Mi Hyang Lee ended an eight-year title drought in dramatic fashion Sunday, claiming victory at the Blue Bay LPGA despite nearly surrendering a three-shot lead on the front nine at Jian Lake Golf Course in Hainan Island, China.
The 32-year-old from Seoul closed with a 1-over 73 to finish at 11-under 277, one stroke ahead of China's Weiwei Zhang. The victory marked Lee's first LPGA title since the 2017 ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open, ending a drought of eight years and eight months.
"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."
Lee's comfortable lead evaporated quickly on the front nine as gusty ENE winds exceeding 25 mph wreaked havoc on scoring. She double-bogeyed the par-4 fifth, bogeyed the par-3 seventh, then doubled the par-4 ninth to finish the outward nine at 4-over 40.
The collapse opened the door for multiple challengers. Hye-Jin Choi holed out for eagle twice, Yu Liu briefly seized the outright lead to roars from the Chinese gallery, and defending champion Rio Takeda stormed into contention before fading.
"I keep watching the scoreboard," Lee said. "I knew Weiwei and Rio play well."
"It was a lot difference between No. 9 and after No. 10," Lee said.
Lee played the back nine bogey-free with three birdies while chaos continued on the leaderboard. Zhang drew within one with a birdie at the 16th to take the solo lead, but a crucial bogey at the 17th swung momentum back to Lee.
Standing in the 18th fairway with 75 yards remaining, Lee and caddie Chad Payne selected a 58-degree wedge, aiming to land the ball at 65 yards. The shot caught the flagstick and settled two feet from the cup, setting up a tap-in birdie to seal the victory.
"I just kept saying oh, my God, this is crazy," Lee said. "Yeah, just crazy."
Zhang's 3-under 69 was co-low round of the day on brutal scoring conditions that saw the field average 74.667. Her eagle at the par-5 third and late birdie at 16 gave her every chance before the 17th-hole bogey proved decisive.
Auston Kim and Aditi Ashok shared third at 8-under 280. Kim rallied with three birdies over her final six holes after a difficult start.
"The first nine I played today was just outrageously frustrating," Kim said. "It just hurts right now. I'm like really upset."
"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."
Lee's victory becomes even more remarkable considering her recent injury struggles. She hadn't played competitively until February 1 due to an ongoing shoulder problem, making this just 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 triumph marks Lee's second LPGA victory in Asia, following her 2014 TOTO Japan Classic win. She becomes the second Korean player to capture the Blue Bay title, joining Sei Young Kim (2015), and the 24th player from South Korea to win three or more times on tour.
Lee's victory vaults her from No. 52 to No. 4 in the Race to CME Globe standings while pushing her career earnings past $6 million. The win came with a $390,000 first-place prize from the $2.6 million purse.