Lee in control in Beijing

Lee Chia-pei hung on to the lead at the Le Coq Sportif Beijing Ladies Classic on Friday as the Chinese Taipei player carded a three-under 69 to keep two strokes clear of the pack through two rounds.

The second-year pro was 10-under 134 at the China LPGA Tour event at Beijing Orient Pearl Golf Course. China's Li Jiayun fired a 65, the low round of the day, on the strength of a hole-in-one, to sit equal second with Sui Xiang, a 17-year-old amateur from Guangdong.

South Koreans Lee Jeong-hwa (70) and Kang Hyeon-seo (68) were equal fourth at three shots off the pace, tied with China's Chen Liqing and Chinese Taipei's Chen I-wen (69).

The 22-year-old Lee put herself in contention for her first professional win when she birdied her final hole - the ninth - by chipping in from 22 yards off the green to restore her two-stroke cushion. Her adventurous round included seven birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in the sunny conditions.

"The tournament hasn't finished yet, but this is my best two rounds so far. I led a round in Taiwan last year but faded the next day because of a bad mental game. Today I just told myself that shouldn't happen again," said the second-year pro.

"I hit some good iron shots but so many putts were short. I'm not thinking about tomorrow as I have just finished my round."

Li, a 27-year-old from Guangzhou, put herself in the mix with her third career ace - her first in tournament play. At the 133-yard seventh hole, her tee shot found the cup following a blast of her seven-iron.

"I am near-sighted and I hardly saw the ball go in the right direction. But obviously, my partners and caddies saw it much more clearly. They cheered loudly. When I heard my caddie's cheer, I knew it must be a hole-in-one. I felt excited and exchanged high fives with them," said the winner of the 2014 Shanghai Classic.

Li said the hole-in-one was vindication to her that she had the skills to play at the professional level. Last year, she played in Japan but returned to China after losing her playing card.

"I felt very frustrated since last year when I played on the Japan LPGA Tour. I don't know what it is, but I felt uncomfortable about everything," she said. "In fact, I was happy when I had a 71 yesterday because it's an under-par round and it's been a while. Now I have a great chance after two days. Hopefully I am able to get into the winner's circle again."

With her second straight bogey-free round, the Shenzhen-based Chen was looking to use this career first as momentum going into Saturday's final round.

"I'm really happy with the way I played," said the 28-year-old. "Two late birdies turned a good round into a great round and gave me a great shot for my first win." Endit