People’s Republic of China native Weiwei Zhang showed up and out in her home country this week at the Blue Bay LPGA.

The Epson Tour alum was one of just two athletes to post a double-digit under-par total at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Course, ultimately finishing solo second to Mi Hyang Lee at 10-under overall after the Korean birdied the final hole on Sunday to secure her third career title and first win on the LPGA Tour since the 2017 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open.

Zhang came out swinging in the first round of her seventh start in this tournament, carding a 6-under 66 on Thursday to share the first-round lead with Youmin Hwang and Mary Liu, what was her first time ever holding an 18-hole lead or co-lead since joining the LPGA in 2022. She then slipped down the leaderboard after carding a 1-under 71 in round two and an even-par 72 in round three, dropping into a tie for seventh at 7-under total heading into day four in China.

The final round proved to be both a physical and mental rollercoaster for Zhang, who bogeyed the first hole right out of the gate and then eagled the par-5 third hole to move to 8-under. The 28-year-old went birdie-bogey-birdie on Nos. 5, 6 and 7, ultimately parring the final two holes of her front nine to turn in 9-under and sit in a tie for the lead with Lee and major winner A Lim Kim.

She bogeyed 10 to drop to 8-under, recovering immediately with a birdie on 11 to get back 9-under and once again share the lead, this time with her fellow countrywoman Yu Liu. A two-putt birdie on 14 then gave Zhang the solo lead at 10-under, and after Lee tied her with a birdie on 13, Zhang once again held a one-shot advantage after she birdied the par-3 16th hole.

Zhang then stumbled on her way into the clubhouse, recording a bogey on the par-4 17th hole to fall to 10-under and back into a tie for the lead with Lee. A par from Zhang on the par-5 18th hole left Lee needing a birdie or two coming down the stretch to win, and after parring 16 and 17, Lee had to birdie the last hole at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Course if she wanted to avoid a playoff.

The Korean LPGA Tour winner elected to lay up to wedge distance on her second shot on the par 5, and she then nearly holed out for eagle from the fairway, leaving herself a two-footer that was ultimately just a formality, as Lee easily cleaned it up to secure her first LPGA Tour victory in nearly a decade.

While Zhang was, of course, disappointed to come up just short in front of a home-country contingent, the solo second is now her career-best result on the LPGA Tour, bettering the tie for second that she tallied in 2024 at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican after Nelly Korda won her seventh title that season at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.

Zhang earned 320 points in the Race to the CME Globe this week at the Blue Bay LPGA, points it always feels good to pocket early in the year before the schedule really picks up the pace and the tournament fields strengthen in the leadup to the major championship season.

And it’s a performance that should give Zhang a lot of confidence heading into an off week before her next scheduled start at the Fortinet Founders Cup, a nice bolster for her self-belief before she looks to tackle a venue that’s new to the LPGA Tour’s rotation in just over a week at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park, Calif.

Weiwei Zhang Earns Career-Best LPGA Tour Finish in Native China at Blue Bay LPGA

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