NORTON — Brittany Altomare was expected to miss the cut in the FM Championship at TPC Boston on Friday, Aug. 29, but she thinks she found something in her game that should help her in her next few tournaments.
Playing in her first LPGA Tour event in her home state, the Shrewsbury native shot a 2-under 70 on the second day to tie her low round of the year, but she couldn’t make up for a 4-over 76 in the opening round. Altomare finished at 2-over 146, four strokes over the expected cut line.
Play was suspended for the third time late Friday afternoon because of rain and later called because of darkness at 7:15 p.m. Second-round play was to resume at 7 a.m. Saturday, with the third round anticipated to start at 12:30 p.m.
Altomare carded four birdies and hit the ball well enough to put her in position to putt for several more, but couldn’t get them to drop.
“Today I finally felt like myself out there which was really nice,” Altomare said. “I hadn’t felt like that pretty much all year. So it was nice to hit it like that.”
Altomare didn’t play on the LPGA Tour last year after giving birth to her son Wyatt in March. She returned to the LPGA Tour last February in Thailand, and she has made four cuts in 14 starts and earned $25,129 this year.
“Today was vintage Britt,” said her father Tom, who caddied for her. “This is back to Solheim-type ball striking today. She hit it really well.”
Since joining the LPGA Tour in 2014, Altomare has earned $3.3 million, and she has finished in the top 10 17 times and in the top 25 55 times. She also compiled a 4-3-1 record in the Solheim Cup in 2019 and 2021. She finished second three times on the LPGA Tour and won a Symetra Tour event in 2016.
Altomare, 34, didn’t play in the inaugural FM Championship last August because she was still regaining her strength after giving birth to Wyatt. So she was excited to tee off in her home state on the LPGA Tour for the first time this week.
“It was awesome,” Altomare said. “It was great to have some family and friends come out to watch and play so close to home. And it was nice to bring Wyatt because we’re not up here that often.”
“It’s pretty special,” her father said. “It’s been a long, long career. We’re getting near the end of it, so it’s good to have an event in Massachusetts.”
Altomare lives in Tampa, Florida, with her husband, Steven Stanislawzyk, but they both grew up in Shrewsbury and graduated from Shrewsbury High.
Playing about an hour from where she grew up, Altomare had a few people from her former hometown follow her.
“Maybe that’s why I played so well,” she said.
When Altomare walked onto the ninth green at TPC Boston after hitting an impressive approach shot to within 5 feet, a couple of fans exclaimed to her: “Nice shot, Shrewsbury.”
She looked at the fans and smiled. Unfortunately, she lipped out her birdie putt.
“I think her ball striking was elite,” said family friend, Mike Reale, 61, of Boylston. “I think her game is back to the point where she should continue playing on the tour. I think she just needs a little bit more time out here.”
Asked if her desire to play is as strong as ever, Altomare replied, “I don’t know. I can’t really answer that. It’s different. It’s definitely different, but if I keep hitting it like that, it might come back more, but I don’t know how to answer that yet. I’m still trying to figure it out myself.”
After missing the 10th fairway, Altomare punched out and hit a great shot to within a makeable distance for par, but her putt didn’t fall into the cup, and she made bogey to drop to even par for the day.
Undaunted, she sank a long birdie putt on the par-3 11th and drained a sizable one for birdie on 12. Unfortunately, after she teed off into the fairway on 13, play was stopped due to thunder in the area. A few minutes later, TPC Boston was hit with a downpour that caused a section of the media tent floor to flood and the lights to go out. Play resumed at 12:20 p.m. after a delay of 1 hour, 47 minutes.
During the delay, Altomare got to hang out in the clubhouse with Wyatt before he headed out to take a nap.
“It was a nice treat,” Altomare said.
Altomare had birdie chances on 13, 14 and 15, but couldn’t get any of them to drop. As she was about to attempt a birdie putt on the par-3 16th, play was stopped again for another 1 hour, 2 minutes. When play resumed, she drained her 12-footer for birdie. Unfortunately, she bogeyed 17 to end any chance of making the cut.
The LPGA Tour takes next week off, and Altomare hasn’t decided if she’ll play in Cincinnati the following week. She does plan to play in Arkansas the week after that.
Altomare’s husband was in Canada to watch her play the previous week, but he was back in Tampa working this week.
Tom’s partner, Marie Gray, pushed Wyatt in a stroller for a few holes on the front nine, but they kept their distance so Wyatt wouldn’t see his mother and start shouting, “Mommy.”
Altomare’s father-in-law, who is also named Steven Stanislawzyk, was among those who followed her on Friday. Stanislawzyk, 73, lived in Shrewsbury for 35 years before moving recently to Westboro.
“It’s such a great feeling to see her come back home,” he said.
Elizabeth Nelson, who had been best friends with Altomare since they were kids and who graduated from Shrewsbury High with her in 2009, followed her on Friday with her husband, Will Williams, who also grew up in Shrewsbury. Nelson was one of Altomare’s two maids of honor.
Nelson had watched Altomare play on the LPGA Tour and in the Solheim Cup before, but this was the closest to home that she followed her.
“It’s funny,” Nelson said, “because we’ve always known her as Brittany, our best friend. So to see her in this environment so close to where we grew up… I think a lot of people out here recognize her, too. She’s bringing in a big crowd. So it’s fun to see her play.”
Altomare said if her husband has his way, they’ll move back to New England at some point.
Westborough native Alexa Pano shot an even-par 72 for a two-day total of 1-over 145 and also was expected to miss the cut. Pano’s father Rick, 69, caddied for her.
“I feel OK about how I played,” Pano said. “I just didn’t make a ton of birdies. Not a lot of big mistakes, just some really boring golf, if I’m being honest with you. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s just lackluster, and that’s kind of what this week was. But I’m happy with where my golf game’s at. So just excited to get back to the practice tee and keep working on it.”
“It’s a lot more pressure playing a home game,” Rick said. “Unlike any other sport, it’s a lot more pressure. You’re grinding for tickets, she’s got all the media. Very little time to yourself.”
The Panos live in Lake Worth, Florida, during the winter, but stay in Westborough from mid-May until October. Alexa, who turned 21 on Aug. 20, practices and plays a lot at Pleasant Valley CC in Sutton. A number of the golfers she plays with at PV watched her play here in the first round.
“It’s really fun,” Alexa said. “It’s a different experience than anything all year. In a bunch of ways, it’s just very different, and it’s just nice having the support of a lot of people and a lot of my friends and family that don’t get to see me play golf the rest of the year. It’s pretty cool having them here.”
Last year, Pano missed the cut in the FM Championship by a shot.
Pano earned the first of what she hopes will be many LPGA Tour victories in the 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational. It happened on her 19th birthday.
She began to make a name for herself in golf at age 7 by starring in the Netflix documentary, “The Short Game.”
—Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net.
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