Image Credit: LPGA/Getty Images
A Morning in the Heat, an Afternoon in History
By 3 p.m., Shanghai’s skyline shimmered behind a haze of humidity, the gallery’s paper fans flickering like fireflies along Qizhong Garden’s closing stretch. But no one was fanning themselves when Minami Katsu stepped to the 18th green — they were holding their breath.
From 39 feet away, the 27-year-old from Kagoshima, Japan, stood over a birdie putt that would not only break the Buick LPGA Shanghai scoring record, but rewrite it entirely. The air was thick, the greens glassy, and her caddie whispered one last reminder: “Smooth.”
She didn’t listen.
“I hit it too hard,” Katsu said later, laughing. “I thought, ‘Oh boy, why did I hit that so hard?’”
The ball slammed the back edge of the cup, popped half an inch into the air, and disappeared.
Eleven-under-par 61.
New 18-hole tournament record.
New 36-hole record.
And the loudest roar Qizhong Garden has heard since Ruoning Yin’s home victory a year ago.
“I wasn’t thinking about records,” Katsu shrugged. “I just wanted to keep it simple.”
Sometimes, simplicity sounds a lot like brilliance.
The Anatomy of a 61
Katsu’s round was a masterclass in rhythm — 12 birdies and a lone bogey on the par-4 10th, where she three-putted from long range. Her iron play was nearly flawless: 17 greens in regulation, 10 of 14 fairways, and just 24 putts, seven of which came on one-putt holes on the front nine.
Her birdie blitz came in waves:
- Two to start (1 and 2)
- Back-to-back again (4 and 5)
- Another pair before the turn (7 and 8)
- Then four straight on the back (12–14, 16–18)
“Honestly, I had a little luck,” she said modestly, but the numbers didn’t lie. Her swing was balanced, tempo perfect, and confidence radiated through every step.
Her 36-hole total of 131 (70-61) is now the lowest in tournament history. Her previous best LPGA score was a 63 — she shattered that, too.
And yet, she stayed grounded, declining any thoughts of celebration. “No celebration tonight,” she said. “Two more days. Maybe just hot pot.”
From Hot Pots to Hot Hands
If you’ve followed Minami Katsu’s journey, you know this day was a long time coming. Once the youngest winner in JLPGA history at just 15, she spent years in Japan refining her game, turning professional in 2017, and collecting eight JLPGA victories before earning LPGA status.
Now, in her third Buick LPGA Shanghai appearance — her best previous finish was T57 — she finally looks like the same player who dominated in her teens: fearless, precise, and joyfully unbothered by the chaos around her.
She finished third last week at the LOTTE Championship and second at the AIG Women’s Open. The trend line is unmistakable: this is a player peaking at the right moment.
The moment she raised her ball to acknowledge the crowd on 18, the gallery erupted in chants of “Ka-tsu! Ka-tsu!” A rare sound in Shanghai golf — one that felt like the start of something much bigger.
The Chase Pack: Youth, Grit, and Persistence
While Katsu’s record round stole the spotlight, the leaderboard behind her was loaded with storylines.
South Korea’s Ina Yoon, just two shots back at –11, continued her breakout week with a gritty 68. After bogeying her first hole, she birdied all four par-5s and kept her composure despite the suffocating heat.
“I was a little hot and tired,” she said. “But Kevin told me before we started, ‘Just play your golf. Stay calm.’ So that’s what I did.”
She smiled when asked about her Friday night plans. “Maybe more Beijing duck,” she laughed. “Yu Liu took me to a restaurant yesterday — it was so good.”
The 20-year-old rookie has been quietly building confidence all year, with a T22 at the Ford Championship and steady improvement since. But Shanghai has elevated her from promising to dangerous.
Tied for third at –10 were Lindy Duncan and Jenny Bae — two completely different personalities chasing the same dream.
Duncan, calm and analytical, has been on tour since 2014 but rarely in this position. Her second straight 67 featured eight birdies, three bogeys, and a back nine that looked like a seismograph: birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie.
“It was hot — brutally hot,” Duncan said, exhaling. “But I just kept grinding. Hitting fairways is everything here. If you do that, you get chances. If you don’t, it’s chaos.”
