Shiho Kuwaki Wins The AIG Women's Open
23-year-old holds off Henseleit in a playoff at Royal Lytham & St Annes. America's Noh fades but hangs on to third. Plus, other weekend action.
It’s fitting that Shiho Kuwaki survived the AIG Women’s Open occasionally ugly Sunday war of attrition.
After posting a final round 70 over a baked-out Royal Lytham & St Annes, the 23-year-old Japanese golfer took a seat in scoring while the engraver prepared to etch her name into history. Two groups later, Esther Henseleit sank a 40-footer to force a playoff, leaving a surprised-looking Kuwaki little time to refocus.
In her first time through the 18th during sudden-death, Kuwaki missed a fairway for one of the few times all week and had to hack out from one of the last stands of rough yet to keel over during the unusually warm summer. But a brilliant pitch to five feet and par-saving putt set Kuwaki to win it her way: old-fashioned fairway-and-green steadiness offset by some brutal (maybe) luck for Henseleit.
Even with idyllic conditions during Sunday’s final round, the field collapsed under the weight of pressure, the demands of a fire-dangerous links, and a five-major season played over 101 days, only to culminate in a 166-bunker-laden test of patience. Kuwaki hit 58 greens-in-regulation and 79% of the brown runways to overcome mediocre putting (T57th/1.76). Even more impressively, she outlasted a diverse and far more accomplished cast that’ll be muttering all the way to Manchester International.
Playing just her second AIG Women’s Open and seventh major with nary a sign this was coming, the colorful Kuwaki has won twice in Japan earlier this year. She credited a T14 in the U.S. Women’s Open for the confidence boost needed to arrive at Lytham thinking of winning and doing it by holding off Olympic medalist Henseleit, third-round leader Yealimi Noh, and seasoned winners Nelly Korda, Haeran Ryu, or the English hopefuls, Lottie Woad and Charley Hull.
As the home country dreams combusted Sunday, Kuwaki and Henseleit finished atop the leaderboard after sidestepping big numbers induced by Lytham’s anomalous, hope-there’s-a-stance, sideways-plays-are-a-gift, pot bunkers. Neither player made a double bogey over four rounds—in contrast to Korda’s three and Hull’s two in Sunday’s final round. Still, Kuwaki and Henseleit’s places in history were, at best, improbable, given limited achievements in majors and the Women’s Open. Kuwaki missed the cut in he debut at Royal Porthcawl while Henseleit came to Lytham off her best finish last year (23rd) following having missed four cuts in her previous six appearances.
Kuwaki’s steady day featured three birdies, two back-to-back bogeys early in the round at Nos. 4 and 5, and wrapped up with five straight pars in regulation to eventually become the second straight year Japanese player to win the AIG Women’s Open.
“Yeah, after last year, [Miyu] Yamashita's win, and to be able to win again as a Japanese player is such an amazing feeling, and I hope as part of Team Japan we can continue to light up the golf world and hope everyone enjoys it as well,” she said after parring the second hole of sudden death.
After answering questions through a translator for the trophy ceremony, Kuwaki admirably asked to read some prepared thoughts in English.
“I would like to thank my family. I would like to thank my team. And recently we had an earthquake in Kumamoto, and I would like to just give them a speedy recovery and best wishes [to] them as well.”
She’s been playing golf since age four and, after attending Kurashiki University, has five overall wins in Japan and has become known for her brash style via Loudmouth gear, bold eyelashes and other displays of color. (When she won the Japan LPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup, Kuwaki wore red lobster-adorned pants.)
The only player to catch her on Sunday provided the day’s best drama after way too many pile-ups over the links. The 5’10” Henseleit arrived at the 392-yard 18th needing birdie, but a poor approach left the 40-footer to force a playoff.
“It was a very confusing putt to be honest, and it was going right to left and everything,” Henseleit said. “The last three feet it was tracking and I was, oh, okay it might actually go in. Yeah, it was a great moment when that putt dropped in.”
Husband and longtime caddie Reece Phillips, whom she married last December in Italy, could be seen in a wide-shot replay celebrating before attempting to bottle his excitement.
“I saw the second half of his celebration and that was still pretty fun to watch. Yeah, 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.”
Regarding the unfortunate break on the second playoff hole: it’s clear Henseleit’s tee shot hit a volunteer marshal in the leg before bounding backward to the gorse, but it’s also unclear if he (unintentionally) stopped the ball from reaching more of Old Tom’s nemesis lining the 18th.
Either way, the bad lie and need to hack back to the fairway left the 2024 Olympic silver-medalist ambivalent about her luck.
“I thought it was further left to be honest,” she said of her tee shot. “Must have gotten some kind of bad bounce. At least I still had a shot I guess, and could kind of get a good angle going into the green and didn’t have to take an unplayable or something.
“But, yeah, probably a bit unlucky there. That’s just links golf.”
American Yealimi Noh opened the day with a three-stroke lead that continued with a birdie at the second hole. But five bogeys over the next 10 holes began her undoing, only to still have a shot at the 18th via a 25-foot birdie putt that came up short. Still, the San Francisco-born 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion who bypassed college golf enjoyed a remarkable week after jetting home following a missed cut in the Amundi Evian, where she’d recorded her best finish in a major prior to Sunday (3rd, 2021).
Noh had not broken par in an LPGA event since April before opening with three straight rounds under par at Royal Lytham & St Annes. In a touching post-round interview with NBC’s Cara Banks, Noh revealed that she’s been having second thoughts about her career until this week.
“Obviously it stings coming up one short and having a not great round, but I’m still very happy to have been in this position,” the 25-year-old said. “Coming down 18 in front of the big crowds and playing at The Open, it was really special. Reminded me why I love this game and why I’m here.”
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