Miyu Yamashita defends title at Maybank Championship

Miyu Yamashita shot a final-round 68 to capture her second consecutive winner’s trophy at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.

It was her fifth career LPGA Tour title in just two seasons playing on the circuit.

A birdie on No. 18 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club cemented the win as she finished the tournament at 22-under par. In her final round, she combined five birdies and a bogey on the par-4 No. 9 to give her a two-stroke victory over Yan Liu of China.

“I’m just really happy to have won the title, and I honestly didn’t expect to be able to win this tournament two years in a row, so I just focused on playing all four days,” she said through a translator.

Liu entered the final round two strokes back, and she also fired a 68 to finish 20-under but unable to close the gap with Yamashita. The 28-year-old has played on the tour since 2023, and this was her highest finish. Her 72-hole total of 268 set a personal low.

She didn’t fall to the pressure of playing in the final group for the first time. She had three birdies, an eagle on the par-5 No. 5 hole and one bogey.

Amateur Marisa Tojai of Thailand (67 on Sunday) and France’s Pauline Roussin- Bouchard (69) finished three shots back at 19-under and tied for third. Robyn Choi of Australia (69) stood alone in fifth place at 17-under.

For Tojai, it was her first LPGA event.

Achiraya Sriwong of Thailand turned in the day’s low round of 65, moving 12 spots up the leaderboard to finish sixth, six strokes behind the winner.

The Maybank Championship was the third of four LPGA events on the fall Asian swing. The run concludes beginning Thursday at the Toto Japan Classic at Taiheiyo Club Minori Course in Omitama, Japan.

Nasa Hataoka is the defending champion.

Yamashita said she is excited to play on home soil.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to Japan next week and then playing in front of all the Japanese fans,” she said. “The Toto course is different rather than like last year, so it’s a little bit tricky. There are so many nice Japanese players out there so next week I will do my best.”