PORTHCAWL, WALES | The key period of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl did not come on Moving Day or even during the back nine on Sunday – the traditional periods around which championship fortunes hinge.
Instead, it was Friday morning, at dawn, when it was confirmed that the early starters in the second round would be treated to flat calm conditions.
With the weather forecast predicting strong wind throughout the afternoon, the opportunity to spring clear of half the field was not just clear, it was as golden as the sun that crept above the South Wales hills beyond the end of the practice range.
Ultimately, however, only one golfer took full advantage, and by the end of the championship the buffer that Japan’s Miyu Yamashita built up in the morning wave of that second round had proved critical.
The 24-year-old’s 7-under-par 65 that day left her not only three shots clear of her compatriot Rio Takeda on 11-under, it also gave her at least a seven-stroke advantage over every other golfer who made the cut.
Where others had to press across the weekend, Yamashita could play conservatively. She was, perhaps, a little too careful when compiling a 2-over 74 on Saturday that allowed six golfers to climb within three blows of her lead.
“To have so many Japanese players doing so well at the moment is something that provides a motivation for me. It pushes me to try a little bit harder. To join that elite group is an amazing feeling.”
Miyu Yamashita
But a 2-under 70 on Sunday was enough to seal a first major championship triumph and to repel a courageous attempt by fan favourite Charley Hull and Yamashita’s fast-finishing compatriot Minami Katsu, who shared second on 9-under.
Yamashita’s performance was both stunning and one that should not, perhaps, have been as big a surprise as it was to many. In fact, she might be the best golfer in the world you had never heard of until last week.
Since April 2021 she has amassed 41 top-three finishes on the Japan LPGA and 13 of them were victories. In this, her rookie season on the LPGA following her victory in last year’s Q Series, she has racked up nine top-20 finishes, including four in a row before her arrival in Wales.
She even possessed a fine record in the events that define a golfer’s career before the win, playing 13 majors and finishing among the top 25 in seven of them, including second and sixth at the last two KPMG Women’s PGA Championships.
She was also ranked 15th in the Rolex Rankings.
An elite-level effort was not, therefore, a surprise. Unless you count the western world’s continuing underappreciation of Japan LPGA and Korean LPGA quality.
When translated from Japanese, the name Miyu means “I have a beautiful dream” and Yamashita confirmed that it is an apt moniker.
“[Major championship victory] has been a dream of mine my whole life,” she said but then proved she is more than a mere dreamer by adding: “It’s been the result of hard work every single day, making changes, and making improvements. To call myself a champion is a very special thing.”
Her win is also a fourth for Japan in the last nine majors, following Yuka Saso (U.S. Women’s Open) and Ayaka Furue (Evian Championship) last year, and Mao Saigo (Chevron Championship) this year.
“To have so many Japanese players doing so well at the moment is something that provides a motivation for me,” she said. “It pushes me to try a little bit harder. To join that elite group is an amazing feeling.”
For Hull, the near-miss was her fourth second-place finish in a major championship and the one that hurt the most. The Englishwoman trailed the eventual winner by 11 strokes at the start of the weekend before launching a thrilling victory bid. After a third-round 66, she maintained momentum and twice moved within one stroke of Yamashita’s lead before two late bogeys stalled her charge.
“Coming into this week I didn’t think I was going to make the cut,” Hull said. “That’s the truth of it. I wasn’t hitting it very well. I couldn’t prepare as well as I wanted to because I was feeling poorly after collapsing in Evian. I’m pretty proud of myself.”
Of the final round she added: “I didn’t muck it up by mis-hitting any shots. I felt so in control of my game. I didn’t whiff anything.”
If the head was proud, was her heart bleeding a little?
“One-hundred percent,” she said and then courageously added: “But at the end of the day it’s just a game. I enjoyed it out there. I love that adrenaline rush. It’s so good. It’s like a massive hit.”
The most outrageous moment of the final round came courtesy of Hull’s compatriot Mimi Rhodes. A three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour this year, she finished T19 but will be remembered for a remarkable hole-in-one at the 184-yard, par-3 fifth.
Her playing partner, Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou, had made an ace of her own at the eighth hole in the second round and knocked her own tee shot to within inches of the hole. Rhodes’s effort ricocheted off Kyriacou’s ball and into the hole.
Spain’s Paula Martin Sampedro won the Smyth Salver for low amateur and did so in some style, notching six birdies after the turn in the final round to complete the back nine in 30. Her 4-under total for the week earned her a share of eighth. It also rounded off a superb summer that also included victories in the Women’s Amateur Championship, European Ladies Amateur Championship and European Team Championship.
Royal Porthcawl deserved this dramatic finale. The weather had not been kind when it hosted three Senior Opens. Last week there was enough wind to test the field and the rain (mostly) kept away. Nelly Korda was not alone in describing the first four holes, which play alongside Rest Bay, as “beautiful” and the views across the Bristol Channel from the course as “breathtaking.”
Wales, too, deserved a celebration. The international golfers were tickled by their first visit to the principality, not least their introduction to the Welsh language.
Australia’s Grace Kim came out with the answer of the week when she said: “When I drove from Scotland, I saw all the road signs. We were trying to say the words. It was impossible. It went from like English to, not in a rude way, like gibberish.”
The language might have been bewildering but the Welsh welcome was not. The championship will surely be back at Royal Porthcawl, and soon.
Matt Cooper