Ashleigh Buhai

2022 - 8 - 7

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Image courtesy of "LPGA"

Ashleigh Buhai Wins 2022 AIG Womens Open at Muirfield | LPGA ... (LPGA)

It took 15 years of hard work and patience, and 76 holes of determination at Muirfield. Now, South African Ashleigh Buhai is a major champion.

With a thrilling four days at Muirfield, Buhai finally added her name to the LPGA Tour record books. Buhai’s 6-footer for par came up just short, leaving her a tap-in for bogey, and Chun nailed the comebacker to force another hole. On the third trip back to No. 18, Buhai’s birdie attempt was right on line, but heartbreakingly died to the left. Buhai had a prime opportunity at No. 17 to reclaim the lead. But it all went haywire at No. 15 for Buhai, who found a fairway bunker off the tee and hit out sideways, needing two shots to escape the deep rough. Buhai became the 44th player to become a Rolex First-Time Winner at a major championship.

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Image courtesy of "usatoday.com"

Ashleigh Buhai becomes first woman to win a major at Muirfield ... (usatoday.com)

Ashleigh Buhai joins a storied list of Muirfield champions that includes Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino.

Buhai met her husband, David, at a golf academy in Johannesburg and the couple began dating long distance 15 years ago. Buhai, née Simon, began playing golf at age 6 and has been the face of women’s golf in South Africa since she was a teenager. Standing on the 15th tee, Buhai held a three-shot lead when her worst drive of the week found a poor lie in a fairway bunker. Buhai became the third South African to win a British Open at Muirfield, joining her heroes Els and Gary Player, who won in 1959. The pair traded sudden-death blows down the 18th four times, with the Muirfield clubhouse providing a dramatic backdrop. During a practice round at Muirfield, Ashleigh Buhai pulled up a YouTube video of Ernie Els’ magnificent bunker shot on the par-3 13th from his victory 20 years ago for inspiration.

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Image courtesy of "ESPN"

Ashleigh Buhai wins Women's Open after playoff for first major title (ESPN)

Buhai kept her composure to beat In Gee Chun -- and the setting sun -- in a playoff at Muirfield on Sunday for her first career victory in an LPGA Tour event.

But the South Korean hit a near-perfect bunker shot to within a few feet of the hole to salvage the par. Chun was in trouble on the first two playoff holes, but her short game bailed her out both times. This was the first time the Women's Open was played at Muirfield, a club that didn't even allow female members until 2019 following a vote two years earlier. "But I'm very proud of myself, the way I dug deep and kept myself in it to get into that playoff.'' "My caddie said to me on the last one, I don't want to brag, but she said, 'Show them why you're No. 1 in bunkers this year.' So, you know, she gave me the confidence. With the light fading, the South African golfer made a superb bunker shot on the fourth playoff hole to leave herself with a short par putt, while Chun settled for a bogey.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Million-dollar Ashleigh Buhai wins playoff for Women's Open and ... (The Guardian)

South African Ashleigh Buhail defeated Chun In-gee after four extra holes having let a big lead slip with a triple bogey on the 15th hole.

This was, again, Buhai’s to lose and this time from the middle of the fairway. On the first re-playing of the 18th, Chun had a wonderful shot from a greenside bunker to rescue a four. On hole 74, Chun fluffed a chip from left of the green. At the last, the eventual champion rattled her putt for a three past the hole. Buhai advanced the ball 10 yards, with her fourth shot just short of the green. For Buhai, glory and $1.1m from a major she looked at one point determined to give away.

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Image courtesy of "CBSSports.com"

Ashleigh Buhai captures emotional first major victory at 2022 AIG ... (CBSSports.com)

After a near-disastrous triple bogey late in her round, Buhai responded like a champion late.

All at the same time and all in the present. This takes place all the time all over the golf world, but it rarely happens at this level with this much at stake. Buhai poured in a short one to give her the championship that could have slid through her fingers so many times over the previous several hours. A beautiful result to a long summer and an even lengthier career. She gripped the front of her cap and pulled it over her eyes, the reality of what she had undoubtedly always envisioned too much for her to bear in the moment. She put both hands on the steering wheel, though, and got the championship back in her grasp.

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Image courtesy of "Just Women's Sports"

Ashleigh Buhai leads British Open heading into final round (Just Women's Sports)

Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa holds an impressive five-shot lead heading into the final round at the AIG Women's Open.

The wind is going to blow, which is good. To be able to I think shoot that score in those conditions, you have to be able to pat yourself on the back,” said Buhai after her impressive third round. “So much so that I thought I was 6-under, not 7, so I was 8-under playing the last, which I think I have to look back is probably one of the best rounds of golf I’ve ever played.”

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Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Ashleigh Buhai wins Women's British Open after playoff (The Washington Post)

With the light fading, the South African golfer made a superb bunker shot on the fourth playoff hole to leave herself with a short par putt, while Chun settled ...

