Yamashita's lead in Women's British Open cut to one shot
Japan's Miyu Yamashita faces a test of her temperament as she bids to win a first major title after her lead in the Women's British Open was reduced to one stroke on Saturday.
Yamashita, who was celebrating her 24th birthday, was three shots ahead going into the third round at Royal Porthcawl.
But having posted a bogey-free 65 on Friday, she carded a two-over par 74 following erratic driving off the tee and struggles on the greens at the Welsh links course to head into Sunday's final round on nine-under par.
"Today I'll be just looking at what went wrong and what went right and analysing the day and make the improvements that hopefully will lead to a better round tomorrow," said Yamashita, whose best finish at a major came when she tied for second place at last year's Women's PGA Championship.
"The winds are really strong so that's something where club selection becomes quite difficult," she added.
South Korea's Kim A-lim posted a five-under 67 on Saturday to move to within a shot of Yamashita in second place.
Kim is bidding for her second major after winning the U.S. Women's Open in 2020 in Houston, when no spectators were present during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Honestly I'm not focused on the leader," insisted Kim. "I focus on my process and my shot and then my position."
Andrea Lee of the United States also shot a 67 and sits third.
Meanwhile, Japan's Minami Katsu sank seven birdies and an eagle for a brilliant 65 to climb into a share of fourth place.
Katsu was joined on six under by England's Charley Hull, who started the day on even par, 11 shots off the lead, before raising hopes of a British winner with seven birdies.
"I just kind of enjoy chasing," said Hull, still without a major title after several runners-up finishes, including at the 2023 Women's British Open. "It's more fun that way."
World number one Nelly Korda is set to end the major championship season without a title after shooting 74 on Saturday and falling nine shots behind.
Tied 36th in a group also including New Zealand's defending champion Lydia Ko, the American has now gone 13 tournament without a win and could lose her number one ranking to Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul depending on the outcome of Sunday's final round.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Women's British Open Winner Miyu Yamashita Aims for More Major Titles
Having won her first major title, Miyu Yamashita has no intent to stop there. 'Winning a major tournament was a dream since I was small,' Yamashita said at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Tuesday upon her return to Japan following her triumph at the Women's British Open. 'I'm aiming not for one, but two, three titles.' Yamashita, a two-time money winner of the Japan LPGA title, secured her first career championship on the U.S. LPGA Tour with a two-shot victory at the British Open in Porthcawl, Wales, making her the sixth Japanese woman to capture one of the five majors in women's golf. Yamashita, who turned 24 on Saturday — her worst round of the tournament — is back in Japan to compete at the upcoming Hokkaido Meiji Cup in Kita-Hiroshima, Hokkaido. She hopes her victory will provide incentive for up-and-coming players. '[Golf] is not all about hitting it far,' Yamashita said. 'If the young players hone their accuracy through practice, they can be competitive overseas.' Talking about having her family supporting her in Wales, Yamashita teared up a bit as she said, 'They are always thinking about me and are the closest giving me support. I will never forget that that was how I won this championship.'
The Mainichi
a day ago
- The Mainichi
Golf: Miyu Yamashita credits British Open win to father, self-belief
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Women's British Open winner Miyu Yamashita on Tuesday credited her breakthrough victory to her father's coaching and support, as well as an unshakable belief in her own playing style. The LPGA Tour debutant, who turned 24 on Saturday, led by three strokes at the halfway point of the tournament at Royal Porthcawl in Wales before surviving a difficult third round en route to her two-shot win. Yamashita said she had been inspired to win a major by watching compatriot Hinako Shibuno's 2019 British Open triumph and realized the dream after working with her father and coach Masaomi ahead of the final round at the blustery links course. "Of course my technique is better (than his)," she quipped at a press conference in Tokyo. "He does play golf, but his score is somewhere around 100, and I've been better since I was little." Yamashita said their professional relationship had not always been smooth, but she kept faith in her father's coaching. "In the end, his advice has been right," she said. "I think he's a very good teacher." Yamashita said she was able to "pay back" the support she received from her mother's home prefecture of Ishikawa, as well as neighboring Toyama, where Masaomi was raised, both of which were affected by the powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas on Jan. 1, 2024. Her maiden LPGA title also eased some of the disappointment from last summer's Paris Olympics, when she missed out on a medal and finished fourth after hitting a double bogey late in the final round. "I was really frustrated at the time," she said. "But that motivated me to build on the experience, and aim to win an overseas tournament, specifically. I feel I've managed to improve since. My short game wasn't good at the time." Standing 150 centimeters, Yamashita said her small stature prevented her hitting the ball as far as some of her rivals, but her victory showed there was more to succeeding in golf. "While I haven't pursued distance, I've valued accuracy," she said. "I thought I could compete on the technique side. I'm sure junior golfers can also win in the future at overseas tournaments by honing their short game and shot accuracy." Yamashita said she was encouraged by the strong performances by other Japanese players at the British Open, as well as the rising standard of play on the Japan Ladies Professional Golfers' Association Tour. While her major victory has put her under the spotlight and rocketed her to sixth in the latest world rankings, Yamashita said she was already focused on her next goal. "I'm always concentrating on the tournament right in front of me," she said. "I would certainly like to be ranked first in the world one day, but only as the result of doing the things I need to do."
