AIG Women’s Open LIVE: Shiho Kuwaki beats Esther Henseleit in play-off at Royal Lytham

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Summary

Watch highlights at top of this page from 20:30 BST
50th AIG Women's Open goes to sudden death play-off at Royal Lytham
Japan's Shiho Kuwaki beats Germany's Esther Henseleit in second extra hole
In regulation Kuwaki had posted target at five under par (70)
Henseleit sank giant birdie putt at 18th to force extra holes (70)
England's Charley Hull carded one-over 72 to finish at -1
Compatriot Lottie Woad also posted -1 (73)

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Live Reporting

Tim Abraham, Steve Sutcliffe and Joe Bradshaw

Postpublished at 20:24 BST
Laura Davies
English professional golfer on Sky Sports
It was one of those days when Lytham started to wear these players down. For a while there on the back nine it was utter chaos and you wondered who was going to step up. Shiho Kuwaki showed real class in the end.
Postpublished at 20:23 BST
Kuwaki wins Women's Open
Felicity Johnson
Two-time winner on the Ladies' European Tour on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
When we saw so many dropped shots out there, Shiho Kuwaki was the one who steadied the ship and didn't drop any other shots.
She played the most consistently and best under pressure.
Her composure throughout the two play-off holes was fantastic to watch.

That winning feelingpublished at 20:20 BST
Kuwaki wins the Women's Open
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
A special moment for Shiho Kuwaki.
'That's just links golf...'published at 20:15 BST
Henseleit -5 (70)
Image source, Getty Images
Not that Esther Henseleit is complaining about what happened.
The German was very gracious in defeat, adding a Women's Open runner-up to the Olympic silver medal she got in Paris:
"I thought it was further left to be honest. 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."

Postpublished at 20:12 BST
Laura Davies
English professional golfer on Sky Sports
Esther Henseleit's tee shot in the play-off which hit the calf of a marshal might have gone further up the course, but you don't know. Sometimes that's golf and you get really bad breaks. It's not his fault, but just one of those things.
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Get Involvedpublished at 20:08 BST
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Really exciting to watch, but for me it was won through negligent stewarding. It’s not like they never got a shout.
Roddy, Brora
The Marshals need to be further away than where they were positioned - awful break but avoidable
Jacket, Yarm
Why wasn’t the Marshall paying attention to what was happening on the tee? There was no need to be looking anywhere other than the direction from which the ball was coming.
Colin, Glasgowe

Postpublished at 20:05 BST
Henseleit -5 (70)
On the subject of Esther Henseleit, we've been hearing from you about the bad break she got on the second play-off hole when her tee shot hit a marshal and went into the gorse.
Henseleit's birdie puttpublished at 19:56 BST
Henseleit -5 (70)
Esther Henseleit must have thought her name was on the trophy when she rolled this one in from the wilderness.
Putt of the week? It's definitely right up there.
Media caption,
'Oh my word!' - Incredible Henseleit putt forces play-off

'An amazing feeling'published at 19:55 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Shiho Kuwaki, speaking at the presentation, said: "I just can't believe it! To be on a stage like this is an honour and every hole I was just focused on shot by shot. I just tried to enjoy it as much as I could.
"Thank you to all the fans. I'd like to thank my family and my team. Recently we had an earthquake in Japan and I'd like to wish people a speedy recovery and best wishes."
On following Miyu Yamashita's win last year: "It's an amazing feeling to win again as a Japanese player. I hope as team Japan we can continue to light up the golf world."
A second home for Japanese golferspublished at 19:53 BST
Kuwaki wins Women's Open
Image source, Getty Images
Last year, Miyu Yamashita became the third Japanese player in history to win the Women's Open.
The first was Ayako Okamoto's victory in 1984 at Woburn, while Hinako Shibuno triumphed in 2019, also at Woburn.
With Shiho Kuwaki's win today, we have had three Japanese winners in the past eight editions of this tournament.
What is the link between Japanese golf and the links of Great Britain?

