"Smiling Cinderella” Hinako Shibuno wins AIG Women's British Open at Woburn                                

Hinako Shibuno holed a gutsy birdie putt from 18 feet on the 72nd hole to claim a one-stroke victory in the AIG Women’s British Open at Woburn.
The 20-year-old from Okayama city became the second Japanese player to win a major championship, joining Chako Higuchi, who won the 1977 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 42 years ago; no male Japanese player has won a major championship.
It was Hinako Shibuno's first golfing appearance outside of Japan and she became the second player this decade to win in her first major appearance, joining Hyo Joo Kim, who won the 2014 Evian Championship.
It was a fairy-tale finish for the player known as “Smiling Cinderella”. She smiled all the way around the Marquess course and high fived the gallery from green to tee, even smiling as she hit her second shot into the 18^th green.
She bowed to the crowd in the grandstand as she approached edge of the green and rammed her birdie putt into the centre of the hole, before punching the air and flashing the smile for which she is known.


Her 68, for a total of 18-under-par 270 left her a shot clear of American Lizette Salas, who lipped out from five feet with her birdie attempt on 18 to take outright second after a 65.
World No1 Jin Young Ko, who was looking for her third major title of 2019, was third, her 40ft birdie putt on 18 coming up just short. American Morgan Pressel bogeyed the 18^th after finding the sand with her second shot and splashing out short of the flag.
Ashleigh Buhai, the halfway leader from South Africa, finished fifth after a final round of 70.
She said: “I’m very chuffed. I mean, if you given me a top five finish at the beginning of the week, I most certainly would have taken it.
“Obviously there’s some disappointment, having had the lead over two days and being in the mix, but I kind of steadied myself and I thought I played really good on that back nine. Unfortunately hit it in the rough on 16 to make bogey. I left a few putts, but overall I’m obviously very happy.”
Celine Boutier from France was sixth, Carlota Ciganda from Spain was seventh and the leading Briton was Woburn member Charley Hull in a tie for 24^th. The 2018 champion Georgia Hall and Bronte Law were part of a group tied for 35^th.
The leading amateur for the second consecutive year was Atthaya Thitikul, who also won the Ladies European Thailand Championship on the LET for the second time this year.
 
Shibuno, a rookie on the LPGA of Japan Tour who spent 2018 on Japan’s developmental Step Up Tour, collected $675,000, (£539,000/€610,443) and won the hearts of fans around the world.
The AIG Women’s British Open is her third title this season. In May, she won the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, a major on the JLPGA Tour, and added a second victory in July at the Shiseido Anessa Ladies Open. She started the week ranked 46th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings but was almost unheard of outside Japan.
Buhai, who played with her in the final group on Saturday, added: “She just played amazing, especially yesterday on the back nine, and today on the back nine, she took it on. I think when you’re young, I remember being young like that, too, and you’re fearless, and she still plays that way, which is how you’ve got to play. She just gets up and rips it. She did really great.
“She drove it really good, and putting, she’s an aggressive putter. I think that’s why she made so many putts, as opposed to where I was more dying the putts in. If she missed them, she didn’t scare about the one coming back. She had the four-putt on No. 3, but she bounced back really good.”