In the second round of the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai, Minami Katsu of Japan set both the tournament 18-hole scoring record and 36-hole record to take a two-stroke lead heading into the weekend.
Katsu started fast in round two, having three difference instances of back-to-back birdies on the front nine alone. She made birdies on holes one, two, four, five, seven and eight to shoot -6 on that front side, including a par on the second par 5 of the nine.
On the back, it started a bit slow with a bogey on 10 and par on 11, but Katsu kicked it back into drive after that. Katsu made birdies on holes 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 to finish with a -5 31 on the back nine.
In golf, rounds will generally go pretty well if a player can combine strong approach play with elite putting. That is exactly what Katsu did in the second round, hitting 17 greens and needing only 24 putts to shoot 61 overall. For the week so far, Katsu has just 28 putts and seven missed greens.
The 27-year-old from Japan is looking for her first LPGA Tour victory, but has quietly had a solid season in 2025 and is in good recent form. She was off to a terrific start in the cancelled NW Arkansas Championship and finished third in last week’s Lotte Championship. Katsu could become the sixth player to win from Japan this year.
Katsu’s closest competitor is Ina Yoon, the rookie from South Korea who is sitting at -11 currently. A win for Yoon could make her the eighth rookie winner in this incredible 2025 class.
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