NORTON –– Riding in the back of the player’s shuttle, Alexa Pano’s expression remained stoic as she stared off into the distance.
The cart swerved through the droves high-tailing it to the fourth tee box as Pano was serenaded with cheers through thick clouds of cigar smoke.
Pano, a 20-year-old rising star from Westborough, has enjoyed the local hero treatment as hundreds of fans followed her every shot in the second round of the FM Championship at TPC Boston.
“It’s not something that I have every week,” said Pano, ranked 87th in the world. “A lot of times, the only person telling me good shot is my dad out there on an early morning tee time. It’s definitely a week that I’ll never forget.”
Pano fell short of the weekend, firing a 3-over-par 75 on Day 2 after a first-round even-par 72 to miss the cut by one stroke. After starting 1-over on the back nine, consecutive bogeys on the first and second holes put her in a precarious position before grinding out seven straight pars to stay near the cut line.
Her father and caddie, Rick, stood over the tee as she warmed up for a crucial drive on the par-4 ninth hole. Pano, who was fighting through a slight draw, found a bunker on the left side designed to punish overambitious tee shots. Facing a high lip, Pano’s arcing approach fell short of the green. Knowing she needed a birdie to make the cut, or a par to remain in competition for the cut, an aggressive chip skirted a couple inches left of the hole and skipped well onto the fringe.
Pano drained her par putt and momentarily exhaled. She fought off tears, emotion swelling as she paused to sign autographs.
“I thought nine was a very gettable hole, so I wasn’t expecting to be fighting to make par,” said Pano. “Especially after the chip took off a little bit more than I thought, I was thinking ‘this can’t be happening right now’ because if there’s one weekend on the LPGA that I wanted to make, it’s this one. I was definitely feeling it in that moment, but a big wave of relief when the putt went in because at least I did everything that I could.”
The support for the hometown standout, who grew up about 35 miles from TPC Boston, reverberated with every shot. Following a par on the fifth hole, Pano kept her head down before overhearing a member of the crowd yell “Great shot, Alexa!” Without breaking stride, she looked up and offered a smile and her thanks.
Her young cousins enthusiastically gushed with oohs and aahs after every stroke. Playing in front of her family, friends, and her dad’s college roommates, Pano felt the warm embrace.
She sported a black quarter zip emblazoned with a Patriots logo — she’s sponsored by the team. She is the first LPGA athlete to be sponsored by an NFL team. She played with Patriots punter Bryce Baringer and defensive back Marcus Jones in a pre-tournament round.
“I’m really lucky to have the support of everyone here and be from such a great place where they back their athletes so heavily,” said Pano. “When you’ve been supporting a team here for so long and then having them support you is pretty cool.”
Elbow jumper
Bianca Pagdanganan ended her round with a 6-under 66 and is tied for second at 7 under. Her most memorable shot occurred from the 18th tee box.
Pagdanganan laced her drive well off line to the left and after a healthy bounce, the ball landed in the right arm of someone standing in the rough.
“My caddie told me to hit it up the left side of the fairway and directly into her arms, so that’s what I did,” joked Pagdanganan.
Pagdanganan managed to par the 530-yard par 5.
“We walked up and they were like, ‘Yeah, it landed on my arm and I just tossed it back,” Pagdanganan said. “I was like, ‘Well, you could have tossed it back in the fairway!’ ”
Last amateur standing
Elizabeth Rudsill was the only one of three amateurs to make the cut. The senior from Charlotte, N.C., finished with a 1-under 71 to make the plus-2 cut. Dover, N.H., senior Carys Fennessey ended her tournament 11-over-par.
Ko charges up leaderboard
World No. 6 Jin Young Ko, playing in the same group as Pano, charged up the leaderboard, carding a 5-under 67 to reach six-under for the tournament. She is tied for fifth place.
Ko hit 11 of 14 fairways, averaging 299 yards off the tee, and found 14 of 18 greens in regulation. On the par-3 eighth, Ko nestled her tee shot a few feet from the pin for a tap-in birdie as the crowd gave her the loudest ovation of the afternoon.
“The course is not easy, but it’s OK,” said Ko. “If [I] hit fairways and greens it’s going to [be easier to] make a lot of birdies.”
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.