Miyu Yamashita posted a 7-under 65 in the first round of the FM Championship on Thursday at TPC Boston, moving into a tie for second and pulling within one shot of morning leader Sei Young Kim as the afternoon wave continues play.

The 25-year-old from Japan, turned in 1-under 35 on the front nine before catching fire on the back, playing her final nine holes in 6-under 30 to vault up the leaderboard. She opened with a par, then birdied the par-5 second hole to get to 1-under. Birdies at the par-4 fifth hole and par-5 seventh hole pushed her to 3-under par before a double bogey at the par-3 eighth hole pulled her back to 1-under par at the turn.

The back nine was where Yamashita separated herself. She reeled off four straight birdies on Nos. 10 through 13 to climb to 5 under, added consecutive birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to reach 8 under, then bogeyed the par-5 18th hole to finish at 7-under-par 65.

"Today, [my] putting was good. So good," Yamashita said.

Thursday's round was the latest example of a putter that has carried her all season. Yamashita leads the LPGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting at 1.47 per round and ranks fifth in Strokes Gained: Total at 1.90 per round. She also leads the Tour with 39 sub-par rounds this season, a total that grew by one with Thursday's 65 and reflects the week-to-week consistency that has defined her year.

The round continues a hot stretch for Yamashita, who won the CPKC Women's Open last week in Canada for her second victory of the season, joining her win at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give.

"Last week I [was] happy, so today I'm feeling good," she said.

That CPKC Women's Open title made Yamashita the fastest player from Japan to reach four LPGA Tour victories, getting there in her 42nd career start as an LPGA Tour member. The previous record among Japanese players belonged to Ayako Okamoto, who needed 61 starts to reach four wins in the early 1980s — a mark that stood for more than four decades before Yamashita broke it last week.

Yamashita has been one of the LPGA Tour's most consistent players in 2026, making 15 cuts in 17 starts with nine top-10 finishes, including two wins and a runner-up at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. She won the AIG Women's Open last year for her lone major title and has four career LPGA Tour victories.

This marks Yamashita's second appearance at the FM Championship. She finished tied for seventh at 13-under in 2025, and Thursday's 65 already has her positioned to improve on that result.

"This course [is] tricky, so tough," Yamashita said of TPC Boston.

With the morning wave now complete and afternoon groups still working through the course, Thursday's leaderboard remains fluid. Yamashita will look to build on her back-nine surge and her red-hot putter as she chases her third win of the season over the tournament's final 54 holes.

Miyu Yamashita Charges to Tie for Second at FM Championship

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