Yuri Yoshida secured her first LPGA Tour title at the BMW Ladies Championship with a dramatic final-round victory at Pine Beach Golf Links on Sunday.
She defeated Haeran Ryu and Hye-Jin Choi in a closely contested finish, closing the tournament at 17-under through four rounds.
It marked the 26-year-old’s first LPGA Tour victory. Yoshida was four shots off the pace heading into the final round but surged on the front nine, carding an eagle at the par-5 second before adding three consecutive birdies.
She bogeyed the 15th and 18th, but a crucial birdie at the 17th gave her the cushion needed to seal the win.
Ryu, who had led the tournament by four strokes going into the final round, could not replicate that form on Sunday, finishing with a 73 to end at 16-under.
The South Korean made 15 consecutive pars before a crucial mistake at the par-4 16th, which handed Yoshida’s one-shot advantage to the Japanese player.
Yoshida found scintillating form on the front nine of the final round
Both players made birdies at the 17th, but a costly miss by Ryu at the 18th allowed Yoshida to clinch it, despite the Japanese golfer also making bogey.
Hye-Jin Choi, who began the final round in a tie for second, stayed in contention throughout Sunday and mixed four birdies with a lone bogey to finish at 16-under, one shot behind Yoshida and in a tie for second with Ryu.
Choi is still seeking her first LPGA Tour victory in 125 career starts. She has held or shared a 54-hole lead five times without converting it into a win.
Last week in Shanghai, Choi was runner-up by one stroke to China’s Ruoning Yin after the South Korean golfer led after each of the first three rounds.
Defending champion Sei Young Kim, who ended a five-year victory drought in 2025 with a win last year in South Korea, shot 70 on Sunday and finished at 2-under, in a tie for 55th.
In the late-season Asian swing, the LPGA Tour will next head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the Maybank Championship, the third of four events.
