Six-time LPGA winner hoping to end three-year drought at Blue Bay

It's been a difficult few years for Nasa Hataoka, who had already posted double-digit wins before the age of 25: a half-dozen on the LPGA and the same amount on the JLPGA.

But Hataoka hasn't found the winner's circle since 2022, when she won the DIO Implant LA Open by five strokes, and the thought of contending in a major seems even more remote. Her closest call with a major title came at the 2021 U.S. Women's Open. In a playoff against Yuka Saso, she finished runner-up at the Olympic Club. Hataoka suffered a similar fate at the 2018 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

But in 2024, Hataoka missed the cut in two of the five majors and finished in the top 30 just once when she placed T-13 at the Chevron Championship.

This week at the Blue Bay on Hainan Island in China, however, Hataoka looks poised to get back to the top, at least the way she's played through the first two days of action.

With a back nine at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course that's considerably tougher than the front, Hataoka made five birdies en route to an impressive 66 that put her in a tie atop the leaderboard. Aussie Cassie Porter, playing in just her second LPGA event, is also 7 under after 36 holes, and the two will be paired together on Saturday.

For Hataoka, control was the key on a difficult day.

"Today I was really good especially my iron shot, and my middle range putt was good, too," she said. "Under this windy condition, I was trying to hit the control shot with irons, so I think it was -- it works good with good distance control."

Hataoka didn't qualify for the 2024 Olympics, a sore spot considering her meteoric rise after turning pro. But she said she's maintained her focus on a busy schedule.

"Of course disappointed that I wasn't get to play in Olympics, but it just happened," she said. "Then I think there are so many tournaments I can play on this Tour, so I'm just trying to focus on each tournament."

And as for not winning? Hataoka hopes this is the week she ends that stretch.

"Disappointed I didn't win almost three years, but always me and (caddie)_Greg trying to win in the tournament," she said. "So I hope I win this year."

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA star Nasa Hataoka in the lead at Blue Bay after 36 holes.