LYTHAM ST ANNES, England - Japan's Shiho Kuwaki won the Women's British Open after a playoff on Sunday, securing her maiden LPGA Tour title and becoming the seventh female major winner from her country.
The 23-year-old beat Esther Henseleit of Germany on the second playoff hole at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in England, joining Miyu Yamashita from last year and Kuwaki's fellow Okayama native Hinako Shibuno from 2019 as a Japanese winner of the tournament.
"It's unbelievable," said Kuwaki, who missed the cut on her debut appearance at the tournament last year. "It's been an honor just to play on this stage. I faced each hole with everything I had and tried to enjoy it until the end."
Beginning the final round three shots off the pace, Kuwaki carded three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under 70 and finished at 5-under 279 overall before Henseleit forced a playoff by sinking a long birdie putt on the final 18th hole.
Kuwaki teed off into the rough on the first playoff hole but played a superb approach as the pair saved par before Paris Olympics silver medalist Henseleit settled for a bogey on the following hole, leaving Kuwaki to prevail with another par.
"After hitting my putt on the 18th, I thought it would probably go to a playoff and got myself mentally ready," said Kuwaki, who finished 14th at the U.S. Women's Open in June, the second major of the year, before winning the fifth and last major of 2026.
"I didn't go as far as thinking I could win it, but I gained real confidence from the U.S. Women's Open and was hoping to play to the end carrying that."
Yealimi Noh of the United States finished a stroke behind the pair in third, while Rio Takeda was a further three shots back, placing highest among the rest of the Japanese in a tie for sixth.
Hisako Higuchi was the first Japanese to triumph in a major on the tour when she won the 1977 LPGA Championship before Shibuno won seven years ago as a 20-year-old, spelling the start of success by the nation's female golfers in recent years.
Yuka Saso won the U.S. Women's Open in 2021 and 2024, representing the Philippines for her first victory, with Ayaka Furue winning the 2024 Evian Championship and Mao Saigo the 2025 Chevron Championship before Yamashita's victory last August.
"I'm really happy to have livened up the tournament as one of the Japanese golfers," said Kuwaki, thanking the organizers and her parents, Masatoshi and Hiroko, who were both at the course, and wishing for the quick recovery of Kumamoto Prefecture following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake nearly a week ago.
"My parents are getting old and I've been hoping to take them to many places. They came all the way to England and getting to show them my victory firsthand makes me happiest," she said.
Having begun the sport at 4 under her father, Kuwaki turned pro at 18 in 2021 and has five wins on the LPGA of Japan Tour since 2024. Now 69, he used to provide data on each hole as he accompanied his daughter on the domestic pro tour until he suffered a stroke in 2023.
"She doesn't listen to her parents, especially me! (But) she cares about us for sure," he said. "She was playing her game. She wasn't getting flustered much and was as usual."
"Really confident" about her accuracy, Kuwaki had a 66, 70 and 73 through her opening three days to keep herself near the top of the leaderboard before she got a final push from her heroine Shibuno.
"She's been like an elder sister to me since I was in elementary school and always looked after me. She wished me good luck before the final day," Kuwaki said. "(To celebrate) I like to drink, so will have a lot."
