Mi Hyang Lee makes final hole birdie to clinch Blue Bay LPGA

HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) — Mi Hyang Lee threw away her lead with two double bogeys on the front nine, and then delivered a winner on the final hole Sunday with a lob wedge that hit the pin and set up a tap-in birdie to win the Blue Bay LPGA by one shot.

Lee closed with a 1-over 73 for a one-shot victory over Zhang Weiwei, who shot 69 at Jian Lake Blue Bay but lost the lead with a bogey on the 17th. It was Lee’s third LPGA title, and her first in more than eight years.

“Almost give up, but my caddie just kept telling me, ‘Keep fighting, fighting.’ So I really fought, just didn’t give up, and then I just got to make a lot of birdies,” said Lee, who responded to a 40 on the front nine with three birdies coming in. “Feels amazing.”

The South Korean finished at 11-under 277 for her first win since the 2017 Women’s Scottish Open.

Auston Kim (71) stayed in contention for a LPGA title for the second consecutive week — after the American’s second-place finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore — and made three birdies over the last five holes to tie for third with Aditi Ashok (72) of India.

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“I’m proud of the three birdies that I made coming in, but it really sucks to play that well Thursday, Friday, and not get it done. Really frustrating,” Kim said. “I hope moving forward I won’t make the same mistakes that I did this week and play better.”

Lee’s three-shot lead coming into the final evaporated on a tumultuous front nine with double bogeys at the par-4 fifth and ninth holes to lose the lead to Zhang.

But after the turn, Lee found her rhythm and made birdies at the 10th and 13th to keep in touch with the Chinese player, before Zhang’s bogey at the 17th opened the door for Lee.

Lee had 75 yards to the hole on the par-5 18th, walked up to the green to check the landing area for her shot to a pin on the top shelf. Her 58-degree wedge hit the pin and settled 2 feet away as Lee put her hands over her head in disbelief.

“I just keep saying, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy,’” Lee said.

Defending champion Rio Takeda of Japan (73) tied for fifth with Hye-Jin Choi (72), Yu Liu (74) of China and South Korea’s A Lim Kim (73).

Blue Bay LPGA was the third straight LPGA event on its first Asia swing of the season. A week after nine of the top 10 in the world played in Singapore, the China field had only one of the top 10. That was Ruoning Yin of China, a former Women’s PGA champion. She shot 76 and finished at 1-over 289, tied for 24th.

The LPGA takes a week off before resuming its U.S. schedule with the Founders Cup in California.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press