Ashleigh Buhai pulled off a court coup at the Women’s British Open on Sunday, August 7, beating South Korean Chun In-gee at Muirfield.
It was a memorable title for the South African because it was her first major title. And it wasn’t all a splendid run to that victory. She had, in fact, survived a near-disastrous 15th hole before finally clinching her victory.
It was a good run t the outset, though. The South African had a five-shot lead until the fifth hole, when things went awry, and she became level with her Korean counterpart. She didn’t lose her bearing, however. And this would turn out in her favour at the end of the day.
The 18th hole was a semblance of a “fail” for the golf rivals as they both missed long birdies and tumbled to a playoff. It was a moment of tremendous pressure, especially for Buhai, who plodded through three playoff holes and then nicked a clincher in the fourth playoff.
With that, she was already on track to win. And when she did win, her husband, who was on the field with her, erupted in celebration. She would joke after her win that there are a lot of South Africans with grey hair “after that 15th hole.”