Postpublished at 19:50 BST
Shiho Kuwaki gives high fives to a guard of honour by some youngsters in navy blue uniforms before she hoists the Open trophy aloft.
'It stings'published at 19:49 BST
Noh -4 (74)
Image source, Getty Images
Overnight leader Yealimi Noh lost a three-shot lead on the final day, was disappointed not to make the play-off but took positives from her wek: "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.
"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.
"I came into the week feeling very unsure how my game was and disappointed in past results. This week has given me so much more confidence and I'm really thankful for that."

Postpublished at 19:49 BST
The presentations are currently under way at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Paula Martin Sampedro is awarded the silver salver as the leading amateur first up.
Who is Kuwaki?published at 19:44 BST
Kuwaki wins Women's Open
Image source, Getty Images
Shiho Kuwaki turned pro five years ago but has mainly operated on the LPGA of Japan Tour.
She has two wins on that tour this season and has not finished below 12th in her past nine tournaments.
Looking at that, she has definitely been trending.
She’s only played at the Women’s Open once before – last year at Porthcawl – and missed the cut, but it’s been supremely impressive this week.

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Get Involvedpublished at 19:40 BST
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Isn't it lovely that Shiho Kuwaki had the other Japanese players cheering her on from the greens
Yani, London
Postpublished at 19:39 BST
The engraver sets to work on the trophy.
It will have a new name on it in the form of Shiho Kuwaki.

Postpublished at 19:37 BST
Kuwaki wins Women's Open
Kat Downes
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator at Royal Lytham
That was a final day you couldn't take your eyes off.
Postpublished at 19:36 BST
Some of Shiho Kuwaki's fellow Japanese players dash on to the green and douse her in champagne.
She doesn't seem to mind too much.

Postpublished at 19:36 BST
Kuwaki wins Women's Open
Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live at Royal Lytham
It's victory again for Japan!
KUWAKI WINS OPENpublished at 19:35 BST
Shiho Kuwaki taps in from a couple of feet and breaks out into a huge smile.
The Japanese player is the Open champion

Women's Open

Date:: 30 July - 2 August 2026
Course:: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Course
Par:: 71
Yards:: 6,601
Prize Money:: $10,000,000

Rank	Player	Total	Total	Thru	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 4	Strokes
1	Shiho Kuwaki	5 under par	5 under par	finished	66	70	73	70	70	279
2	Esther Henseleit	5 under par	5 under par	finished	73	69	67	70	70	279
3	Yealimi Noh	4 under par	4 under par	finished	67	70	69	74	74	280
4	Nelly Korda	2 under par	2 under par	finished	73	68	73	68	68	282
4	Atthaya Thitikul	2 under par	2 under par	finished	64	73	72	73	73	282
6	Hae-Ran Ryu	1 under par	1 under par	finished	66	69	74	74	74	283
6	Shannon Tan	1 under par	1 under par	finished	69	74	71	69	69	283
6	Lottie Woad	1 under par	1 under par	finished	69	71	70	73	73	283
6	Wei Ling Hsu	1 under par	1 under par	finished	71	74	69	69	69	283
6	Rio Takeda	1 under par	1 under par	finished	69	73	72	69	69	283
6	Charley Hull	1 under par	1 under par	finished	69	71	71	72	72	283
12	Yuka Saso	level par	level par	finished	72	73	71	68	68	284
12	Celine Boutier	level par	level par	finished	67	74	74	69	69	284
12	Sara Kouskova	level par	level par	finished	77	69	71	67	67	284
12	Minami Katsu	level par	level par	finished	72	68	71	73	73	284
16	Lucy Li	1 over par	1 over par	finished	72	68	69	76	76	285
16	Lauren Coughlin	1 over par	1 over par	finished	69	71	74	71	71	285
16	Jin-Hee Im	1 over par	1 over par	finished	70	71	72	72	72	285
16	Hyo-Joo Kim	1 over par	1 over par	finished	75	71	72	67	67	285
20	Chanettee Wannasaen	2 over par	2 over par	finished	68	72	71	75	75	286
20	Lydia Ko	2 over par	2 over par	finished	71	70	71	74	74	286
20	Soo-Bin Joo	2 over par	2 over par	finished	70	69	73	74	74	286
23	Carla Tejedo	3 over par	3 over par	finished	76	70	68	73	73	287
23	Ashleigh Buhai	3 over par	3 over par	finished	69	76	68	74	74	287
23	Paphangkorn Tavatanakit	3 over par	3 over par	finished	73	73	73	68	68	287
23	Mao Saigo	3 over par	3 over par	finished	69	74	73	71	71	287
23	Pia Babnik	3 over par	3 over par	finished	72	74	71	70	70	287
23	Amelia Garvey	3 over par	3 over par	finished	76	70	73	68	68	287
29	Yuna Araki	4 over par	4 over par	finished	73	71	74	70	70	288
29	Anna Nordqvist	4 over par	4 over par	finished	73	70	77	68	68	288
29	Hannah Green	4 over par	4 over par	finished	71	73	72	72	72	288
29	Brooke Henderson	4 over par	4 over par	finished	72	72	72	72	72	288
29	Chisato Iwai	4 over par	4 over par	finished	68	77	71	72	72	288
29	Sei-Young Kim	4 over par	4 over par	finished	72	72	72	72	72	288
29	Paula Martin	4 over par	4 over par	finished	69	71	76	72	72	288
36	Maja Stark	5 over par	5 over par	finished	74	72	73	70	70	289
36	Jing Yan	5 over par	5 over par	finished	72	68	74	75	75	289
36	Arpichaya Yubol	5 over par	5 over par	finished	70	74	77	68	68	289
36	Alexandra Foersterling	5 over par	5 over par	finished	70	75	70	74	74	289
36	Mimi Rhodes	5 over par	5 over par	finished	71	70	74	74	74	289
41	Yana Wilson	6 over par	6 over par	finished	70	72	76	72	72	290
41	Auston Kim	6 over par	6 over par	finished	75	68	77	70	70	290
41	Cara Gainer	6 over par	6 over par	finished	74	72	73	71	71	290
44	Dewi Weber	7 over par	7 over par	finished	75	69	72	75	75	291
44	Nasa Hataoka	7 over par	7 over par	finished	73	71	76	71	71	291
44	Nastasia Nadaud	7 over par	7 over par	finished	77	69	72	73	73	291
47	Manon de Roey	8 over par	8 over par	finished	75	71	72	74	74	292
47	Jin-Young Ko	8 over par	8 over par	finished	75	70	75	72	72	292
47	Amy Yang	8 over par	8 over par	finished	72	73	72	75	75	292
47	Jenny Shin	8 over par	8 over par	finished	72	72	73	75	75	292
47	Rose Zhang	8 over par	8 over par	finished	74	70	74	74	74	292
47	Robyn Choi	8 over par	8 over par	finished	71	70	73	78	78	292
53	Yun-Seo Yang	9 over par	9 over par	finished	70	76	72	75	75	293
53	Ariya Jutanugarn	9 over par	9 over par	finished	73	71	74	75	75	293
53	Julia Lopez	9 over par	9 over par	finished	74	69	78	72	72	293
53	Ayaka Furue	9 over par	9 over par	finished	76	70	65	82	82	293
53	Alice Hewson	9 over par	9 over par	finished	70	74	75	74	74	293
58	Annabell Fuller	10 over par	10 over par	finished	71	74	73	76	76	294
58	Pauline Roussin-Bouchard	10 over par	10 over par	finished	73	72	78	71	71	294
58	Kajsa Arwefjaell	10 over par	10 over par	finished	73	69	77	75	75	294
61	Aunchisa Utama	11 over par	11 over par	finished	73	69	80	73	73	295
61	Lindy Duncan	11 over par	11 over par	finished	75	69	73	78	78	295
61	Akie Iwai	11 over par	11 over par	finished	72	72	78	73	73	295
64	Amanda Doherty	12 over par	12 over par	finished	73	71	76	76	76	296
65	Alison Lee	13 over par	13 over par	finished	72	74	74	77	77	297
65	Mi-Hyang Lee	13 over par	13 over par	finished	72	73	78	74	74	297
65	Min-Ji Kang	13 over par	13 over par	finished	71	72	76	78	78	297
68	Casandra Alexander	14 over par	14 over par	finished	72	74	81	71	71	298