Miyū Yamashita earned a dream birthday present after a composed fourth round at Royal Porthcawl won her the AIG Women’s Open a day after turning 24.
The newly crowned champion finished on 11-under, two strokes ahead of Charley Hull and Minami Katsu.
It is the rookie’s first-ever LPGA Tour triumph, making her the second player to notch her first tour win in a major this year after compatriot Mao Saigo achieved the feat at the Chevron Championship in April.
On a breezy day in south Wales, Yamashita kept Hull and Katsu at bay with a nearly blemish-free final round – a bogey on hole 17 her only slight stumble on the day. She continued sinking par putts, and her short game made the links course look easy.
England’s Hull tried mounting a late challenge and came within a stroke of the leader before back-to-back bogeys on the 16th and 17th put the championship back into Yamashita’s hands.
“This has been a goal of mine, something I’ve worked towards for my whole life, a dream, as you could say,” Yamashita said through an interpreter after the round. “It’s been a result of hard work every single day, making the changes, making the improvements, and to be able to do it now and call myself a champion is a very special feeling.”
With tears falling and her arms raised in celebration, Yamashita was surrounded by her fellow countrywomen, showering her in champagne on the 18th green.
Three Japanese players finished in the top 10 on Sunday, and the win makes Yamashita the third player from Japan with their name etched onto the Open trophy.
Before 2024, there had only ever been two major champions from the East Asian nation. Now, the world No. 15 is the fourth Japanese major victor since the start of 2024, according to the LPGA.
“To have so many Japanese players doing so well at the moment is something that provides a motivation for me and keeps me going, and for us all to support each other is something that I’m looking forward to in the future as well,” the 24-year-old said.
Yamashita earned almost $1.5 million with the win – not a bad birthday present – the highest amount a champion has ever received from winning the Women’s Open. She also earns an exemption from all five majors for the next five years.
Organizers also had a dream-worthy tournament as attendance and TV viewership reached historic levels. The almost 50,000 fans who attended the AIG Women’s Open made it the largest women’s sporting event ever held in Wales, according to the R&A.
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