Australian Minjee Lee made a big move during Friday morning play at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. The 10-time LPGA Tour winner carded a bogey-free, 7-under 65 in the second round at El Caballero Country Club to vault from T15 to solo first after the early wave finished up their second 18s in Tarzana, Calif.

The 28-year-old made seven total birdies throughout round two, four of which came consecutively as Lee made the turn from the back nine to the front at El Cab on holes 18, 1, 2 and 3. She also landed birdies on the par-4 10th and 13 holes, with her final birdie of the round coming on the par-5 7th hole.

Her 65 is Lee’s second-lowest round of the 2025 LPGA Tour season, as the Aussie carded a 10-under 62 on the final day of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to finish her tournament debut in a tie for fourth, and her day-two effort moved Lee to 12-under overall, putting the major champion squarely in the mix with 36 holes left to play in Los Angeles.

“I hit it really solid. Holed quite a number of good-length putts,” Lee said. “There were some greens that were softer, but for the most part, they were releasing out. I felt like I wasn't right next to the holes, so I holed a bunch of really nice length putts.”

This is Lee’s seventh start in the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, and in her six previous appearances in this event, she has earned a victory in 2019 at Wilshire Country Club and picked up two additional top-10 results in 2018, when she tied for seventh, and 2023 when she tied for third.

Lee hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since capturing a playoff victory over Alison Lee at the 2023 BMW Ladies Championship, but she feels like she is trending in an incredibly positive direction, an upward swing that hasn’t only seen her climb into contention this week in California. It’s maybe more importantly, put her in a good headspace heading into the 2025 major season.

“I feel like I've been improving week in, week out. I think I've been getting better every time I've been playing,” Lee said. “I think having a little bit longer stretch of events, I can get some momentum. I'm really looking forward to obviously the end of this week and then the three that I'm playing coming up. Hopefully, I can play well and get some momentum leading up to the U.S. (Women’s) Open and all the other majors.”

Japanese Olympian Miyu Yamashita matched Lee’s 65 to move into a share of second at 11-under overall after starting her week with a 4-under 68 on Thursday, and 18-hole co-leader Yan Liu followed up her first-round 63 with a 2-under 70 to maintain her position near the top of the leaderboard.

Republic of Korea natives Jin Hee Im and Jenny Shin were tied at 10-under total following the morning wave, while Jeeno Thitikul moved up the scoreboard after posting a 5-under 67 in round two. She is now tied with major winner Jeongeun Lee6 at 9-under for the tournament.

Minjee Lee Makes Big Move in Friday Morning Wave at JM Eagle LA Championship

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