Shiho Kuwaki prevailed over Esther Henseleit
on the second playoff hole Sunday to win the 2026 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, securing her first major championship victory.
Kuwaki and Henseleit finished tied at 5-under 279 after 72 holes. Kuwaki posted rounds of 66-70-73-70, while Henseleit shot 73-69-67-70. Returning to the 18th hole for sudden death, both players made par on the first extra hole before Kuwaki clinched the title with a par on the second playoff hole.
The JLPGA Tour member led the field in ball-striking precision throughout the week, hitting 58 of 72 greens in regulation.
The victory marks Kuwaki’s first major title in just her seventh major championship appearance and her 10th career start on the LPGA Tour. She becomes the first non-LPGA Tour member to win the AIG Women’s Open since Sophia Popov in 2020, and the first non-member to claim a major title since Yuka Saso won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open.
While the victory granted her immediate eligibility to accept LPGA Tour membership for the remainder of the 2026 season before a midnight deadline, Kuwaki opted to defer her membership until 2027.
The win caps a remarkable major season for Kuwaki, who made the cut in all four major championships she contested in 2026—finishing tied for 14th at the U.S. Women’s Open, tied for 24th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and tied for 41st at The Amundi Evian Championship—a sharp contrast to her tournament debut in 2025, where she missed the cut.
A five-time winner on the JLPGA Tour, Kuwaki currently ranks first in the JLPGA Mercedes Ranking and has recorded two victories on her home tour this season. Her prior best finish on the LPGA Tour was a tie for second at the 2023 Toto Japan Classic.
Esther Henseleit Forces Playoff, Earns Career-Best Major Finish
Germany’s
Esther Henseleit finished in solo second place
after bogeying the second playoff hole. She sank a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force the playoff, marking her best finish of the season and career best finish in a major championship.
Henseleit shot 73-69-67-70. Her previous best major performances were a solo seventh at the 2024 Chevron Championship and a tie for seventh at the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship.
The runner-up finish came on the heels of a solo fourth-place performance at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. With two strong consecutive weeks, Henseleit earned 134 points to clinch the second spot in the Solheim Cup standings, edging Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini by 0.9 points to qualify for the European Team for the second time (2024, 2026).
A 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist, Henseleit has made 10 cuts in 15 LPGA Tour starts this season, recording four top-10 finishes.
Noh, Korda and Thitikul complete top-5 leaderboard at AIG Women’s Open
Yealimi Noh
carded a 3-over 74 on Sunday to finish in solo third place at 4-under 280 at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.
Noh made the cut in eight of her 15 starts this season, with her third-place finish marking her top performance of 2026. The result matches her career-best major championship finish (solo third at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship) and represents her best overall tour finish since winning the 2025 Fortinet Founders Cup. The strong showing also moved Noh to fifth in the U.S. Solheim Cup standings with 1,382.00 points, positioning the 2021 Team USA member for another potential appearance.
Rounding out the top five, Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1
Nelly Korda
(73-68-73-68) and No. 2
Jeeno Thitikul
(64-73-72-73) finished tied for fourth at 2-under 282.
Korda capped a final-round 68—rising 12 spots on Sunday—by sinking a long birdie putt on No. 18. The finish secured her the
2026 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award
over Haeran Ryu and marked her 10th top-10 finish in 13 starts this season, a run that includes four victories.
Thitikul, who opened the championship with a week-low round of 64, recorded her best major finish of the 2026 season. She has now made 12 cuts in 14 starts this year, collecting seven top-10 finishes and two wins.
