Staff WriterThe Blue Bay LPGA has developed into the sort of tournament that asks awkward questions and waits patiently for your swing to answer them. After 36 holes in Hainan, Mi Hyang Lee sits atop the leaderboard at 11-under-par, one shot clear of Yu Liu and two ahead of Auston Kim, with the wind fussing over every club selection like an overinvolved caddie.
Lee’s second round was clean, polished and entirely free of bogeys, which around this golf course is a bit like walking through a thunderstorm and keeping your socks dry.
She made six birdies on Friday, hit 10 of 14 fairways, found 12 of 18 greens and needed just 25 putts. More importantly, she looked as though she understood the terms of engagement: this place is not conquered, only negotiated.
Mi Hyang Lee Masters the Conditions
Blue Bay can change character in a hurry. One minute it looks broad and inviting, the next it is all angles, gusts and second-guessing. That is what made Lee’s round so impressive. It was not only low; it was intelligent.
Her reward is a first 36-hole lead or co-lead since The Evian Championship in 2019, and her opening two rounds this week are the lowest of her career at the Blue Bay LPGA. For a player ranked No. 83 in the Rolex Rankings and still searching for her first top 10 of the 2026 LPGA season, it felt timely.
Lee explained just how much the weather can alter the exam paper.
“So this golf course is a lot different depends on wind for sure. And then I think that’s why I need to play more smarter. Also I think No. 5, like left dogleg, so if into the wind I cannot carry the left bunker; if no wind, carry the bunker. That’s almost five clubs difference, so that’s huge different, that hole. And also No. 10, yeah, just play 3-wood second shot yesterday but today was like hybrid. So that’s a lot different with the wind as well I think.”
That is the thing about Blue Bay. It does not merely test execution; it tests restraint. A player can feel brilliant and still be one gust away from looking deeply foolish.
Yu Liu Brings the Charge
Just behind Lee is Yu Liu at 10-under after a second-round 66, the lowest round of her career at this event. It was a lively card, with eight birdies and two bogeys, and it carried the unmistakable momentum of someone beginning to enjoy herself.
Liu hit 14 greens in regulation, took 26 putts and has played the back nine in eight-under for the week, which is the golfing equivalent of spotting the final stretch and deciding to sprint. In her seventh appearance at the Blue Bay LPGA, she has placed herself squarely in the conversation heading into the weekend.
She said: “Yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s a flawless round, especially out here. It’s inevitable to make mistakes. I’m very happy about the score that I turned in and also the way that I handled myself out there.”
It is a telling quote. Blue Bay is not a venue that rewards vanity. Players do not need perfect; they need poise. Liu has had plenty of both.
Auston Kim Stays in the Hunt
Auston Kim, meanwhile, continues to look like a player who has no intention of leaving the stage quietly. Her second-round 68 moved her to 9-under, helped along by three birdies, an eagle and a lone bogey. She has hit 22 of 28 fairways through two rounds and is one of only four players to have posted both rounds in the 60s.
That follows a runner-up finish last week at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, so there is clearly a bit of form and confidence rattling around in the locker. The question now is whether she can turn contention into something heavier on Sunday afternoon.
Kim sounded perfectly comfortable with where she stands.
“I prefer being in contention either way. Either way, it’s fine. Just being close to those final groups and getting this experience is good.”
It is the answer of a player who understands that being near the lead is not an inconvenience. It is the whole point.
A Crowded Weekend at Blue Bay
The Blue Bay LPGA remains tightly packed beyond the top three. Seventy-five players made the cut at 4-over, which tells you the course has enough teeth to bite without becoming absurd. Defending champion Rio Takeda is tied for 16th after a second-round 70 that somehow contained seven birdies and five bogeys, a scorecard with all the serenity of a wasp in a jam jar.
Bailey Tardy, last year’s winner, made a notable move from tied 63rd to tied 28th with a second-round 69, while Ruoning Yin produced one of the week’s purest moments by making the first hole-in-one of the 2026 LPGA Tour season. Her ace came at the 152-yard seventh with an 8-iron, her first on the LPGA Tour, and helped lift her to tied 11th at 5-under.
There is also a strong home presence running through the leaderboard. Eighteen players from the People’s Republic of China made the cut, with two sitting inside the top five. Amateur Yujie Liu finished 36 holes at even par and is the only amateur in the field to make the weekend, which is no small feat in this company.
What the Numbers Say
Lee’s position is not just a nice story; it has statistical backbone. She has two LPGA Tour wins, 29 career top-10 finishes and more than $5.7 million in official career earnings. She first joined the LPGA Tour in 2012 and won the 2014 Mizuno Classic and the 2017 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open. Last season she recorded three top-10 finishes and ended the year 50th in the Race to the CME Globe, her best finish in that metric since 2019.
This season, however, began quietly. She came into Hainan with finishes of tied 24th at the Honda LPGA Thailand and tied 58th at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. So while the leaderboard may look familiar, the timing feels fresh.
For context, the 36-hole tournament scoring record at Blue Bay is 132, set by Minjee Lee in 2016. Mi Hyang Lee has not threatened that mark, but she has done something more relevant for now: she has put herself in command of this particular championship, in these particular conditions, against a field close enough to hear her breathing.
What It Means Heading Into the Weekend
This is shaping up as a proper Blue Bay LPGA weekend, the kind where one loose hour can fling a player from the penthouse to the car park. Lee has the lead, but not the luxury of comfort. Liu is charging, Kim is lingering with intent, and several accomplished players remain close enough to make Sunday feel crowded.
The course, naturally, will have its own say. Blue Bay is not merely a backdrop; it is an active participant. It asks for discipline, punishes vanity and makes club selection feel like a minor philosophical crisis.
For now, Lee has answered it better than anyone. But the weekend is when tournaments stop being organised and start becoming interesting. And at the Blue Bay LPGA, interesting tends to arrive with wind, pressure and very little mercy.
