Republic of Korea native Somi Lee might have only managed to card a 72 on Moving Day at the Honda LPGA Thailand, but the LPGA Tour winner is still lurking with 18 holes remaining in the second event of the season, thanks in large part to her performance in round two.

After carding a solid 66 to kick off her second berth in the LPGA’s only tournament in Thailand, Lee went red-hot on Friday at Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course, blitzing the field with an 11-under 61. The 27-year-old racked up five birdies in her first six holes, with her lone par in that stretch coming on the par-4 third hole.

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Lee then parred seven before throwing a one-two punch of birdies at the par-3 eighth and par-4 ninth holes, ultimately turning in 29 at 13-under total. She picked up two more birdies on the 10th and 11th holes to climb to 15-under overall and 9-under on the day with seven holes to play in her second round, putting Lee on a 59 watch coming down the stretch in Thailand.

She began to pump the brakes a bit after her birdie on 11, parring holes 12, 13 and 14 to remain at 15-under. But an eagle two on the par-4 15th hole once again put Lee within reach of a 59 and history, as Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam is the only athlete in LPGA Tour history to card a sub-60 round, doing so on March 16, 2001 in the second round of The Standard Register PING.

She parred 16 and then did the same on 17, coming to the final hole needing an eagle or better to match Annika’s benchmark. However, Lee ultimately carded a closing par on the 18th hole at the Old Course to polish off an incredible 61, a performance that is her new career-low round on the LPGA Tour and that matched the 18-hole tournaments scoring record at the Honda LPGA Thailand, first set by Akie Iwai in 2025.

“I had the best score of my life today, so I'm (a little bit) emotional,” Lee said on Friday. “But since the competition is not over and there are still two more days left, I just want to celebrate this a little bit.”

Even though a four-bogey, four-birdie, even-par 72 might not have been exactly the way she wanted to follow up such a stellar second round, her lackluster Saturday showing still has Lee sitting in a tie for third at 17-under alongside major champion Allisen Corpuz and LPGA Tour winner Chizzy Iwai, three shots back of Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul heading into the final round.

This is Lee’s 10th time being within five of the lead entering the final round of an LPGA Tour event since she joined the organization in 2024, and it’s her first time doing so since the Buick LPGA Shanghai last October, a tournament that ultimately saw her finish in a tie for fourth in the People’s Republic of China.

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So while a three-shot margin is certainly not an insurmountable deficit for Lee to try and make up on Sunday in Thailand, particularly considering the hay she made on Friday at the Pattaya Old Course, the 27-year-old is going to need to pick herself up and dust herself off in a hurry if she wants to challenge Thitikul in the final round.

Especially with a lead and in favorable scoring conditions, the world No. 1 isn’t going to go quietly in her home country. It’s going to be up to someone – maybe even Somi Lee – to chase her down.

Somi Lee Still Lurking in Thailand Despite Struggles Following Sizzling 61 on Friday

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