern Trust Championship on the PGA Tour in 2020.

The venue was opened in 2002 and was designed by Arnold Palmer. It was later renovated by Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon in 2007.

TPC Boston plays as a par-72 at 6,533 yards.

It features the standard blend of four par-threes, four par-fives and ten par-fours.

Off-the-tee, golfers will be faced with a plethora of native trees and vegetation as well as thick rough. Water comes into play on at least five holes.

The greens this week are protected in the front by bunkers, often to the left side.

Greens will run at roughly 11 on the Stimpmeter. 

Notable holes include the par-five seventh which features its own version of Pine Valley’s “Hell’s Half Acre’ bunker and the 412-yard 17th that features a ridge protected by church-pew bunkers that split the fairway.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, there is just a ten-percent chance of precipitation on Thursday. Friday is calling for a 50-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms. Saturday is calling for a 15-percent chance of precipitation and Sunday a 20-percent chance. Temperatures will be the highest on Thursday with a high of 82-degrees before dropping to 80-degrees on Friday. Temperatures will rebound to 81-degrees on Saturday before finishing the week at 78-degrees on Sunday. Winds will be the highest on Thursday, maxing out at 15 miles-per-hour. Winds will settle down to a maximum of ten miles-per-hour for Friday through Sunday.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Stroked Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Total Driving

• Scrambling Percentage

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Ball Striking

• Par 5 Average Scoring

Betting Card

Sei Young Kim (+2200)

I love everything Kim brings to the table this week. She is currently sixth on Tour in par-five average scoring, 11th in SG: APP, 26th in scrambling, 31st in sand saves percentage, 42nd in ball striking, 68th in total driving and 93rd in SG: PUTT. She placed third last week at the CPKC Women's Open. Prior to that she placed 29th at the AIG women’s Open, 19th at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, 22nd at The Amundi Evian Championship, eighth the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and fifth at the U.S. Women’s Open. She also placed third at TPC Boston a season ago. 

Brooke Henderson (+3300)

This was my first click this week. This course just seems like an ideal fit for Henderson. She is currently second on Tour in par-five average scoring, fourth in total driving, tenth in ball striking, 13th in both SG: PUTT and scrambling, 28th in sand saves percentage and 38th in SG: APP. She too is in great form coming into this week. She placed 13th last week at the CPKC Women’s Open. Prior to that she placed 29th at the AIG Women’s Open, second at The Amundi Evian Championship and third at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She also placed 15th at this event a season ago. 

Jennifer Kupcho (+5000)

Dating back to the JM Eagle LA Championship earlier this season, Kupcho has played 11 events and missed the cut in three of them. However, in the eight events she made the cut, she placed within the top 18 in all of them. She most recently placed 11th at the CPKC Women’s Open. Kupcho missed the cut at the AIG Women’s Open but was sixth at The Amundi Evian Championship. She missed the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship but was 18th at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. She also placed eighth at the U.S. Women’s Open. Kupcho is currently 12th on Tour in total driving, 24th in ball striking, 50th in sand saves percentage, 59th in SG: APP, 60th in par-five average scoring, 66th in scrambling and 71st in SG: PUTT. She missed the cut at this event a season ago but was sixth in 2024. 

Pajaree Anannarukarn (+7500)

The form has been very good for Anannarukarn coming into this week. She placed 13th last week at the CPKC Women’s Open and was fifth at The Standard Portland Classic. She missed the cut at the AIG Women’s Open but also placed third at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open. She also missed the cut here a season ago but placed 19th in 2024. Anannarukarn is currently 12th on Tour in SG: APP, 36th in sand saves percentage, 39th in par-five average scoring, 46th in scrambling, 50th in ball striking, 78th in SG: PUTT and 93rd in total driving. 

Erika Hara (+15000)

I know she missed the cut last week but prior to that she placed in the top-14 in three-of-her-four previous events. As previously mentioned, she missed the cut last week at the CPKC Women’s Open but was 14th at The Standard Portland Classic, missed the cut at the AIG Women’s Open, placed eighth at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open and 14th at The Amundi Evian Championship. Hara is also seventh on Tour in ball striking, 11th in both total driving and par-five average scoring, 28th in SG: PUTT, 29th in scrambling, 50th in SG: APP and 79th in sand saves percentage. Those stats are simply too good for someone in this price range. She’ll be making her FM Championship debut this week.

Sophia Schubert (+60000)

Like Hara, the stats for Schubert are too good not to sprinkle a little bit of money on her. If someone pops in my model at 600/1, I’m going to bet that. Schubert is currently ninth on Tour in par-five average scoring, 25th in ball striking, 43rd in total driving, 45th in SG: PUTT, 48th in SG: APP, 68th in scrambling and 147th in sand saves percentage. She missed the cut last week at the CPKC Women’s Open but was fourth at The Standard Portland Classic. She also placed 19th at this event back in 2024.

2025 Betting Card

• Celine Boutier (+3500) - T45th

• Hye-Jin Choi (+3500) - T7th

• Esther Henseleit (+6000) - MC

• Sarah Schmelzel (+12500) - MC