Lydia Ko finished the Maybank Championship with back-to-back rounds of 70, while Japan’s Miyu Yamashita completed a successful title defence with a two-shot victory in Kuala Lumpur.
Ko closed with a second successive two-under round at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to finish even-par 288 and tied 60th.
It was a considerably better weekend for the New Zealander after opening with consecutive 74s.
Yamashita, meanwhile, finished at 22-under 266, two strokes clear of China’s Yan Liu after producing four rounds in the 60s.
Ko Finds Better Rhythm Over Weekend
Ko began the weekend at four-over after needing 148 strokes across her opening 36 holes.
She responded with rounds of 70 and 70, playing the weekend in four-under to recover to even par for the championship.
Sunday’s round featured four birdies and two bogeys.
Starting from the tenth, Ko dropped a shot at the par-three 11th before responding immediately with consecutive birdies at 12 and 13.
Another bogey followed at the 15th, but she recovered with a birdie at the par-five 18th before adding another at the third.
Ko completed her final six holes in par to sign off with a bogey-free closing nine.
The improvement was clear: her weekend total of 140 was eight strokes better than her opening two rounds.
It was not enough to push Ko into contention, but consecutive under-par rounds provided a more positive finish to a difficult Malaysian week.
Japan’s Yamashita Goes Back-To-Back
At the top of the leaderboard, Yamashita produced another composed performance to retain the Maybank Championship.
The Japanese star entered the final round with a two-shot advantage and never surrendered it, closing with a four-under 68 to finish at 22-under.
Rounds of 65, 66, 67 and 68 demonstrated remarkable consistency across the four days.
Liu also closed with a 68 to finish runner-up at 20-under, having surged into contention with a brilliant 63 during Saturday’s third round.
Thai amateur Marisa Tojai produced an impressive final-round 67 to share third at 19-under alongside France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard.
Australia’s Robyn Choi completed the top five at 17-under.
Final Leaders
| Player | Position | Total | Final Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyu Yamashita | 1st | -22 (266) | 68 |
| Yan Liu | 2nd | -20 (268) | 68 |
| Marisa Tojai (a) | T3 | -19 (269) | 67 |
| Pauline Roussin-Bouchard | T3 | -19 (269) | 69 |
| Robyn Choi | 5th | -17 (271) | 69 |
| Lydia Ko | T60 | E (288) | 70 |
Positive Finish After Tough Start
The scoring at the top emphasised how costly Ko’s opening two rounds had been.
While the Kiwi improved by eight shots across the weekend, Yamashita finished 22 strokes ahead after four consistently low rounds.
For Ko, Kuala Lumpur ultimately became a week of recovery rather than contention.
Back-to-back 70s and a clean final nine provided some encouragement heading into the closing stages of the LPGA Tour season, but the Maybank trophy once again belongs to Yamashita.
