Zhang chips in twice to close out a 66 and share the lead at LPGA stop in China

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HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) — Zhang Weiwei chipped in on her last two holes, one for eagle and the other for birdie, giving her a 6-under 66 and a three-way tie for the lead in the Blue Bay LPGA on Thursday.

Zhang, one of 20 players in the field from the China Golf Association, was tied with Mary Liu of China and Youmin Hwang of South Korea. All three of them were solid on a day of strong wind at Jian Lake Blue Bay.

Auston Kim, the American who tied for third last week in the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore, shot a 67.

Zhang took advantage of a shorter tee box on the par-5 17th that allowed her to get close enough to the green in two to chip in for eagle. She finished with a chip just off the 18th green about 30 feet from the cup.

“I hit it a bit heavy,” she said of her chip on the 17th. “But the landing spot was perfect and it rolled straight into the hole. That really got me excited and energized.”

Liu birdied four of her last six holes for a 66, while Hwang did her best work around the turn with five birdies in a six-hole stretch in the middle of her round.

Kim had nine birdies, offset by four bogeys, that put her in a tie for third.

“I’m just hitting a couple shots here and there that are really costing me,” Kim said. “Couple three-putts today, and just a couple bad shots off the tee. Overall the rest of it was more solid than before.”

Blue Bay LPGA wraps up a three-tournament swing through Asia for the LPGA with the weakest field of the three. It follows a week in Singapore that had nine of the top 10 in the women's world ranking, missing only Nelly Korda, who again skipped the Asia swing.

Ruoning Yin of China (No. 10) is the only player from the top 10 at Hainan Island. Ruoning, a former Women's PGA champion, opened with a 68.

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