Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa hits a tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 20, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington Former champion Ashleigh Buhai will lead the SA challenge at the Women’s Open starting at St Andrews, in Scotland, on Thursday. Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
Ashleigh Buhai will lead a four-player SA challenge at the Women’s Open starting at St Andrews, in Scotland, on Thursday.
Buhai triumphed in the Women’s Open in 2022 to collect her first major title, and became just the second South African winner of the tournament since Alison Sheard in 1979.
The 35-year-old Buhai is a five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour (LET), with her last victory coming in March 2023 in the SA Women’s Open. Buhai is also a four-time SA Women’s Open champion, having twice won it as an amateur — the first in 2004 as a teenager.
Buhai is also now a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, after she won the LPGA Classic in June last year. Currently 57th in the women’s world rankings, Buhai is the top-ranked SA player on the world stage.
The 30th edition of the Investec SA Women’s Open was truly an Out of the Ordinary tournament. Watch SA's very own major champion, Ashleigh Buhai, win her 4th title and hear why Investec is proud to be the title sponsor of this 'Homegrown. World class' tournament #InvestecGolf pic.twitter.com/bK8K8iGoF8
— Investec (@Investec) March 22, 2023
The vastly experienced Buhai will be joined by Casandra Alexander, Lee-Anne Pace and Paula Reto.
Pace, meanwhile, has been a prolific winner on the LET with 11 victories to her name. Five of those wins came in her breakthrough season on the LET in 2010. With all her triumphs through the years, a major has been the one title that has so far eluded her. In fact, her best finish came at the Evian Championship in 2015 when Pace ended in a tie for sixth.
The 43-year-old now finds herself 223rd in the world, and the lowest-ranked SA player in the field.
Reto (171st in the world) and Alexander (209th in the world) complete the SA lineup.
Related Topics: