Three golfers share FM Championship lead as Nordqvist makes the cut in her final start

Three players are tied for the lead after 36 holes of the FM Championship, but the story dominating TPC Boston this weekend belongs to a golfer sitting nine shots back. Anna Nordqvist, the 38-year-old Swede who will captain Europe at next month's Solheim Cup, made the cut in what she has said will be the final tournament of her 18-year professional career, closing out Friday's second round with a double bogey on her last hole to finish at 2 under par.

Allisen Corpuz, Hyo Joo Kim and Miyu Yamashita share the lead at 9 under par 135 after matching rounds of 67, 67 and 70, respectively, in the FM Championship leaderboard. Morgane Metraux and Ruoning Yin sit one shot back after rounds of 65, with Jenny Bae also at 8 under. World No. 1 Nelly Korda made the cut on the number at 2 under after a second consecutive even-par 72. Further down the board, England's Lottie Woad, the world No. 5, opened with a 4-under 68 that left her tied for fifth after the first round.

A stacked field, a rich purse

The tournament, now in its third year at TPC Boston, carries a $4.4 million purse, the sixth-largest on the LPGA Tour and the largest event outside the five majors, with a winner's share of $660,000. The FM Championship field includes the entire top 10 in the world ranking, drawn in part by the tournament's position in the calendar as the last significant LPGA start before the Solheim Cup, which begins September 11 at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.

Yamashita, the Japanese major champion, arrived off a runaway nine-stroke victory at the CPKC Women's Open two weeks ago that tied the tour's 72-hole scoring record, and is chasing back-to-back titles. Kim has two wins already this season, at the Founders Cup and the Ford Championship. Corpuz, the 2023 U.S. Women's Open champion, is seeking her first title since that major three years ago, and enters the weekend fresh off clinching the final automatic berth on the U.S. Solheim Cup team via the points standings at last week's CPKC Women's Open, a result the LPGA confirmed put her on the roster alongside Korda, Angel Yin and seven others before U.S. captain Angela Stanford added three captain's picks — Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and Lindy Duncan — to complete a 12-player squad that the Solheim Cup's official site reported was finalized earlier this week.

Both Solheim Cup rosters are now set

Woad's presence in the field is no coincidence. She is one of eight automatic qualifiers on Nordqvist's European team, alongside Charley Hull, Maja Stark, Celine Boutier, Esther Henseleit, Carlota Ciganda, Linn Grant and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, with Nordqvist rounding out the 12-player squad with four captain's picks: Leona Maguire, Julia Lopez Ramirez, Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes. For several of them, this week at TPC Boston amounts to a final competitive tune-up before they fly to the Netherlands, where Europe is trying to win back the cup it lost, 15.5 to 12.5, in Virginia two years ago.

A farewell delayed by emotion, not by golf

Nordqvist announced her retirement Wednesday morning in a video posted to social media, reading a letter she had written to herself, and said the FM Championship would be her last event before she turns fully to her Solheim Cup captaincy. She opened the tournament at 2 over par and needed to play her way back to the projected cut line of even par across Friday's round, a task complicated by having barely slept the night after the announcement.

She finished with six birdies on her back nine before a double bogey on the 18th hole left her at 2 under, comfortably inside the number. Speaking afterward, in remarks carried by Golf Channel's round-two coverage, she described the day as a test of composure rather than of ball-striking.

"I feel like it was just one of those days. Like really determined to try to do everything I can to be able to play the weekend. Overall, like I think it's just such a bittersweet feeling. I love playing golf and I love this game." — Anna Nordqvist

Nordqvist's résumé includes nine LPGA victories, three major championships and nine Solheim Cup appearances as a player, a total exceeded by only one other European golfer. Her most recent major, the 2021 AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie, was also her most dramatic: five shots off the pace at the halfway point, she shot a third-round 65 to draw level with Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen, then closed with a final-round 69 and parred the difficult closing stretch as Koerstz Madsen bogeyed the 18th, handing Nordqvist a one-stroke win that the LPGA called among the most thrilling finishes of that season. Five years later, Koerstz Madsen is one of the automatic qualifiers on the European team Nordqvist will captain in the Netherlands. In a retirement letter reported by Golf.com, Nordqvist said the decision was made "with a grateful heart" and centered on her health and her family in Sweden.

Who else is affected

The weekend carries direct stakes for several players beyond the leaders. Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark, still without an LPGA title and seven months removed from wrist surgery, is three shots back after an even-par 72 and said the round "could have gotten away" from her on a hot, humid afternoon. Korda's survival on the cut line keeps alive her bid for a signature result heading into her Solheim Cup title defense as the reigning world No. 1, after consecutive rounds of 72 left her far outside contention for the title itself. Woad, meanwhile, arrives at TPC Boston fresh off making Europe's team on the strength of her world ranking, giving her a chance to sharpen her form on American soil before crossing the Atlantic for the matches, which Sky Sports noted is one of her final tournaments before the trip.

• Leaders: Allisen Corpuz, Hyo Joo Kim, Miyu Yamashita — 9 under par (135)
• One shot back: Morgane Metraux, Ruoning Yin — 8 under
• Cut line: even par; Nordqvist and Korda both made the number
• Purse: $4.4 million, LPGA's sixth-largest outside the majors

What happens next

Third-round tee times begin Saturday morning at TPC Boston, with the final round scheduled for Sunday. Nordqvist will play her remaining rounds as a competitor for the final time before shifting fully into preparation for the Solheim Cup, where she leads a European side, filled out by eight automatic qualifiers and four captain's picks, trying to reclaim the trophy on home soil after the United States won in Virginia in 2024. Corpuz, Kim and Yamashita each carry different motivations into the weekend — a first win in three years, a third title of the season, and back-to-back victories, respectively — with the winner taking home $660,000 and a psychological edge heading into the Netherlands.