After 3,143 days of waiting, Mi Hyang Lee’s return to the winner’s circle was a mental triumph. After a devastating opening 40 on her first nine Sunday, that included two doubles, Lee somehow managed to flip the script at the Blue Bay LPGA.
“Actually my caddie Chad [Payne], he just said to keep fighting,” Lee told television host Kate Burton during the trophy presentation. “After I made double on 9, I almost gave up. This is some really terrible golf. He said just kept saying ‘no, you can fight fight, still make a lot of birdies. We have nine holes left.’ He gave me a lot of positives.”
Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea kisses the trophy after winning the 2026 LPGA Blue Bay golf tournament at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club in Lingshui, on China’s southern Hainan island on March 8, 2026.
Lee began the final round with a three-stroke lead and, after a birdie at the first, looked promising. That advantage quickly disappeared, however, after two doubles and a pair of bogeys put her at 4 over heading to the 10th tee.
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The pep talk from Payne kept her head in the game as she tried to chase down China’s Weiwei Zhang, a 28-year-old looking for her first win. South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, one of the best players on tour without a title, was in the mix along with last year’s Blue Bay champion, Rio Takeda. Choi holed out for eagle twice in the span of six holes but could do no better than 74.
Lee, who’s been battling a shoulder injury since last fall, made birdies on Nos. 10 and 13 and was knotted with Zhang at 10 under heading into the 72nd hole. Zhang snacked on a banana, fueling up in case of a playoff, as Lee made her way down the closing par 5.
With 75 yards left for her third shot, Lee’s 58-degree wedge nearly dropped in the hole, kissing the flagstick on its way past. The closing birdie gave Lee her third career LPGA title, and her first in nine years.
The fact that it came on a the heels of a long layoff as she rehabbed her shoulder made it all the more stunning to the 32-year-old, who shot 73 on a day of high scores.
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“I just started golf February 1, so this is my only one month to play golf,” said Lee. “But that’s why just I cannot believe I’m winning this trophy. I didn’t practice at all last winter, but, yes, maybe golf is mental maybe. I don’t know.”
Lee graduated from the Epson Tour in 2012 and her first LPGA title came more than a decade ago at the 2014 Toto Japan Classic. The second followed three years later at the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. The Blue Bay victory makes Lee the 24th South Korean player to win at least three times on the LPGA. The $390,000 first-place prize gives her more than $6 million in career earnings.
“This is my third week (in a row), said Lee, “so I think I told this before, but I think this is too much for my shoulder. But my doctor told me yesterday, just keep doing it, and because he said he can fix it. I’m just going to see my doctor tomorrow. I trust him.”
Mi Hyang Lee makes notes on her yardage book on 1st hole during the final round of the Blue Bay LPGA 2026 at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course on March 08, 2026 in Hainan Island, China.
American Auston Kim and Aditi Ashok of India tied for third, three back. Kim finished runner-up to Hannah Green last week in Singapore.
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“I know that probably going to learn a lot from this week, but it just hurts right now. I’m like really upset,” said Kim. “I know that there is a lot of good to take forward moving on, but right now it just hurts.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Mi Hyang Lee wins Blue Bay LPGA for first win in 9 years
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