Mi Hyang Lee Ends 8-Year Drought With Gutsy Blue Bay LPGA Title

Mi Hyang Lee after winning the Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan Island, China (Photo:  LPGA/Getty Images)

HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) — Mi Hyang Lee entered Sunday with a three-shot lead and nearly gave it all back before the back nine at Jian Lake reminded everyone why leads are not titles.

Lee, 32, of Seoul, closed with a 1-over 73 to win her third LPGA Tour title at 11-under 277, ending an 8-year, 8-month drought that stretched back to the 2017 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open. The margin was one stroke over China’s Weiwei Zhang, who birdied the 16th to grab the solo lead before a bogey at the par-4 17th dropped her back into a tie. Zhang parred the 18th and finished one shot behind.

“Was almost give up,” Lee said, still visibly shaken during her post-round press conference. “My caddie just kept telling me keep fighting, fighting. So I really fought.”

She needed every bit of it.

THE COLLAPSE

Lee’s three-shot cushion turned precarious fast. The front nine at Jian Lake — playing into gusty ENE winds that exceeded 25 mph at times — turned the round nearly fatal. She doubled the par-4 fifth, bogeyed the par-3 seventh, then doubled the par-4 ninth to finish the outward nine at 4-over 40.

Just like that, the lead was gone. Hye-Jin Choi holed out for eagle on the par-4 fifth and then again on the par-4 10th. Yu Liu seized the outright lead briefly to roars from the Chinese gallery. Defending champion Rio Takeda stormed into a share of the top before fading to a final-round 73. At one point, four players held or shared the lead.

“I keep watching the scoreboard,” Lee said. “I knew Weiwei and Rio play well.”

THE TURN

The turning point was subtle. A birdie at the 10th — the first hole after the disaster — steadied everything.

“It was a lot difference between No. 9 and after No. 10,” Lee said.

She played the back nine bogey-free, carding three birdies while the rest of the leaderboard churned. Zhang drew to within one with a birdie at the 16th to take the solo lead, but a bogey at 17 swung the door back open.

THE FINISH

Standing in the 18th fairway with 75 yards to the pin, Lee and caddie Chad Payne settled on a 58-degree wedge, aiming to land it at 65 yards. The ball caught the flagstick and settled roughly two feet from the cup. Lee converted the tap-in birdie to seal the win.

“I just kept saying oh, my God, this is crazy,” Lee said. “Yeah, just crazy.”

It was her second consecutive birdie to close out the round, sealing what had looked, two hours earlier, like an impossibility.

THE COMPETITION

Zhang’s 3-under 69 — one of just 10 sub-par rounds on a brutal scoring day; the field averaged 74.667 — was the co-low round of the day and ultimately left her one shot short in second at 10-under 278. Her eagle at the par-5 third and the late birdie at 16 gave her every chance. The bogey at 17 was the difference.

Auston Kim and Aditi Ashok shared third at 8-under 280. Kim rallied with three birdies over her final six holes to post a 1-under 71 after a front-nine that left her searching for answers.

“The first nine I played today was just outrageously frustrating,” Kim said. “It just hurts right now. I’m like really upset.”

Ashok, in her first LPGA start in nearly four months, absorbed three straight bogeys in the middle of her round before fighting back to finish even-par 72. The T-3 is her best result since a runner-up finish at the 2023 JM Eagle LA Championship.

“You can’t think it’s over, even though it might be statistically,” Ashok said. “When you’re playing you got to feel like it’s never done until it’s done.”

THE CONTEXT

Lee had not played a competitive round until February 1 of this year due to an ongoing shoulder injury. She entered this week in only her third start of 2026.

“I cannot do full swing at all,” Lee said. “I just started golf February first, so this is my only one month to play golf. But that’s why just I cannot believe I’m winning this trophy.”

The victory is Lee’s second LPGA win in Asia — she also claimed the 2014 TOTO Japan Classic — and makes her the second Korean player to take the Blue Bay title, joining Sei Young Kim (2015). She is the 24th player from the Republic of Korea to win three or more times on Tour.

Lee vaults from No. 52 to No. 4 in the Race to CME Globe standings with the win and surpasses $6 million in career official earnings. Kim’s T-3 result lifted her to No. 3 in the standings.

KEY RESULTS — 2026 Blue Bay LPGA Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China Par 72 | 6,712 yards | Purse: $2,600,000

R4 Scoring Average: 74.667 | Rounds under par: 10 of 75 completed