Shiho Kuwaki won the 50th AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes on Sunday, beating Esther Henseleit on the second hole of a play-off.
The finish
Kuwaki, 23, came from three shots back with a closing 70 and was in the clubhouse on 5 under with a one-shot lead. Then Henseleit holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th to tie her.
They went back to the 18th. On the first extra hole Kuwaki hit a poor drive and scrambled a par, and Henseleit missed from 10 feet to win. On the second, Henseleit's drive hit a marshal and finished in a gorse bush. She made bogey. Kuwaki two-putted for par and the title.
What happened to the leaders
Yealimi Noh led by three going into Sunday and briefly by four, but made three bogeys in five holes on the front nine and finished third. Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, the top two in the world, tied for fourth.
Charley Hull and Lottie Woad finished four back, tied sixth, with Haeran Ryu, whose bid for a third major in a row ended on 1 under.
- Winner Shiho Kuwaki, 5 under, first major, in her second Women's Open
- Japan Fourth Japanese champion and the second in a row, after Miyu Yamashita
- Under par for the week Just 11 players
Kuwaki, the leading player on Japan's LPGA tour, is known as the "Yellow Baller" for her brightly colored golf ball.
Sources: AIG Women's Open (2 August); Sky Sports via Radio X (2 August); The Fried Egg (3 August); Golf.com (1 August).