Yamashita defends her Maybank crown with a nerveless final round

Miyu Yamashita successfully defended her Maybank Championship title on Sunday, closing with a four-under-par 68 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to finish at 22-under-par 266 and beat China's Yan Liu by two strokes. Five birdies, one bogey, and a lead held since Friday's second round.

The 25-year-old Japanese star, the world No. 4 and the 2025 Women's British Open winner, entered the final round with a two-stroke lead. She had opened with a 65, followed by rounds of 66 and 67. Her final-round birdies came at the third, fifth, eighth, 11th and 18th holes, with her only dropped shot arriving at the par-four ninth.

"I’m really happy to have won this title and, honestly, I didn’t expect to win this tournament two years in a row. So, I just focused on playing each hole," Yamashita said afterwards.

Liu's charge, and the putt that stopped short

Yan Liu, who had shot a nine-under 63 on Saturday, refused to let the final round become a procession. She birdied the par-four second and holed a three-metre eagle putt on the par-five fourth to draw level with Yamashita, briefly erasing the overnight gap.

Yamashita answered with precise iron play and unflustered putting. Birdies on the par-five third and fifth restored her lead, and after the pair traded a birdie and a bogey across the eighth and ninth, a birdie on the par-three 11th pushed her clear again once Liu bogeyed the 14th.

The drama was not finished. On the par-five 18th, Liu had one last chance: a six-metre eagle putt that would have forced a play-off. The ball stopped short, leaving her with a birdie, and Yamashita then drained a three-metre uphill birdie putt of her own to seal the win. Liu also closed with a 68, for a four-round total of 20-under 268, built on rounds of 69, 68, 63 and 68.

A first successful defence, and a fifth LPGA title

The win made Yamashita the first golfer to successfully defend the Maybank Championship title, and it was her fifth career victory on the LPGA Tour. It was also her third LPGA win of the 2026 season, following the Meijer LPGA Classic in June and the CPKC Women's Open in August, where she won wire to wire by nine strokes at Royal Mayfair in Edmonton.

That contrasts with a year ago, when she entered the final round eight strokes behind leader Choi Hye-jin, made seven birdies without a bogey to force a play-off, and sank a birdie putt in the play-off against Choi and Australia's Hannah Green. This time she only had to protect a lead for 18 holes, in hot weather, with a title to lose.

The $450,000 winner's cheque came from a $3 million purse, along with the Tiger Trophy. She now sits third on the LPGA's multiple-wins list for the season, behind Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, who each have four.

The chasing pack, and a teenage amateur's statement

Thailand's Marisa Tojai, a 17-year-old amateur, shared third at 19-under 269 with France's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, the first-round leader. Tojai opened with an even-par 72 before three successive rounds of five-under 67, and on Sunday she made six birdies through the 13th hole to threaten Yamashita's lead, before a water hazard and a double bogey on the par-four 16th ended her charge. Roussin-Bouchard carded a three-under 69 in the final round after earlier rounds of 64, 69 and 67.

Australia's Robyn Choi finished fifth at 17-under 271 after a final-round 69. South Korea's Kim Ah-rim produced a bogey-free final round, making four birdies on the back nine for a 68 that lifted her into sole seventh place at 15-under 273. Choi Hye-jin, runner-up in each of the previous two weeks, finished tied for ninth at 14-under 274, while Hwang Yu-min, chasing the Rookie of the Year award, fired eight birdies against two bogeys for a 66 that left her alone in 20th at 12-under 276.

The best Malaysian finisher in the 78-player field was Mirabel Ting, tied for 48th at five under par; she had already secured her full LPGA card for 2027 after topping the Epson Tour with two victories this year.

What comes next

The tour's late-season Asian swing ends next week with the Toto Japan Classic at Omitama, outside Tokyo.

It was not a miracle comeback, and it was not a runaway. It was a front-runner holding her nerve, answering every charge, and finishing with a birdie. Two years in a row, Kuala Lumpur has belonged to Miyu Yamashita, and this time she did not need a play-off to prove it.