Yamashita Claims First Major at Royal Porthcawl originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
On Saturday night at Royal Porthcawl, Miyu Yamashita stood on the practice range with a problem. Her flawless 5-under 65 from Friday — the round that had put her three shots clear — felt like a distant memory after carding a messy 2-over 74 that shrank her lead to just one stroke. Most players would have headed to their hotel room to stew. Yamashita grabbed her coach and went to work.
This is what separates major champions from everyone else.
At 24, Yamashita had already won 13 times on the LPGA Tour of Japan since 2021. Impressive, sure. But major championships don’t care about your domestic resume. They strip away everything comfortable and familiar, leaving you alone with 72 holes of pure examination. Three previous attempts at the AIG Women’s Open had taught her this lesson harshly: tied for 13th on debut, tied for 21st the next year, then a missed cut that stung worse than both.
Sunday morning arrived with A Lim Kim immediately applying pressure, birdieing the second hole to draw even. This was the crossroads moment every first-time major contender faces — fold under the weight of expectation or punch back harder.
Yamashita chose violence. Three birdies in the next seven holes. Game over.
Her bogey-free front nine was clinical. Her par save on the crucial 13th while Charley Hull was charging was clutch. But the real story happened between her ears. This wasn’t just about perfect putting or smart course management — though she led the field in both. This was about a player who had absorbed every painful lesson from her previous failures and refused to let history repeat itself.
Walking up the 18th fairway with a two-shot cushion, Yamashita wasn’t just completing another round. She was joining Ayako Okamoto and Hinako Shibuno as the only Japanese women to claim this title. She was turning 47,000 roaring fans into witnesses to the largest women’s sporting event in Welsh history.
Most importantly, she was proving that the practice range session on Saturday night — that refusal to accept anything less than perfection — was exactly why she deserved to be holding the trophy.
“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, who is No. 15 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf rankings.
Sometimes dreams don’t just come true. Sometimes you have to go out and take them.
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Related: The AIG Women’s Open Comes to Wales: What to Expect at Royal Porthcawl
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
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