Chinese rookie Wang grabs FM Championship lead

Stimpmeter · August 30, 2025, 5:15am

Chinese rookie Miranda Wang birdied the last three holes to seize a two-stroke lead when darkness halted Friday’s storm-disrupted second round of the LPGA FM Championship at TPC Boston.

The 26-year-old LPGA newcomer, who played collegiate golf in the United States, opened with three birdies in her first four holes and closed with a hat trick at the par-three 16th, par-four 17th and par-five 18th.

That gave her a five-under 67 and an 11-under total of 133 for 36 holes, two shots clear of Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom when play was suspended with half the 144-player field still on course.

“It was really discontinuous,” Wang said. “It shows three birdies in a row, but for me it was like one shot at a time. With all the stops I was just trying to hit as good as I can.”

There were three stoppages for heavy rain and lightning, keeping players on edge throughout the day.

Sagstrom fired a bogey-free 66 to stand on nine-under 135, one ahead of Australia’s Hannah Green, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and Norway’s Celine Borge.

Wang was unable to finish her round before the third suspension of play, which lasted two and a half hours. When play resumed, she returned to 18 and sank a 10-foot birdie putt to double her lead.

“I didn’t expect the weather,” Wang said. “We just have to face it and prepare mentally and physically for the thunderstorms. Every time you warm up it feels like starting again, so I just tried to stay calm and keep going.”

Two earlier delays, totalling almost three hours, dumped nearly half an inch of rain and forced the second round to spill into Saturday.

Among those still on course were South Korea’s Kim Sei-young, on eight under through four holes, and world No 2 Nelly Korda, who was seven under through four.

Sagstrom, 32, claimed her second career LPGA title in April at the Match Play. She birdied the 6th and par-five 7th before rattling off four in a row from the 13th through the par-three 16th after the second delay.

“We saw it coming on 16 and I thought, ‘This is not great. Two breaks, that’s enough,’” Sagstrom said. “Clearly I needed the second one because I came out really hot after that. I found a little bit of rhythm, hit some good putts, and that paid off.”

Green, a back-nine starter, carded five birdies against a single bogey for a 68. She sprinted up her final hole to finish before the horn.

“I don’t think mentally I could have prepared myself for another delay,” Green said. “All of us in the last group were happy to jog to the last green. I don’t think we would have finished otherwise.”

The joggers included Thailand’s world No 1 Jeeno Thitikul, who shot 66 to reach seven-under 137 alongside England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff, South Korea’s Lee6 Jeong-eun and Japan’s Ayaka Furue and Miya Yamashita, the reigning Women’s Open champion.

“The security guard told us a horn was coming soon,” Jeeno said. “I was like, ‘Run, run let’s go.’ Start and stop is frustrating, but I’m glad to be done.”

Photo: Michael Owens/Getty Images

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