Ana Pelaez wins Aramco China Championship — Ana Pelaez delivered a spectacular final round to claim the Aramco China Championship, using a nine-under 64 that included a hole-in-one to surge past a trio of English contenders. The Spaniard’s victory at Mission Hills in Shenzhen marked her second Ladies European Tour title and her first since the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open.
English hopes dashed as Pelaez shines
Charlotte Heath began the final day tied for the lead with Luna Sobron at 16 under, with Mimi Rhodes just one shot behind and Annabell Fuller three strokes back. But Pelaez, who started the day trailing, produced the round of the week to overtake them all.
Fuller mounted an early charge with four birdies in her first six holes to reach 16 under, but three bogeys on the back nine checked her progress. A closing birdie left her at 14 under and in ninth place, six shots behind the winner.
Heath could only manage an even-par 73, mixing two birdies with two bogeys, and finished in a share of third at 16 under alongside Sobron, China’s Shiyuan Zhou, Ruixin Liu and Liqi Zeng.
Rhodes, a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour in 2025 and a Solheim Cup debutant in September, was the best-placed English player. She signed for a bogey-free 71 with birdies at the fourth and 17th to finish outright second at 17 under, three strokes adrift of Pelaez.
Alice Hewson, the fourth English player in the field, ended the week in 20th at 11 under.
Pelaez’s flawless finish
Pelaez’s 64 was built on seven birdies, including three in a row to close, and an ace at the par-three 13th. The hole-in-one highlighted a flawless back nine that saw her pull clear of the field and secure the title.
Her compatriot Sobron, who had shared the overnight lead, carded an even-par 73 to finish in the five-way tie for third.
Sakuma triumphs in Japan
On the LPGA Tour, Shuri Sakuma won her first title at the Toto Japan Classic, closing with an eight-under 64 to reach 20 under and win by four shots in her homeland. Sakuma, who had previously won eight times on the LPGA of Japan Tour, started the final round behind 54-hole leader Akie Iwai but overtook her with a brilliant display at Taihelyo Club Minori Course.
Iwai finished second at 16 under after a one-under 71. The Toto Japan Classic was the final event of the LPGA Tour’s late-season Asian Swing, which also included stops in China, South Korea and Malaysia. The tour now returns to the United States for The Annika in Florida.
