Shiho Kuwaki of Japan wins the
Women's British Open on second playoff hole
[August 03, 2026]
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (AP) — Shiho Kuwaki of Japan saved
par to stay alive in a sudden-death playoff Sunday and won with a
par on the second extra hole to claim the Women’s British Open over
Esther Henseleit of Germany for her first major title.
Kuwaki closed with a 1-under 70 and looked like a winner as she
waited nearly 30 minutes in the scoring room. Henseleit, in the
final group, holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Royal
Lytham & St. Annes for a 70 to join Kuwaki at 5-under 279.
Henseleit then had the advantage in the playoff when the 23-year-old
from Japan was in deep grass short of a bunker and had to lay up
short of the green. Kuwaki hit wedge to 3 feet to save par and got
another chance when Henseleit missed a 15-foot birdie putt for the
win.
The tables turned on the second extra hole. Henseleit's tee shot on
the 18th drifted far enough to the right that it was beneath a gorse
bush. She did well to get that back to the fairway, and hit wedge to
about 12 feet. But her par putt stayed left of the cup, and that
left Kuwaki to tap in for par.
“Very happy with how I gave myself the opportunity to win today and
how I handled myself. Just got a bit unlucky on the second playoff
hole there,” Henseleit said. “I tried really hard and I guess it
just wasn’t meant to be today.”
This is the second straight Women's British Open title for Japan,
following Miyu Yamashita's victory last year at Royal Porthcawl.
Kuwaki, often known for her fashion, becomes the fifth player from
Japan to have won an LPGA major over the last three years.
“I can’t believe it,” Kuwaki said through a translator and the
trophy presentation.
Tough round for Noh
The disappointment belonged to third-placed Yealimi Noh (74), the
25-year-old Californian who began the final round with a three-shot
lead until it slowly went away with bogeys. She fell out of a share
of the lead with a bogey on the 14th hole. Noh was one shot behind
and had two reasonable looks at birdie — with Kuwaki already in the
clubhouse at 279 — but failed to convert.
“It stings being one short,” said Noh, who had missed three straight
cuts before this week. “I told myself this morning, no matter what
happens I'm happy to be in this position again. A couple of weeks
ago, I was losing a lot of motivation. This week has helped me feel
so much better about my game.”
Haeran Ryu fell short in her bid to become the first player since
Inbee Park to win three straight majors in one year. The Women's PGA
and Evian Championship winner was still in the mix on the back nine.
She needed birdies and instead closed with two straight bogeys for a
74 to tie for sixth.
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Shiho Kuwaki, of Japan, drives off the 3rd tee during the fourth
round of the Women's British Open golf championship in Lytham St
Annes, England, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in women's golf and
winner of the year's first two majors, started eight shots behind
and closed with a 68. She was the leader in the clubhouse for the
longest time at 2 under until Kuwaki finished.
Korda tied for fourth along with Jeeno Thitikul (73).
Eyes covered
Kuwaki, at No. 46 in the women's world ranking, played bogey-free
over the last 13 holes as everyone around her made mistakes. She was
in the scoring room after signing and stayed there, even as
Henseleit and Noh had birdie chances on the final two holes to force
a playoff.
Henseleit delivered with a most unlikely putt, 40 feet across the
18th green. The 27-year-old German raised her right arm as the golf
ball still had a few feet to go and punched the air when it dropped
for birdie.
It was only the second playoff since the Women’s British Open became
a major in 2001.
Kuwaki covered her eyes when she watched the putt go in on TV, then
broke into a smile. And moments later, she was in a cart and off to
the 18th tee for a playoff and immediately in trouble. Her tee shot
stayed short of a bunker but in the slope of thick grass. She
smartly tried to get it back in play, and her wedge to 3 feet was as
important a shot as any.
It gave her another chance, and the final mistake belonged to
Henseleit with the tee shot on the 18th for the second playoff hole.
Kuwaki already has won twice this year and is fourth on the money
list on the Japan LPGA, the tour that has produced five recent major
champions, including Yamashita, Mao Saigo, Yuka Saso and Ayaka Furue.
Kuwaki is now on that list.
“Just to be on a stage like this is just an honor, and every hole I
was just focused shot-by-shot and just tried to enjoy it out there
as much as I could,” she said.
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