Japanese rookie Miyu Yamashita won the 2026 AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, finishing two shots clear of England's Charley Hull and Japan's Minami Katsu. Yamashita closed with a 2-under-par 70 in Sunday's final round to claim the last women's major of the year.

The championship, held from 30 July to 2 August at the Lancashire links, produced one of the most remarkable single rounds in golf history during Saturday's third day. South Korea's Haeran Ryu, who had led at the halfway stage, carded a 60 — the lowest 18-hole score ever recorded in a major championship, men's or women's. That round, twelve under par, gave Ryu a one-shot lead at seven under heading into the final day, with Japan's Shiho Kuwaki one behind at six under. USA Today Sports

Royal Lytham is no stranger to drama. The last time the Women's Open visited, in 2018, England's Georgia Hall lifted the trophy. This week the course again asked every question links golf can pose — wind off the Irish Sea, tight fairways bordered by bunkers, and greens that punish anything loose. A "cut" midway through the tournament (the score line that decides who plays the weekend and who goes home) trimmed the field before the Saturday charge.

World number one Nelly Korda, who shot a 3-under 68 in Friday's second round to reach a share of 14th, was unable to mount a sustained challenge over the weekend. LPGA

Ryu's historic 60, though, set the stage for a Sunday that did not follow the script. Yamashita, playing in her first season on the LPGA Tour, overhauled the lead to finish two ahead of Hull and Katsu. For Hull, the runner-up finish on a course where her compatriot Hall won eight years ago brought the galleries to life but ultimately left her short.

What makes Yamashita's victory stand out is the company she kept on the leaderboard. Hull and Katsu are both proven competitors at this level, and Ryu's third-round 60 will be talked about for years regardless of where she finished. To win a major as a rookie — beating players with that pedigree, on a course this demanding — is a serious achievement.

For the casual fan, the "majors" are golf's most prestigious events: the four tournaments each year that define a season. The AIG Women's Open is the last of those, meaning Yamashita closed the 2026 major calendar in the most definitive way possible.