KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Women’s Open winner Miyu Yamashita of Japan won the LPGA Maybank Championship in a three-way playoff on Sunday, clinching her second career title in her first year on tour.
The 24-year-old golfer clinched victory with a birdie on the first hole of the playoff, but third-round leader Choi Hye-jin of South Korea and Australia’s Hannah Green could only make par. The victory added the Maybank title to Yamashita’s first major win in August.
The Japanese player matched his lowest round of the day with a 65 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club course and rocketed up the crowded leaderboard to 18-under 270.
Choi, who started the final round with a four-stroke lead, lost his advantage and struggled to make important putts.
Choi, 26, currently has 29 top-10 finishes in his career, but has yet to score a breakthrough win on tour. This is the third time she has led the tournament heading into the final round and finished as runner-up.
Green, part of the Australian team that won last weekend’s International Crown, shot a straight 68 with seven birdies and three bogeys, including a nerve-wracking birdie at the end, to give Choi and Yamashita a playoff spot.
World No. 1 Gino Titikul (68), China’s Liu Yang (65), Japan’s Akie Iwai (67), and South Korean pair Ah Lim Kim (68) and Kim Sei-young (66) tied for fourth place at 17 under, one stroke behind the leading trio.
Titikul, who has been runner-up in Malaysia for the past two years, bogeyed the 16th hole to end the Thai’s late onslaught for a breakthrough victory in Kuala Lumpur.
Rain after the leaders completed their turns caused an hour delay, further adding to the tension on the crowded leaderboard. When play resumed, Choi got back into contention with a clutch birdie on the par-4 16th, where he had enough pace to fall.
Green then joined Choi and Yamashita in the playoffs, but it rained again and the playoffs were delayed by more than 30 minutes.
Defending champion Ying Ruoning shot a 70 and finished 12th at 14-under 274, four strokes behind.
Brooke Henderson also shot a 70, tied for 27th place.
Next week, the LPGA concludes its five-week Asian swing with the Japan Classic in Shiga.
