Japan’s Miyu Yamashita became the Maybank Championship’s first two-time winner, defending her title with a two-stroke victory on 22-under-par 266 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) on 1 November.
The 25-year-old carded rounds of 65, 66, 67 and 68 on KLGCC’s West Course to add a second Tiger Trophy to the one she won in 2025. It was her fifth career win on the LPGA Tour.
Yamashita took the US$450,000 winner’s cheque from the US$3 million total purse and earned 500 Race to CME Globe points, moving up two places to second in the standings as the season enters its final stretch.
She broke 70 in every round, took the lead after the second round and carried a two-shot advantage into the final day. A closing four-under-par 68 kept China’s Yan Liu two strokes behind.
“I’m really happy to have won the title, and I honestly didn’t expect to be able to win this tournament two years in a row,” Yamashita said.
“I just focused on playing all four days, and today was an especially hard round for me. Yan Liu played well and made birdies from early in the round, but I’m glad I was able to stay focused and play with a good level of nervous energy throughout the round.”
The field included six of the top 10 players on the Race to CME Globe rankings, former Maybank Championship winners Céline Boutier and Ruoning Yin, and reigning Olympic champion Lydia Ko.
Yan Liu finished second on 20-under-par after a closing 68, her career-best result on the LPGA Tour. Her nine-under-par 63 in the third round was the joint lowest score of this year’s tournament, equalling Carlota Ciganda’s 63 in the second round.
Thai amateur Marisa Tojai closed with a 67 to share third place on 19-under with France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who had led after the opening round. The result made Tojai the leading ASEAN Qualifier this year and the highest-finishing ASEAN Qualifier ever.
Her compatriot Achiraya Sriwong, a professional and two-time ASEAN Qualifier, finished sixth on 16-under-par.
Australia’s Robyn Choi was fifth on 17-under, South Korea’s A Lim Kim seventh on 15-under and China’s Weiwei Zhang eighth on 14-under.
Eleven players shared ninth on 13-under, among them 2023 Maybank Championship winner Céline Boutier of France, England’s Charley Hull and South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, who was runner-up at last year’s tournament after a three-way playoff.
“A field of this calibre is what makes the Maybank Championship a highlight of the LPGA calendar in Asia, and we are proud to host prestigious golf here in Malaysia,” Maybank president and group chief executive officer Dato’ Sri Khairussaleh Ramli said.
Southeast Asia had 14 players in the field. Among the LPGA Tour players, Thailand led the way with five of its tour members competing.
Five more came through the Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier, played at KLGCC in August: Malaysia’s Liyana Durisic, who claimed the fifth and final spot, Thailand’s Sriwong and Tojai, and Pimnipa Panthong and Sarisa Pojanalai.
Malaysians Natasha Andrea Oon, Mirabel Ting, Genevieve Ling and Kelly Tan played on Sponsor’s Invitations. Tan announced her retirement from competitive golf after submitting her score.
Ting was the leading Malaysian for the third year in a row, finishing tied 48th on 5-under-par. The 21-year-old’s tied-12th finish as an amateur in 2024 remains the best by a Malaysian in the championship’s history.
Ting will join the LPGA Tour in 2027 after a rookie season on the Epson Tour in which she won twice and topped the Race for the Card standings.
