HONG KONG, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Lee Hsin put herself in position to claim her maiden win on Saturday when the Chinese-Taipei native fired a bogey-free 66 to take a one shot lead through two rounds of the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open.
The 21-year-old was on nine-under 135 through 36 holes at the Hong Kong Golf Club Old Course in the 150,000-U.S. dollar tournament co-sanctioned by the China LPGA Tour and Ladies Asian Golf Tour.
Chen Szu-han, the first round co-leader from Chinese Taipei, was alone in second after a 69. China's Li Jiayun (70) was tied for equal third with Chinese Hong Kong's Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching (69), the US LPGA Tour rookie who won her home tournament in 2016.
South African Connie Chen, Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Yu-ling and 17-year-old Malaysian amateur Winnie Ng, the other first round co-leaders with Chen Szu-han, each posted even-par 72 to fall four shots back in equal fifth.
Lee, who turned pro in late 2014, started the day in equal seventh and quickly moved up the leaderboard with four birdies over the front nine, including holing a bunker shot from 20 yards on the 338-yard, par-four eighth.
"This week my coach is my caddie, which gives me peace of mind. He told me don't make the strategy too difficult, I should calm down and make it easy," said Lee.
"Tomorrow I wish to catch the chances and am looking forward to my first pro win."
Li, the top CLPGA Tour regular, carded a round that featured four birdies and two bogeys to move up the leaderboard.
"Under par, another step forward towards my goal," said the Guangdong native. "Today is very hot and I felt a little bit tired on the back nine, missed some birdie chances. This course has plenty of good opportunities. No one can predict the result until the last second. Maybe someone can get 64 tomorrow."
Li Xiya, a 20-year-old university student in nearby Shenzhen, demonstrated that she is a player to watch when posted a five-under 67 on the strength of a bunker-free round with only 21 putts. She was five shots off the pace in equal eighth in a group that included defending champion Supamas Sangchan (71) of Thailand.
"I was happy to catch most of the opportunities. I made some changes on my club selection and distance counting," said Li, a classmate of the China No. 1 male player Li Haotong. "Yesterday I was too aggressive, today is better. Today is hot. I couldn't even stand stable on the last three holes. I should have a good rest today."
The Hong Kong Golf Club Old Course is a 6,246-yard, par-72 layout.
