Kuwaki Shiho wins AIG Women's Open as Ryu Hae-ran's bid for third straight major falls short

Ryu Hae-ran's bid for three consecutive major titles has come up short.

Ryu carded a 3-over-par 74 in the final round of the 50th AIG Women's Open on Monday (Korean Standard Time) at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club (par 71, 6,519 yards) in Lancashire, England, finishing at 1-under-par 283 to share sixth place with Takeda Rio (Japan), Charley Hull, Lottie Woad (both England), Shannon Tan (Singapore) and Wei Ling-shu (Taiwan).

Ryu had won back-to-back majors — the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June and the Amundi Evian Championship in July — and was chasing what would have been only the third single-season major three-peat in history. She was unable to make up ground on the final day.

Entering the final round three strokes behind leader Noh Yerin (United States), Ryu made three birdies but dropped four bogeys and a double bogey to finish 3 over for the day. Back-to-back bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes also cost her the Rolex Annika Major Award, given to the season's top major performer, which went instead to rival Nelly Korda (United States).

World No. 1 Korda, who had won the Chevron Championship and the US Women's Open in consecutive starts this season, shot a final-round 3-under 68 to finish at 2-under 282, tying Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) for fourth place.

The title went to Kuwaki Shiho of Japan, who entered the tournament as a non-member. Playing in the same group as Ryu, Kuwaki posted three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under final round, reaching 5-under 279 to tie Esther Henseleit (Germany). She then made par on the second playoff hole to claim the championship.

The two had halved the first playoff hole, the par-4 18th, with pars. On the second trip back to the same hole, Kuwaki hit a 9-iron from 126 yards to set up an 8-meter birdie chance, then rolled her ball to within 50 centimeters of the pin and tapped in for par to win.

Henseleit had dramatically forced the playoff by holing a 12-meter birdie putt on the 72nd hole of regulation. Her hopes unraveled on the second playoff hole when her tee shot struck a spectator and came to rest under a bush, leading to a bogey. Her third shot after a layup also failed to find the pin, and she was eliminated.

Known as the "Yellow Baller" for her trademark yellow golf ball, Kuwaki won the AIG Women's Open on her second attempt. A five-time winner on the Japan LPGA Tour, she earned the $1.5 million first-place prize and secured an LPGA Tour card. Japan has now produced back-to-back AIG Women's Open champions, following Yamashita Miyu's victory last year.

In her post-round interview, Kuwaki said she focused solely on maintaining her swing despite the pressure of a major playoff. "It still feels like a dream, and I can hardly believe I won competing against the best players in the world," she said. She added that, having secured an LPGA Tour card, she would soon discuss with her team whether to pursue the global circuit.

Noh, a Korean American who entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, made two birdies but dropped five bogeys to finish 3 over on the day, ending at 4-under 280 for sole third place.

"I'm disappointed with how I played today, but I'm very happy just to have been in this position," Noh said. "I gained so much more confidence from this tournament, and I'm truly grateful for that."

Kim Hyo-joo closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 1-over 285, sharing 16th place with Lim Jin-hee. Joo Su-bin dropped three strokes to finish at 2-over 286, tying Lydia Ko (New Zealand) for 20th.