ARTICLE: The 2025 AIG Womans Open
The 2025 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl was a powerful showcase of the globalisation and evolution of women’s golf.
AIG Championship Summary
Miyū Yamashita of Japan claimed her first major title with a composed and polished final round of 70, finishing at –11 (277) to win by two strokes over Charley Hull and Minami Katsu.
Hull (–9) produced one of the most dramatic weekend comebacks after being 11 strokes off the lead at the start of Round 3, only to be undone by bogeys on holes 16 and 17.
Japan dominated throughout: athletes occupied six of the top ten early and three of the final top five, showcasing the strength of its domestic and junior golf infrastructure.
Key Storylines
Yamashita’s Breakthrough
At 24, the Osaka native celebrated turning 24 with one of the best rounds of the week and the trophy. Her clutch putting and precision play down the stretch earned her $1.462M, the winner’s payout from a record $9.75M purse. Her traditional bows and emotional reaction spoke volumes about Japan’s Woman Golfers emerging presence on the Worlds biggest stages.
Hull’s Resilience
Charley again finished runner‑up in a major, her fourth such near‑miss. Coming off a recent health setback, she over‑achieved given low pre‑tournament expectations, confirming her status as a clear fan favorite.
New Stars Rise: Woad & Rhodes
Lottie Woad (21), after multiple recent wins in the LET, entered as a favorite but ended tied‑eighth. She showed poise and presence despite an early triple bogey (R2). Mimi Rhodes, a rookie on the LET, finished tied‑19th and made headlines with a memorable hole‑in‑one on the 5th hole, aided by an assisted bounce from a partner’s ball.
Tournament Atmosphere & Coverage
Attendance topped 47,000, making it Wales’s largest women’s sporting event ever. Families and children filled the venue via R&A initiatives. Digital engagement nearly doubled year-on-year with record social-media impressions and surge in streaming and YouTube views.
Play moved briskly, with rounds completed well under five hours, faster than prior Opens at Royal Portrush.
Royal Porthcawl as a Venue
This marked the first time the Open was held in Wales, and the course more than lived up to expectations. Perched close to the Bristol Channel, Royal Porthcawl offered dramatic coastal views, wind-influenced shotmaking, and firm, fast greens favoring shot‑shape creativity over power. The finishing stretch, particularly the elevated 16th, demanded exact lies and disciplined play under pressure.
Final Result Summary
Champion | Miyū Yamashita | −11 (277)
T‑2 | Charley Hull | −9 (279)
T‑2 | Minami Katsu | −9 (279)
T‑4 | Rio Takeda | −7 (281)
T‑4 | A Lim Kim | −7 (281)
T‑8 | Lottie Woad | −4 (284)
Low amateur award winner, Paula Martín Sampedro, in T‑8 with −4
The 2025 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl was a powerful showcase of the globalisation and evolution of women’s golf.
This was more than a tournament, it was a statement.
This was a major that advanced women’s golf on every front, from participation to digital reach to international competitiveness.
The 2025 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl was a powerful showcase of the globalisation and evolution of women’s golf.
The event ushered a new era with Japanese players stepping onto the world stage and rookies like Rhodes and Woad announcing themselves in bold style.
Miyū Yamashita’s steady leadership under pressure proved that first majors can come in calm confidence, not necessarily blazes of birdies.
Charley Hull’s performance heartening and magnetic in the face of heartbreak, reaffirmed her narrative as the one of the game’s most compelling and faviourite contenders.
