PORTHCAWL, Wales (AP) \u2014 Miyu Yamashita of Japan captured her first major title Sunday when she withstood a charge by Charley Hull by not making a bogey until the outcome of the Women’s British Open was no longer in doubt. She closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory.<\/p>\n
Yamashita holed two big par putts on the back nine at Royal Porthcawl, the last one when Hull had closed to within one shot of the lead.<\/p>\n
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Her final test was the 401-yard 16th, one of the toughest on the course. Yamashita, who turned 24 on Saturday, drilled her drive down the middle and found the green, nearly holing a 45-foot putt. That gave her a three-shot lead with two holes to play.<\/p>\n
Her final act was a tap-in for par to finish on 11-under 277, and she raised both arms to celebrate. Yamashita wiped away tears as she headed to the scoring trailer.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be part of such a moment in history is something very, very special,\u201d Yamashita said through an interpreter at the trophy presentation.<\/p>\n
Hull gave it her best shot. She started the final round three shots behind, made three birdies in a four-hole stretch to get into the mix and then holed a 20-foot birdie on the 14th to get within one shot of the lead.<\/p>\n
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Behind her on the course, Yamashita hit into a bunker off the tee at the par-5 13th, blasted out and still had a long way for her third, missing the green to the left. She chipped weakly to 18 feet and buried the par putt.<\/p>\n
She also poured in an 8-foot par putt to stay at 12 under, right after Hull got to 11 under.<\/p>\n
The English star blinked first. Hull didn’t get any help from the wind on her tee shot on the 16th, which found a pot bunker and left her no chance of reaching the green. Her third shot bounded off the back of the green, and she had to make a 20-footer to escape with bogey.<\/p>\n
Hull runner-up again<\/p>\n
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Hull bogeyed the 17th, and her chances were done. She closed with a 69 and finished as a runner-up in a major for the fourth time. Minami Katsu was never seriously in the mix, but her closing birdie gave her a 69 to tie for second.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt pretty good about how I fought back over the weekend,\u201d said Hull, who was 11 shots behind after two rounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t feel like I\u2019ve actually mucked it up by mishitting any shots, which I think everybody can probably agree, you know what I mean? Like I played so solid.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Lim Kim, the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open champion, hit wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the second hole to tie Yamashita for the lead. But she made a series of blunders, starting with a three-putt on the third hole, and fell back. She had six bogeys in her round of 73 and tied for fourth with Rio Takeda (71).<\/p>\n
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\u201cI love the challenge because still now a little pain in my heart, but that is good motivation for me,\u201d Kim said. \u201cSo I\u2019m going to keep working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Japan’s success<\/p>\n
Four players from Japan now have won the last nine majors in women’s golf, and this was the second year there were two Japanese major champions. Mao Saigo<\/a> won the first major at the Chevron Championship. Ayaka Furue<\/a> (Evian Championship) and Yuka Saso<\/a> (U.S. Women’s Open) won majors last year.<\/p>\n Yamashita became a first-time winner on the LPGA Tour, extending a streak in which there has not been a multiple winner through 20 tournaments to start the year.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n There also is likely a change in the world ranking. Nelly Korda closed with a 75, and projections indicate she will fall to No. 2 behind Jeeno Thitikul. Korda had been No. 1 since March 2024. She tied for 36th and now has gone 14 tournaments without a win dating to last November.<\/p>\n This would be the second time Thitikul is No. 1 in the women’s world ranking. She also was No. 1 for two weeks in the fall of 2022.<\/p>\n Yamashita didn’t have the best birthday, at least inside the ropes, when she struggled off the tee and on the greens in a round of 74 that left her clinging to a one-shot lead. But she stayed on the range with her father until late into the evening, and she found a fix.<\/p>\n Spotlight on Woad<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Lottie Woad, coming off a victory in the Women’s Scottish Open in her professional debut, closed Sunday with a 71 and tied for eighth. In her last four events, Woad has won the Women’s Irish Open and missed a playoff by one shot in the Evian Championship, both as an amateur.<\/p>\n She has a win and a top 10 in her two starts as a pro.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it affected my golf, but it was definitely a lot more attention, a lot more eyes on me,\u201d Woad said. \u201cI feel like I handled it pretty well overall and was just sticking to my game, just trying to focus on the prep really and not let it distract me too much.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n