Grateful Liu’s LPGA Game Plan Pays Dividends

Hainan Island, China: In back-to-back weeks, Chinese teenager Liu Yujie earned her first two points in the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) standings. 

Last weekend, the 15-year-old finished tied 12th at the Blue Bay LPGA. The previous week she ended in a share of 34th place at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.

After four rounds of competition at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Liu recorded her best finish on the LPGA Tour, finishing eight shots behind champion Lee Mi-hyang of Korea. 

The amateur finished inside the cut line by several shots and when multiple players struggled with the strong winds and turned in over-par rounds, it was Liu’s rounds of 70 and 71 over the weekend that propelled her inside the top 15.

Liu, who placed joint 18th in last month’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) in New Zealand, said: “I feel really grateful and then super happy that I get to even compete for these two weeks and get to make the cut. I wasn’t thinking too much of the result. I just tried to take one shot at a time and stick to my game plan. That’s all I did.”

Heading to Hainan Island, Liu was carrying the confidence from what at the time, was her best finish on the LPGA Tour with her tied 34th at Sentosa Golf Club. On her HSBC Women’s World Championship debut, she finished under par with rounds of 75-72-71-69. 

Not only did Liu earn her first LEAP point by one shot that week, she also outlasted compatriot Yin Ruoning, the former world number one, who finished joint 41st.

With her finishes inside the top-40 and ties, Liu has her first two points in the LEAP standings and remains 18 points away from the 20-point threshold required to be eligible for LPGA Tour Membership, per LEAP criteria.

Prior to this year, Liu had competed on the LPGA Tour three times. She played in the Buick LPGA Shanghai in 2023 and 2025, finishing 78th and tied 69th respectively. She also competed at the 2024 Blue Bay LPGA but did not make the cut after recording rounds of 74 and 76.

She is no stranger to professional tournaments, competing on the CLPG Tour and even won the Jackfish Guangdong Women’s Open last year.

Liu, whose resume includes victory at last year’s RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic, has risen 10 spots to 34th in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), making her the number one rated China female amateur.

Meanwhile, all three members of China’s 2025 World Amateur Team Championships line-up participated at Jian Lake Blue Bay as professionals.

Zhou Shiyuan collected a cheque for US28,064 for finishing 23rd on even-par 288, two shots ahead of Xu Ying (tied 28th). Ren Yijia missed the cut following two rounds of 77.