Ruoning Yin is the second consecutive FM winner from China. In its three-year history, the tournament hasn’t had an American winner. Allisen Corpuz came closest, her 11 under to finish third the best finish of any American.
This season, golfers from eight different countries have won across the 22 tournaments. In 2025, it was 10.
The multicultural atmosphere makes for a media environment unique among the major sports. At the end of press conferences, athletes are asked to answer questions in their native language. LPGA media staff make the request for answers in Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Thai, but also Swedish, Spanish, German, and Tagalog. The video is distributed back to their home nations; the LPGA is available to watch in more than 130 countries.
International growth is a big focus under commissioner Craig Kessler, who took over the job last summer. The LPGA is searching for a worldwide media rights deal and last year signed with a major Japanese streamer, U-NEXT, to air every tournament. It’s the largest international streaming partnership for the organization in its history.
The LPGA’s presence abroad also was a major draw for FM, the title sponsor that is locked in to bring this tournament back to TPC Boston through 2028. The commercial property insurance company was drawn to women’s golf because it offered something most sports sponsorships do not.
“We needed something that was global,” said David Johnson, FM’s chief client experience officer. “There’s not a whole lot of global leagues out there.”
Nelly Korda made the cut for the FM Championship, but ended up finishing at 1 over, tied for 50th. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
Korda has middle-of-the-road week
Nelly Korda, the world No. 1, is the biggest name in women’s golf — and it was apparent at TPC Boston. By the time she reached the 18th green around midday Sunday (she started on the back nine), Korda had drawn a crowd only slightly smaller than the one watching the final group at last year’s tournament.
The 28-year-old got off to a scorching start this season, finishing first or second in her first six tournaments including a win in the year’s first major, the Chevron Championship in April. She won $2.5 million by finishing first in June’s US Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Later that month, she tied for eighth in the Women’s PGA Championship.
And then came the stumble in July: Korda missed the cut at the Evian Championship, though she rebounded to tie for fourth in the fifth and final major of the season, the Women’s British Open.
Expectations are high for Korda, who didn’t find a win at all in 2025, so her tie for 50th is somewhat a disappointment. She was in danger of missing the cut after the second round, and shot par three days in a row before finishing 1 over on Sunday.
She’s in high demand among sponsors — FM executives were spotted walking the course inside the ropes with her throughout the tournament — and always stops for autographs, even as she’s making the turn in the middle of a round.
So it is understandable, if still a bummer, that she declined to speak to the Globe after signing her scorecard. She said she had to catch a flight.
Next up for Korda: Her fifth Solheim Cup, which tees off on Sept. 8 in the Netherlands.
Fans react after Hyo Joo Kim (not pictured) misses a putt on the 17th green during the final round. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Tournament organizers had to open an overflow parking lot on Saturday to accommodate fans attending the third round. It was a welcome problem for tournament director Patrick Healy, who said ticket scans were up compared to 2024 and 2025. (Official numbers should be released sometime Monday.)
One thing that helped attendance this year was that the tournament avoided Labor Day weekend. The weather was pretty perfect, and the star-studded field wasn’t too bad, either.
Healy said, this year, the players who had previously competed helped recruit others.
It shows “how different our athletes are from maybe some other professional sports,” Healy said. “They actually talk, which is amazing. So there have definitely been folks that were here in Year 1 who were our shepherds on the ground,” spreading the word about what the tournament has to offer.
If things work out, you can expect the FM Championship to stay at TPC Boston for a while longer. Both parties are working actively on another extension.
Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram at @katiemac.sports.