The best golfers on the planet will be making their return to New England in 2024, thanks to an announcement from the LPGA Tour on Friday.
TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., will host the FM Global Championship next summer, a tournament that will bring a massive purse and star-studded field of 144 to the area. The deal, which Fenway Sports Management helped secure, is a five-year partnership between the LPGA Tour and FM Global.
Not only is this great news for the perpetually underserved New England golf fan, but it's a major win for the LPGA Tour golfers themselves who will compete for a $3.5 million purse, the largest on tour outside majors and the tour championship.
Perhaps no one will be more excited for this new event than Megan Khang. The 13th-ranked player in the world is a native of Brockton, Mass., who threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park this summer after winning her first career Tour event.
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"It's an honor to have it in my home state, and I can't wait for all my friends and all the other girls on tour to come see what Massachusetts has to offer," she said in a video released by the LPGA Tour.
The announcement comes just a few months after Fenway Sports Management and the LPGA Tour announced a partnership that LPGA Tour commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan predicted would "accelerate our trajectory of growth" while also "enhancing our platform to inspire, elevate and advance women and girls off the golf course."
It's a long overdue return to New England for the women's professional game. When the FM Global Championship tees off Aug. 29, 2024, it will mark a return more than 20 years in the making. The last LPGA Tour event in New England was the 2004 U.S. Women's Open at the Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, Mass.
This tournament also marks the return of pro golf to the region at the highest level. TPC Boston has hosted 17 PGA Tour events and had been a staple on the men's calendar, even hosting 13 FedEx Cup playoff events. However, the course hasn't hosted an event since The Northern Trust in 2020. New England golf fans have been waiting even longer for the sport to return to TPC Boston, though, as the 2020 event was held without fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This is the first New England event at the highest level for men or women since the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline Country Club, and the Korn Ferry Tour played the Work In Maine Open in 2021 and 2022, but the minor league tour announced last year it wouldn't be returning to Maine in 2023.
It's an exciting time to be a golf fan in New England, as calls for more events in the area have been answered. This announcement comes shortly after the USGA revealed The Country Club will host four championships in the coming years, including the 2030 U.S. Girls' Junior tournament and the 2045 U.S. Women's Open.
Featured image via Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports Images