SA WOMEN’S OPEN

AFTER a stellar start to their 2020 campaign, Ashleigh and David Buhai have arrived in Cape Town targeting a fourth Investec South African Women’s Open crown this week.

The €200 000 event, cosanctioned by the Sunshine Ladies Tour, the Ladies European Tour and the Women’s PGA of South Africa, will be played from tomorrow until Saturday.

Of course, Ashleigh Buhai needs no introduction. Unless you missed the part where she married her bagman David in December 2016 and you’re still wondering what happened to Ashleigh Simon.

Ashleigh won four professional events as an amateur, including the 2004 SA Women’s Open at the age of 14 and the SA Women’s Masters at age 16. The youngest champion and only amateur to achieve this feat in both events, she joined the paid ranks in 2007 and within three starts, she broke her duck on the Ladies European Tour and won again in 2011. After a couple of injury plagued seasons, Ashleigh relaunched her career with three successive victories in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s first season in 2014.

She pushed her tally to 11 last week with a five-shot victory in the Jabra Ladies Classic, following her most successful season on the LPGA Tour last year. She finished 51st on the official LPGA Money List and placed 22nd on the final Ladies European Tour Order of Merit.

Thanks to a top 13 finish in the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open three weeks ago, she has moved to 103rd in the Rolex Women’s Golf Ranking.

“I keep an eye on the rankings and the numbers, but really, all I want to do is go out there and play good golf,” said Buhai after the win at Glendower.

“I have had some really bad breaks and some great successes. It’s crazy how things happen in life, but when you choose sport as a career, you have to accept the good and the bad. It’s just the way it is.”

While campaigning on the LPGA Tour, Ashleigh employs Tanya Patterson, and David works for Swede Madelene Sagstrőm, who won the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January. But on home soil, when David picks up the bag for Ashleigh, good things tend to happen.

“We split up on the golf course when we got married, because we want to stay married,” Ashleigh jokes. “Seriously though, we decided together that it wasn’t fair on me to carry all the pressure and this way our finances are not only dependant on my results. It’s worked out brilliantly for us, but when we get home, I get to have him back on the bag.” Lali Stander