On the first, Chun sent her second shot into a bunker while Buhai found the heart of the green. “Forgive me, there will be a few tears,” Buhai said during the trophy presentation. “But I’m very proud of myself, the way I dug deep and kept myself in it to get into that playoff.” This was the first time the Women’s British Open was played at Muirfield, a club that didn’t even allow female members until 2019 following a vote two years earlier. “My caddie said to me on the last one, I don’t want to brag, but she said ‘Show them why you’re No. 1 in bunkers this year.’ So, you know, she gave me the confidence. Maybe it’s got something to do with Muirfield and South Africans and bunker shots.”

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Image courtesy of "Golf Monthly"

Ashleigh Buhai Wins Thrilling AIG Women's Open In Tense Playoff (Golf Monthly)

With four holes to go, it seemed that Ashleigh Buhai was on her way to a first LPGA Tour and Major title in 221 starts. However, after finding a bunker off ...

A double bogey putt lacked any conviction, as it came up well shy of the target, after tapping-in, she was back into a share of the lead with Chun. Now a freelance writer for Golf Monthly and the PGA, he covers all aspects of the game, from Tour news to equipment testing and buyers’ guides. For Buhai, it wasn't quite a disaster, Chun was up ahead and, following a par at the last, Buhai knew she would need a one-under score over the last two holes to win. Although unclear as to whether she could take a stance to get back to the fairway, the South African played it into the thick rough. Buhai though has been one of the big scorers this week and, thanks to a run of pars whilst others struggled, she extended the lead to three. With four holes to go, it seemed that Ashleigh Buhai was on her way to a first LPGA Tour and Major title in 221 starts.

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Image courtesy of "Golf.com"

What it looked like as Ashleigh Buhai gave away The Open, then ... (Golf.com)

MUIRFIELD, Scotland — David Buhai is 6-foot-4 or so, a golly giant, but on this day he was not tall enough. He climbed up onto the back of a golf cart for a ...

For hours they had felt this party coming, and had prepared a tasty catchphrase for the night. When Ashleigh tapped in for her 4, David ducked under the ropes and bounded in her direction, reaching his wife even before her caddie could, bear-hugging her into the air. It’s the kind of shot players practice on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, assured that somewhere on the path from Thursday to Sunday, they’ll find a weird moment in a weird bunker and they’ll want to know how to do it. Her hubby was behind the 18th green now as Ashleigh sized up a putt to win it all in regulation. On the first hole in the playoff, Chun’s approach fell out into the greenside bunker. The beer had worked on his nerves, and his own censor. “It’s always harder for those watching,” Ashleigh would say later, reminding the press that in 2019 it was David who lugged around a backpack full of beers to ease the tension. Chun splashed out of the bunker to two feet. His wife Nicole had missed the cut but they hung around to walk with the Buhais all weekend. Ashleigh has sprinted to that 5-shot lead by shooting 65 in the second round followed by a preposterous 64 in the third. Her niece had been in control of the championship for the last 24 hours. But David was back now, alongside Michael Paterson, the husband to Ashleigh’s caddie Tanya. There is a sense of comfort once you blow a lead.

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Image courtesy of "GolfDigest.com"

An out-of-nowhere win that nearly became a devastating loss leaves ... (GolfDigest.com)

The 33-year-old South African won the AIG Women's British Open despite a late triple bogey, taking the title in a dramatic four-hole playoff over In Gee ...

Only once on that almost fateful 15th tee did she succumb to the fault strong wind most commonly causes—the shorter than normal backswing that leads to a loss of timing and less than satisfactory impact conditions. Today, Buhai is the AIG Women’s Open champion, a first-time winner on the LPGA Tour and $1,095,000 richer after she followed her compatriots, Open champions Gary Player and Ernie Els, in claiming a major title over the peerless East Lothian links. She is also the first female South African to win a major since Sally Little claimed the LPGA Championship in 1980, nine years before Buhai was born. Before this week in what is now a 15-year professional career Buhai had just three Ladies European Tour wins to her name and only one top-10 finish (alongside 20 missed cuts) in 42 major championship starts, a T-5 in the Women’s Open Championship at Woburn three years ago. Seven times she failed to qualify for the weekend, most recently one week earlier at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open. A lowly 84th on the Rolex World Rankings, she was a relatively unheralded 50th on the LPGA’s Race to CME Globe points list. I’m proud of the fact that I hit that fairway every time.” It all added up to a triple-bogey 7 and the complete disappearance of the aforementioned lead. Off the 15th tee, the South African made the error you just can’t make at Muirfield—home of 147 bunkers, most of them deep. Or the one that was nearly told. But that rather pedestrian description doesn’t begin to tell the tale that has to be told. Nick Price’s sad deterioration over the last six holes at Royal Troon to lose the 1982 Open is another. Doug Sanders missing from three feet to win the 1970 Open at St. Andrews is one example.

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