Lee Min’s (李旻) second-round 7-under 65 elevated her atop the leaderboard at the Party Golfers Ladies Open. The LPGA Tour member is now at a 36-hole total of 10-under 134, holding a mere one-stroke lead before Friday’s final-round.

Three amateurs were looming behind Lee: Lu Hsin-Yu (盧昕妤) and Hou Yu-Sang (侯羽桑) at 9-under 135, and An Ho-Yu (安禾佑) at 8-under 136. First-round leader Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) turned in an even-par 72 to remain on 6-under.

On another beautiful, calm day at the usually windy Sunrise Golf & Country Club, players came out aggressive and birdies were going down on the score cards. Low-round of the day was 7-under 65s by Lee, Lu and An. In the end, 20 players moved to under-par. Title-sponsor Party Golfers announced a bonus NT$100,000 cash prize for each player who would wrap up the week in red numbers.

On a day that needed birdies to keep pace, changes on the leaderboard occurred constantly. When the leaders’ group came through five holes, six players were tied for the lead at 5-under. Lu Hsin-Yu was one of the main contenders, who racked up seven birdies in ten holes to march up the leaderboard.

Lu raced to 9-under with an eagle on the 13th and kept that her second-round score with a bogey-birdie finish on the last two holes. Lee Min, however, stole the show on the back nine, scoring five birdies and surpassing Lu as the outright leader.

“I didn’t really notice about the scores of other players. I simply knew in these conditions (without much wind), you got to make birdies to stay competitive,” Lee said. “I was playing some solid golf out there, and making birdies when the opportunities were presented. I felt great. I think it was a solid performance when you look from every perspective.” Lee never conceded a bogey throughout the round.

Lu Hsin-Yu understood she hadn’t a strong history playing at the Sunrise, so she came here with a thoughtful plan on how to approach every single hole before both rounds, which worked well for her combined with a proper execution. She shot a low-round 65. “I am usually a slow starter, but today, I feel I had improved my concentration. I was feeling good with the ball,” said Lu.

On equal second with Lu on 9-under par was the elder of the Hou sister, Yu-Sang. Hou had six birdies on Thursday, offset by two bogeys. Her young sister Hou Yu-Chiang’s form dipped a little from yesterday, carding two birdies and two bogey and sliding down into T5. An Ho-Yu used four birdies on each half to become the third player to card a 65 in the second round. “I was trying to be very focused when every opportunity came. Not to waste them too easily. I believed with the way I played, I could have a fair chance of winning,” An said.

Babe Liu (劉嬿) made a hole-in-one with her 6-iron on the 167-yard long 4th hole, incredibly a second time in the season she has enjoyed such achievement. She also recorded an ace at the WPG Ladies Open in July. “I didn’t think the shot went well so I was completely not expecting it. At the end of the day, it was just one hole, you got to still play the other 17 holes well. That’s what counts the most,” said Liu, who finished the day with a 4-under 68, sitting in a tie for eighth.

The Party Golfers is an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs, who share a strong passion and social responsibility to promote and develop the golf sport. This is the seventh edition of the Party Golfers Ladies Open since 2014, with a winning purse worth NT$540,000. Lee, Lu, and Hou will be teeing off the final round at 8:09 a.m. in the last flight of the Friday schedule.