The secret to her sudden surge? Going back to notes from her very first lesson with coach Sean Foley. “We went all the way back to Lesson 1,” she said. “It sounds crazy, but it works.”
Then there’s Jenny Bae, whose second-round 69 could’ve been something special — until the 18th hole. Tied for the lead at the time, she found the inside lip of a bunker, took an unplayable, hit the next shot into the water, and walked away with a triple-bogey seven.
She smiled afterward anyway. “It’s golf,” Bae said. “Sometimes you fall, sometimes you fly.”
At 10-under, she’s still flying high enough to matter.
Aces, Applause, and a Touch of Karma
The Shanghai crowds got a double helping of magic this week.
After China’s Menghan Li thrilled fans with a hole-in-one on Thursday, Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu followed with one of her own Friday — a 7-iron from 145 yards on the 2nd hole that rolled dead center into the cup.
“I couldn’t even see it,” she said. “The sun was in my eyes. I just heard everyone yelling. That’s when I knew.”
It marked the 17th hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour this season and triggered another donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the second in as many days.
“It’s not just the hole-in-one,” Hsu said. “It’s the feeling that you did something good for someone else. That’s what makes it special.”
Hsu backed it up with a tidy 68, pushing herself inside the top 20 — a fitting cap to a week of good vibes.
Ruoning Yin’s Quiet Climb
Defending champion Ruoning Yin carded a 68 to reach 5-under, still well off the lead but moving in the right direction.
“I feel better every day,” she said. “The swing feels good — I just need to see more putts fall. But I’m patient.”
The Shanghai native continues to draw the largest crowds, her galleries following from tee to green like a caravan of red hats and smartphones.
No matter her position, she remains the heartbeat of this tournament — proof that China now has its own homegrown star capable of carrying a global stage.
The Science of Heat and Patience
Friday was a test of endurance as much as execution.
Temperatures peaked at 93°F with a heat index touching 100, the air thick and still by mid-afternoon. The fairways baked, the greens glazed, and the breeze — such as it was — never rose beyond 10 mph.
Qizhong Garden played to 6,535 yards, shorter than Thursday, but tougher in feel. The course average ticked up to 70.9, largely because of slicker greens and harder approaches.
The par-5 17th once again turned into a theater of drama — four eagles, several near-misses, and countless murmurs from the crowd. The risk-reward hole is defining this event as much as the leaderboard itself.
The Rising Heat of the Weekend
Heading into Saturday, the LPGA’s Asian swing has its first true heavyweight storyline of October: Minami Katsu, a rising global contender, versus an eager pack of youth and precision trailing just behind.
Katsu at –13. Yoon at –11. Duncan and Bae at –10. A cluster of stars within striking distance — and a course ready to show its teeth.
Saturday’s forecast? More of the same. Temperatures in the mid-80s, humid and sticky, but with a shift in wind direction that could make Qizhong’s long holes even trickier.
The greens will firm, the pins will tighten, and the pressure will multiply.
“I’m not thinking about winning,” Katsu said again before leaving the media tent. “I just want to enjoy it.”
If she keeps playing like this, the rest of the field won’t be enjoying much of anything.
The Garden of Nerves, in Full Bloom
Two days in, the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai feels like an inflection point — a moment where poise, patience, and global talent converge.
From Yubol’s opening-day brilliance to Katsu’s Friday firestorm, from Yin’s loyal crowds to Hsu’s ace, this week has already delivered everything the LPGA could hope for: local heroes, international contenders, and world-class golf under a global spotlight.
And yet, there’s the sense that the best is still coming.
Qizhong Garden has a way of saving its sharpest edges for the weekend. The birdies will still come, but the mistakes will sting harder. And somewhere in that chaos, someone will separate.
Whether it’s Minami Katsu’s coronation, Ina Yoon’s coming-of-age, or a Saturday charge from the chasers, the next 36 holes in Shanghai promise to be golf at its most human — brilliant, fragile, unpredictable.
Just the way the Garden likes it.
Fairway Queens — The voice of women’s golf, where storylines bloom like birdies in the Shanghai sun.
