Yu Hae-ran Finishes 6th at AIG Women's Open, Falling Short of Third Straight Major Win

Yu Hae-ran's bid for a third consecutive victory at a women's golf major championship has fallen short.

Playing the fourth and final round of the AIG Women's Open (total purse of $10 million)—the fifth and final major of the season—at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club (par 71) in Lancashire, England, on the 2nd (KST), Yu carded three birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey for a 3-over-par 74.

Finishing with a total score of 1-under-par 283, Yu wrapped up the tournament in a tie for sixth place.

She finished four strokes behind tournament champion Shiho Kuwaki of Japan, who posted a 5-under-par 279.

World No. 3 Yu entered the tournament riding a wave of momentum after winning back-to-back major titles at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in late June and the Amundi Evian Championship—the season's fourth major—which concluded on the 12th of last month, setting her sights on a third straight major crown.

Only four players in women's golf history had previously won three majors in a single calendar year: Babe Zaharias in 1950, Mickey Wright in 1961, Pat Bradley in 1986, and Park In-bee in 2013. Among them, only Zaharias and Park had achieved "three consecutive" major wins, presenting Yu with an opportunity to join an elite group of record-breakers.

After holding second place in the first round and the sole lead in the second, Yu slipped to second place—three strokes behind leader Yealimi Noh of the United States—following a sluggish third round, and ultimately failed to reach the top spot after dropping strokes in the final round.

Yu also missed out on the Annika Major Award, given to the player with the best record across the majors, which went to Nelly Korda of the U.S. after Korda finished tied for fourth place (2-under-par 282).

Yu and Korda had each won two of the season's first four majors, keeping the race for the Annika Major Award alive until the final moments, but Korda edged it out at the very end.

Starting the fourth round in second place, three strokes behind the leader, Yu got off to a promising start by sinking a mid-range birdie putt on the 1st hole (par 3).

However, she dropped a shot with a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 4). On the 5th hole (par 5), her tee shot landed in a bunker, and after reaching the green in three shots and two-putting for a double bogey, she fell out of the leading group.

She clawed a shot back on the 7th hole (par 5), but another bogey followed on the 11th hole (par 5) after both her tee shot and third shot found bunkers.

On the 13th hole (par 4), her tee shot landed in a bunker once again, but she skillfully blasted out onto the green and made a birdie, narrowing the gap with the leader to two strokes.

However, her signature iron shots lacked their usual sharpness, failing to yield close-range birdie opportunities down the stretch and hampering her late-game charge.

A bogey on the 17th hole (par 4)—stemming from a second shot that found a greenside bunker—extended her deficit behind the leader to three strokes, and she dropped another shot on the 18th and final hole (par 4) to finish the tournament on a disappointing note.

Kuwaki pulled off a surprise victory by shaving a stroke off her score on the final day to tie with Esther Henseleit of Germany, before prevailing in the second playoff hole.

The winner's prize is $1.5 million (approximately 2.17 billion won).

Ranked 46th in the world, Kuwaki has now secured five career wins on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf (JLPGA) Tour, including two victories this year.

Following Miyu Yamashita last year, Japanese players have now claimed victory at the AIG Women's Open for two consecutive years.

The race for the title remained chaotic until the very end, as overnight sole leader Yealimi Noh dropped two strokes on the front nine, allowing her pursuers to close in.

Playing two groups ahead of the final pairing alongside Yu, Kuwaki captured a share of the lead with a birdie on the 13th hole, and then claimed the outright lead after Noh carded a bogey on the 12th hole (par 3).

Henseleit, playing in the final group, birdied the 15th hole (par 4) to join the tie for the lead, but dropped back with a three-putt bogey on the 16th hole (par 4), allowing Kuwaki to finish her round holding the sole lead.

However, Henseleit dramatically forced a playoff by sinking a long-range birdie putt on the 18th hole.

In the first playoff hole played on the 18th, Kuwaki faced trouble when her tee shot landed in the long grass around the green, but she brilliantly placed her third shot close to the pin to save par and force a second playoff hole. She secured a par on the second extra hole to defeat Henseleit, who could only manage a bogey.

Henseleit had to settle for runner-up honors, narrowly missing out on claiming her first LPGA Tour victory at a major, while Noh, who started the day as the sole leader, dropped three strokes to finish third at 4-under-par 280.

World No. 1 Korda shot a 3-under par to tie for fourth, capturing the Annika Major Award for the first time in two years, while World No. 2 Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand also finished in a tie for fourth.

Kim Hyo-joo shot a 4-under par in the final round to tie with Im Jin-hee for 16th place at 1-over-par 285, while 2024 champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand finished tied for 20th alongside Su-bee Joo and others at 2-over-par 286.

Kim Sei-young tied for 29th at 4-over-par 288, and Shin Ji-eun—who won the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open last week—wrapped up alongside Ko Jin-young and Amy Yang in a tie for 47th at 8-over-par 292.

High school amateur Yang Yun-seo finished in a tie for 53rd at 9-over-par 293.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.