Mi Hyang Lee shoots a bogey-free 66 to top the LPGA leaderboard in China.
HAINAN ISLAND, China — Mi Hyang Lee achieved a bogey-free round in blustery conditions on Friday, recording a 6-under 66, which places her one stroke ahead in the Blue Bay LPGA as the South Korean seeks her first LPGA victory in over eight years.
The wind was not as intense as during her opening round, allowing Lee to maintain a clean scorecard while securing birdies on three of the four par 5s at Jian Lake Blue Bay.
Lee leads by one shot over Yu Liu (66), the former Duke player aiming to become the second Chinese golfer to win the Blue Bay since its inception in 2014, joining Shanshan Feng.
Auston Kim, the American who recently tied for third in Singapore, made an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole and finished with a score of 68, placing her two shots back.
“The wind was stronger than I anticipated this morning, but it was still better than yesterday afternoon,” Lee noted, sitting at 11-under 133. “The wind direction was quite similar, so it wasn’t overly challenging for me.”
Lee emphasized the importance of the undulating greens. She concentrated on landing her shots in the right areas of the greens for easier putting opportunities and opted to chip rather than putt when just off the green to manage the slopes effectively.
“That’s why I made a lot of birdies and no bogeys,” she explained.
The contours of the greens proved to be confusing and at times frustrating for Kim during the final stretch, as some of her approach shots took unexpected bounces, leaving her with lengthy putts or challenging situations to secure pars.
After a strong start, highlighted by her eagle on No. 8, she recorded her only bogey on the ninth hole and then settled for pars until a birdie on the par-5 18th. Nonetheless, she remains in contention for the second consecutive week, with a shot at her first LPGA title.
“Going into tomorrow and the weekend, my game feels solid. I know what I can control, and chasing is enjoyable,” Kim stated. “It’ll be exciting out here.”
Former Women’s PGA champion Ruoning Yin of China recorded the first hole-in-one of the year on the LPGA tour with an 8-iron from 153 yards on the par-3 seventh, her 16th hole of the round. She is currently six shots behind at the midway point.
The Blue Bay LPGA concludes a three-tournament series in Asia for the LPGA, featuring the weakest field of the three events. This follows a week in Singapore that included nine of the top 10 players in the women’s world rankings, with only Nelly Korda absent, as she opted out of the Asia swing once again.