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
With six months to go, Winter Games organizers say they'll be ready
Ready to go: organisers say the finishing touches are being applied to the Olympic Village in Milan winter olympics By Jérôme RASETTI Six months before the start of the Winter Olympics, Italian organizers say that, after years of ups and downs, they are on schedule. "Preparations are progressing steadily and according to the timeline we have set," Andrea Varnier, the chief executive officer of Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, told AFP. The Olympic opening ceremony is on February 6, though curling kicks off the action two days earlier. The Paralympics open a month later on March 6, though curling again breaks the ice two days beforehand. "We are currently in the core phase of operational implementation," said Varnier. Simico, the public company responsible for delivering the Olympic facilities, last week promised that "all the planned sports construction projects will be completed before the start of the Olympics". Organisers have made a point of delivering a low-cost Winter games after recent extravagances. Sochi, in Russia in 2014, cost at least $40 billion (34.5 billion euros at current exchange rates). Pyeongchang, in South Korea in 2018, came in at over $12 billion. The COVID-hit Games in Beijing in 2022 officially cost $4 billion, but financial analysts said that including infrastructure costs put the total at around $38 billion. Milan-Cortina estimate their final bill will be 5.2 billion euros ($6 billion). Of that 3.5 billion euros is going on infrastructure and 1.7 billion euros on staging the Games. The Games are using a host of existing venues - emphasizing the point by holding the closing ceremony in the almost 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater in Verona. Organizers say that avoiding new construction reduces not only costs but environmental impact. This approach also means the Games will stretch across northern Italy from Cortina in the Dolomites in the east 350 kilometers to the western suburbs of Milan, with other "clusters" spread through the Alps. "As with any complex global event, challenges are part of the process," said Varnier. "We are moving forward with confidence." One of the few new venues will be briefly the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena before assuming its intended role as the multi-purpose Eventim Arena after the Games. While organizers have managed to avoid being lumbered with a little-used speed-skating track by temporarily converting two exhibition halls at the Milan fair grounds, another group of sports with few participants created a political and construction headache. Because Italy did not have a track for the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events, organizers considered using existing sites in Austria or Switzerland. Matteo Salvini, the second-in-command and Minister of Transport in Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government, insisted in late 2023 that the events be held in Italy. That meant a breakneck race to build a track in Cortina. It was completed just in time for pre-approval in March. Accommodation, which often poses a logistical and financial problem for Olympic organizers, seems to be locked up. The Milan Village, six seven-story buildings to be converted into university dorms after the Games, will be delivered in "early October" despite the recent legal troubles of its developer, the Coima group. In Cortina, 377 prefabricated modules will be installed by the end of October. While it is not clear if Italy's ski star Federica Brignone, who won the overall World Cup and a world title last season but smashed her left leg, will be fit to compete, the organizers revealed in July the design of the medals she would be chasing. They will weigh 420 grams in bronze and 500 grams in gold and in silver. The designer promised the medals will endure better than a few of those from last year's Paris Games. Some 220 medals, which contained a small piece of scrap metal from the Eiffel Tower, had to be replaced because they quickly turned black or rusted. "We cannot allow what happened in Paris to happen again," said their designer Raffaella Panie. That leaves just one unknown. The Italian meteorological service, contacted by AFP, said it was unable to predict whether there would be enough snow next February. The organizers said they were not worried. "We'll be ready," they said. © 2025 AFP
