NORTON — A crowd of at least 100 people followed Group 7 from start to finish Friday morning at TPC Boston, jockeying for space at the ropes on every hole. The herd moved in lock step for 4½ hours during the second round of the FM Championship, growing larger as the group approached the 18th green.
Many were there to follow Nelly Korda, the LPGA’s world No. 1 player, in the group. But while Korda looked out of sorts, finishing even for the second day in a row and making the cut by a hair, Ruoning Yin gave the crowd plenty to cheer about.
Yin finished Round 2 with a 7-under-par 65 to vault into a tie for fourth at 8 under overall. She sits one stroke back from leaders Allisen Corpuz, Hyo Joo Kim, and Miyu Yamashita heading into the weekend.
“I would love [for] people to come watch me, but I think 99 percent is probably for Nelly,” Yin said with a chuckle. “But the crowd is amazing this week. We teed off early today, but still there is a big amount of people [who came] out to watch. It just feels great.”
Nelly Korda had four bogeys and four birdies as part of her second straight even-par round at the FM Championship at TPC Boston.Alex Slitz/Getty
With hundreds of eyes on her — more, she said, than she would expect on a Friday — Yin carded eight birdies to rebound from her middle-of-the-road performance Thursday (1-under 71).
“Yesterday I think I didn’t do anything wrong, but the score just wasn’t good,” Yin said.
As a nice added bonus, with Friday’s performance, Yin won a friendly wager with her coach. He told her Thursday that he was going to leave early, unless she finished Friday’s round 7 under.
Looks like he’s staying for the weekend.
“I know my game is in the right spot,” Yin said. “I think I’ve been chasing the win for a little bit, but my coach told me at the beginning of the week, he was just like, ‘Your game is right there. You just need to be a little bit more patient.’ ”
Patience was the key word among the leaders, as well.
Corpuz went bogey-free Friday and shot a 5-under 67. She said she’s comfortable on this course following top-20 finishes in each of the previous FM Championships.
Allisen Corpuz carded a round of 5-under 67 in the second round of the FM Championship on Friday.Alex Slitz/Getty
Two years ago at this time, she was 3 under before surging into a fourth-place finish with a standout weekend. Last year, she had a difficult second round (2 over) but still found her way to a tie for 20th.
“I think this course is just one where you have to stay patient and you’ll get the opportunities as they come,” she said.
Kim had a similar mind-set heading into Friday’s round. It’s been a while since her name was on the leaderboard, she said, and a solid round Friday was the breakthrough she had been looking for.
A bogey on No. 4 was the only blip on her scorecard, ending a stretch of 30 consecutive holes at or under par.
Yamashita held the solo lead for much of the afternoon, but two bogeys on her back nine meant she had to settle for a three-way tie for first.
Just behind the leaders are Yin, Jenny Bae, and Morgane Metraux, who had an eagle on No. 2 and carded five birdies Friday — making just her fourth cut of the season.
“I was playing conservative when I had to,” the Swiss player said.
Miyu Yamashita went 2 under Friday, good enough to own a share of the lead heading into the weekend at the FM Championship at TPC Boston.Alex Slitz/Getty
Rockland native Megan Khang played herself into the weekend with a 3-under 69, putting her at 2 under. It was the first time she’s made a cut since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in late June.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been able to play the weekend, and to be here — home state, home sponsor — I’m very happy to make the weekend,” said Khang, an FM ambassador. “I was really happy to see some putts go in.”
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy.