Japan’s Miyu Yamashita clinched both her first career LPGA Tour victory and first major title at the AIG Women’s Open – the fifth and final major of the season.
The rookie ended two shots clear of England’s Charley Hull and fellow compatriot Minami Katsu, closing at 11 under for the week at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in southern Wales.
The day before had been her 24th birthday, but the final round tensions were high as despite holding the overnight lead, it was a narrow one after carding a 2-over 74 in the third round. Yamashita managed to keep calm under the pressure, cruising through the front nine with clean pars and three birdies at the 4th, 8th, and 9th. Crowd favourite Hull, playing a few groups ahead, made three birdies of her own at the 5th, 6th and 8th, to come within three shots of Yamashita. The Englishwoman cut that lead further to one after birdies at the 12th and 14th to continue piling on the pressure on the Japanese golfer.
All the rookie could do was stay cool as the two-time LPGA Tour winner gave chase. Her first and only bogey of the fourth round at the 17th was her one setback among par saves on the back nine. But Hull made back-to-back bogeys at the 16th and 17th that proved costly to fall to 9 under as she closed her round. Yamashita then only required a par to seal the win which she managed to secure to join Mao Saigo as the second Japanese player to win a major in 2025.
“This was a goal of mine from a very young age to win a major championship, and to be able to do that is a very satisfying feeling, very special,” said Yamashita afterwards. “This has been a goal of mine, something I’ve worked towards my whole life, a dream you could say. It’s been the result of hard work every single day, making changes, making improvements, and to be able to do it now and call myself a champion is a very special thing.”
Becoming a Rolex first-time winner overnight, Yamashita joins the list of rookies who have won this season on the LPGA Tour, including Rio Takeda, Ingrid Lindblad, Chisato Iwai, and Lottie Woad.
Hull tied with Katsu at 9-under for second place, her fifth time in the top-5 of a major championship since 2016.
“Listen, coming into this week, I didn’t think I was going to make the cut,” Hull said. “That’s the truth of it. I wasn’t hitting it very well. I couldn’t prepare as well as I wanted to because I was poorly. I obviously collapsed three times in the round in Evian, and then still wasn’t feeling well until Sunday last week.
“So I think I’ve done pretty well, and considering my mindset coming into it, I’m pretty proud of myself.”
A Lim Kim and Japan’s Rio Takeda rounded off the top-5 in a share of fourth at 7 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the The Standard Portland Classic taking place on 14 – 17 August at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon.