(Photo credit score: Adam Vander Kooy/Holland Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK through Imagn Images)
Miyu Yamashita of Japan fired a final-round 64, then defeated England’s Lottie Woad on the primary playoff gap to seize the Meijer LPGA Classic title on Sunday in Belmont, Mich.
The pair replayed the par-5 18th gap at Blythefield Country Club, the place Yamashita acquired a lot nearer to the pin than Woad on their third pictures. Woad missed her birdie try to Yamashita rolled in a brief putt for the win.
The 2025 Women’s Open champion and LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Yamashita now has her third LPGA title and can transfer as much as third within the Race for the CME Globe season-long factors race.
Yamashita, 24, started the day 5 strokes behind 54-hole chief Jing Yan.
‘It had like a rating hole with the highest’ to start the day, Yamashita mentioned by means of a translator on the TV broadcast. ‘But this week I had actually good feeling, so I’m actually joyful to win.’
Woad almost stole a memorable win when she holed out for birdie from the sand on the par-4 seventeenth gap.
That put her at 18 underneath and meant she wanted to par No. 18 to win outright. But a 4-foot putt to clinch the title lipped out, and he or she took bogey and headed to the playoff.
‘Obviously 17 was fairly — a bonus,’ Woad mentioned. ‘Didn’t have the simplest bunker shot and clearly made it. Thought it was going just a little bit previous, so was pleased with that.
‘Felt like I hit an OK putt (at No. 18). Obviously lipped out on the excessive aspect. Yeah, Miyu performed nice within the playoff gap.’
Yamashita birdied 5 of her first seven holes to shut the hole. She added birdies at Nos. 10, 11 and 13 earlier than hitting her solely velocity bump with a bogey on the par-3 fifteenth. Yamashita hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation throughout the spherical.
Meanwhile, Yan — a 30-year-old vet in search of her first profession win — was the second- and third-round chief however could not sustain. She bogeyed twice and birdied twice in her first 5 holes and was caught on 14 underneath for some time. After bogeying her ultimate two holes, Yan signed for a 1-over 73 and tied for seventh at 13 underneath.
Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu and China’s Yan Liu posted matching 67s and tied for third at 15 underneath. Another stroke again at 14 underneath have been South Korea’s Miinji Kang (66) and Australia’s Cassie Porter (70). Yan was tied with Grace Kim of Australia (66) and Minami Katsu of Japan (67).
–Field Level Media