Ashleigh Buhai claimed her first major after a dramatic playoff against South Korean No. 11 Chun In-gee.
After maintaining her composure for so long, she burst into tears and hugged her husband David, who had watched anxiously as he spent the day caddies for another South Korean, Lee Jeong-eun.
Buhai dedicated the win to her husband who had CDd for her for eight years before they married in 2016. Then, both for the health of their marriage and for financial reasons, the couple decided that it was better to engage in separate golfing activities than one. “This one is for you, David,” she said in tears as she went on to explain “this has been a 15-year journey” as the pair met when she was a teenager and he was a talented aspiring golfer on a golf club in Johannesburg academy.
It was far from an easy win for the world No. 84, despite starting the day with a five-shot lead as she made a triple bogey on the 15th hole before advancing to the playoff against three-time great. winner Chun.
“Forgive me if there will be a few tears. Many years and dedication have gone into this. No doubt there will be people in South Africa at this point with much more gray hair, especially after the 15th.”
“Okay Ashleigh,” Buhai said encouragingly to herself as she hit her first shot of the fourth shot in the playoff before landing in the bunker, but the self-encouragement paid off as she made a beautiful chip to get out of trouble . It was reminiscent of Ernie Els’ bunker shot on the 13th to help him to his victory 20 years ago at the same location, where he too needed a play-off. She’d been watching videos of that famous shot for inspiration this week, and it paid off.