Maybank Championship 2026: Yamashita Becomes First Two-Time Champion

Miyu Yamashita made history at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) on Sunday, 1 November 2026, becoming the first player in the Maybank Championship's four editions to win the title twice.

The 25-year-old from Japan closed with a four-under-par 68 on the West Course to finish on 22-under-par 266, two strokes clear of China's Yan Liu. Her rounds of 65, 66, 67 and 68 earned her a second Tiger Trophy to go with the one she lifted in 2025.

It was Yamashita's fifth win on the LPGA Tour and her third of the 2026 season, after the Meijer LPGA Classic and the CPKC Women's Open. According to Golfweek, she needed just 46 starts to reach five wins, which makes her the fastest Japanese player to do so. She also joins the world's top two, Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, as the only players with three or more wins this season. She came into the week ranked fourth in the world. Her victory was worth USD450,000 from the USD3 million purse, along with 500 Race to CME Globe points that lifted her two places to second in the standings as the season enters its final stretch.

Yamashita moved into the lead after the second round and took a two-stroke advantage into Sunday. Liu had been six strokes behind her after 36 holes, but a nine-under 63 on Saturday cut the gap to two and set up a tense final day. Liu made birdies early to pile on the pressure, but Yamashita held firm, and when both players signed for 68, the margin stayed at two. "Today was an especially hard round for me," Yamashita said. "Yan Liu played well and made birdies from early in the round, but I'm glad I was able to stay focused and play with a good level of nervous energy throughout the round."

The champion admitted she hadn't expected to keep her title. "I'm really happy to have won the title, and I honestly didn't expect to be able to win this tournament two years in a row," she said. "I just focused on playing all four days." She also said her compatriots' success had driven her on. "It's been great seeing so many Japanese players doing so well again this year. It's been motivating for me, and I look forward to playing here next year."

Liu had plenty to be proud of, too. The 28-year-old has played on the LPGA Tour since 2023, and second place on 20-under was the best result of her career. Her Saturday 63 was also the joint-lowest round of the week, matching the 63 that Spain's Carlota Ciganda shot in the second round.

Southeast Asia's standout performer was Thailand's Marisa Tojai. The highly rated amateur closed with a 67 to share third place on 19-under with France's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who led after the opening round. Tojai earned her place through the Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier at KLGCC in August, and no ASEAN Qualifier has ever finished higher. Only Yamashita and Liu finished ahead of her, and because she's an amateur, she did it without a cent of prize money at stake. Her compatriot Achiraya Sriwong, a professional who has now come through the qualifier twice, also shone. Sriwong fired the lowest round of the day, a seven-under 65, to climb 12 places and finish sixth on 16-under, so two of the five qualifiers ended up in the top six.

They did it against a strong field. Six of the top 10 in the Race to CME Globe teed it up at KLGCC, along with former champions Céline Boutier and Ruoning Yin and reigning Olympic champion Lydia Ko. Australia's Robyn Choi finished fifth on 17-under, South Korea's A Lim Kim was seventh on 15-under and China's Weiwei Zhang was eighth on 14-under. Eleven players shared ninth on 13-under. They included Boutier, who won the inaugural edition in 2023, England's Charley Hull and South Korea's Hye-Jin Choi, who was runner-up to Yamashita after a three-way playoff last year.

For Malaysian fans, the most emotional moment of the week came on the 18th green. Kelly Tan, who played on a sponsor's invitation, announced her retirement from competitive golf after submitting her final-round score, bringing the curtain down on a 13-year professional career. The New Straits Times described her clutching bouquets and fighting back tears as she said goodbye. Tan had hinted before the tournament that she was nearing the end of her career, and she closed with a two-over 74 to finish 75th on six-over 294. There was a fitting symmetry to her farewell. The LPGA came back to Malaysia with the first Maybank Championship in 2023, its first Malaysian stop since the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Tan was the country's No. 1 female golfer at the time and was thrilled to have the tour back on home soil. She was coming off a 2022 LPGA Tour season in which she finished 67th in the Race to CME Globe, narrowly missing out on the top 60 who qualified for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Three years later, the same tournament gave her a home farewell.

If Tan's farewell closed one chapter, Mirabel Ting is already writing the next. The 21-year-old was the leading Malaysian for the third year in a row. She recovered from an opening 75 with rounds of 68, 69 and 71 to finish tied 48th on five-under 283. Her tied-12th finish as an amateur in 2024 remains the best by a Malaysian in the tournament's history. Ting will join the LPGA Tour in 2027 after a standout rookie season on the Epson Tour, where she won twice and topped the Race for the Card standings. She said afterwards that improving her own game mattered more to her than being the top Malaysian, and that the week had taught her valuable lessons as she adjusts to the demands of professional golf.

Tan and Ting were part of a 14-strong Southeast Asian contingent. Thailand had five LPGA Tour members in the field, and four of the five places on offer at the ASEAN Qualifier went to Thai players: Sriwong, Tojai, Pimnipa Panthong and Sarisa Pojanalai. Malaysia's Liyana Durisic claimed the fifth and final spot. Natasha Andrea Oon and Genevieve Ling joined Tan and Ting on sponsor's invitations, and Ling closed with a level-par 72 to finish 76th on nine-over 297.

Maybank President and Group Chief Executive Officer Dato' Sri Khairussaleh Ramli congratulated Yamashita on "a superb performance" and praised the strength of the field. "A field of this calibre is what makes the Maybank Championship a highlight of the LPGA calendar in Asia, and we are proud to host prestigious golf here in Malaysia," he said. "The tremendous energy and excitement throughout the week strengthen our commitment to growing the game and inspiring the next generation of golfers."

Consistency was the foundation of Yamashita's win. She broke 70 in all four rounds on a challenging West Course, and when Liu piled on the pressure early on Sunday, she matched her 68 rather than letting the lead slip. That composure, together with how quickly she has reached five wins, explains why she has climbed to second in the Race to CME Globe. There were small warning signs, though. Her scores rose by a stroke each day, from 65 to 68, and Liu's Saturday 63 showed how quickly a lead can shrink at KLGCC. A two-stroke margin also left her little room for error. Even so, defending a title is one of the hardest things to do in golf, and Yamashita handled the pressure of being the player everyone was chasing.

For the region, the week told two different stories. Thailand showed its depth, with an amateur sharing third and two ASEAN Qualifier graduates in the top six. That shows how valuable the qualifying pathway is for Southeast Asian players. Malaysia had positives as well. Ting bounced back strongly from her opening 75, and she'll be an LPGA Tour member next season. But the gap is still clear. The best Malaysian finished 17 strokes behind Yamashita and 14 behind Tojai. Ting's tied-12th in 2024 is still Malaysia's best result at the event, and Durisic was the only Malaysian among the five qualifiers. With Tan retiring, Ting is now the clear flag-bearer for Malaysian women's golf. How quickly the next generation develops behind her will decide whether Malaysia can close the gap on Thailand.

Yamashita's attention now turns to the TOTO Japan Classic, the last of the LPGA's four events on the Asian swing, which begins on Thursday, 5 November at Taiheiyo Club Minori Course in Omitama. Nasa Hataoka is the defending champion, and Yamashita said she's excited to play on home soil. She leaves Kuala Lumpur as one of the form players of the season, and she'll return to KLGCC next year chasing a third straight Tiger Trophy. For Malaysian golf, Sunday marked a changing of the guard. One era ended in tears and bouquets on the 18th green, and another will begin when Ting tees off on the LPGA Tour in 2027.

Credit Photo : Maybank