When 23-year-old rookie Hwang Yu-min stumbled, 33-year-old veteran Lee Mi-hyang surged to the solo lead. This came during the second round of the LPGA Tour Blue Bay LPGA (total purse $2.6 million) held at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course (par 72) in Hainan Province, China, on March 6.
Lee carded a bogey-free 6-under-par 66, collecting six birdies. With a two-round total of 11-under-par 133, Lee holds a one-stroke lead over second-place Li Yu of China at 10-under.
Lee made her LPGA Tour debut in 2012 and has two career victories—the 2014 Mizuno Classic and the 2017 Scottish Open. While competing in all events of the spring Asian swing, Lee failed to finish in the top 20 at both the Honda LPGA Thailand and HSBC Women's World Championship but has maintained her position near the top of the leaderboard for two consecutive days at this tournament.
After finishing in a tie for fourth on day one, Lee cut four strokes on the front nine and added two more birdies on the back nine to climb to the top of the leaderboard. Her efficient putting—just 25 putts each day—proved decisive.
"The greens here have tricky undulations, so I focused more on my putting. That helped me make more birdies and build confidence," Lee said.
Korean American Austin Kim sits alone in third at 9-under, while long hitter Kim A-rim added 5-under-par to reach 7-under total, tying for fourth with Ayaka Furue of Japan and Zhang Weiwei of China.
Hwang, who shared the lead after the first round, traded six birdies and six bogeys to stay in place at 6-under-par, tied for seventh. Her round was erratic early, going birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie through the first five holes. On the back nine, she appeared to collapse with three consecutive bogeys on holes 11 through 13 but recovered with three birdies on the remaining holes. Hwang has been dealing with ankle discomfort since last week, which appears to have affected her swing.