The 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai got off to a rocky start Wednesday after photos surfaced of greens scorched by heat. But the week ends on Sunday and the tour’s two top players – Lee Min-gil and world No. 1 Gino Titicul – will be looking to stay low in the final round at Qizhong Garden Golf Club to prevent history from repeating itself.
Entering this week, the LPGA has produced 26 different champions in 25 events so far this season. The record of 26 different winners in a season was set in 1995 and has been matched in 2018, 2022 and this year. The result was an impressive parity performance for the LPGA, but also left it without a clear Player of the Year candidate or eye-catching dominant star. Nelly Korda won seven times in 2024 but has yet to reach the winner’s circle in 2025.
That brings us to this week’s tournament in Shanghai, where Japan’s Minami Masaru heads into Sunday’s final round with a two-shot lead over Titicul and Lee.
Katsu blitzed Haginata Garden Golf Club, shooting an 11-under 61 to jump into the lead. Kasu is still looking for her first LPGA victory, having shot 68 to tie for 61 on Saturday, but sees Titikur and Lee in her rearview mirror. Titicul shot a 66 in the third round, while Lee shot a 65, closing the gap to Casu to two shots with 18 holes left.
“Obviously they’re two great players,” Kasu said of Titi Kuhl and Lee, who she will pair with on Sunday. “I’m really looking forward to playing with them. I’m sure I can learn a lot from them. Also trying to stay on top of my game – focus on my game and really hope to play with them tomorrow.”
Katsu takes two-shot lead at Buick LPGA Shanghai
Thitikul and Lee both already have wins this season.
The world number one won the Mizuho Americas Open in May and has recently been knocking on the door of second place in 2025. Titicul finished second in the last two events of the FM Championship and the Kroger Queen City Championship. Last month, Titikul four-putted the 72nd hole at the Kroger Queen City Championship to hand the trophy to Charlie Hull. Rather than scarring Titikul, these near misses only strengthened her confidence in herself.
“If you told me I could finish second in every race this year, 30-something, all season long, I would have taken it,” Titikul said of her close call. “What I’ve learned is that my five wins on the LPGA are in the past as well, so I’m not going to carry it on my shoulders. I’m not going to put it in my head.”
After shooting a bogey-free 66 on Saturday, Titikul once again has a shot at becoming the first man to win multiple times on the LPGA this season.
“Every time I play on Sunday, I get really excited and then definitely nervous,” Tikul said. “It’s like 18 holes, everybody has 18 chances. It’s not just me. So, I’m doing the best I can.
“I don’t think I did anything special,” Titikul later said. “I think it’s just golf, sometimes you hit it really well and sometimes you don’t hit it very well. I didn’t think I hit the irons very well yesterday, so I thought I had better iron shots today, which gave me a better chance than yesterday.”
The third part of Sunday’s equation is Lee, who won her third career major this year at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, Texas. The Australian started the third round five shots behind and finished tied for eighth. She started with a sloppy bogey on the par 5, but then went on a hot streak through 10 holes with eight birdies, including five in a row from Nos. 7 to 11.
Lee weathered the sweltering heat east of Fields Ranch in June and pulled away from Titicourt over the weekend to win her third major.
A similar situation will play out Sunday in Shanghai, where Cajun’s two-shot lead will create more trouble.
Temperatures in Lee and Thitikul are expected to reach the mid-90s. These would be the best two games the LPGA has ever done to end a historic tie. There’s also Nan Sheng, who is expected to become the 27th only winner on the LPGA this season and reach the winner’s circle for the first time in her career.
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