Ashleigh Buhai may have won a major championship, but she wants to win any tournament she enters and that’s a shot across the bows of all the players in the Investec South African Women’s Open which tees off at Steenberg Golf Club on Wednesday.
The winner of the title in 2004, 2007 and 2018 won the AIG Women’s Open last year, has risen to 18th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, and Buhai’s return to South Africa to play in her national open championship, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the Sunshine Ladies Tour coincides with the 10th anniversary of the local circuit in its current guise.
It’s not an easy victory lap that Buhai has in mind, either. “I know there’s going to be pressure on me this week,” she said. “I think everybody expects me to tee it up and win, but that’s not golf. We can’t guarantee anything, so hopefully I can just go out there and keep doing what I’ve been doing, my processes, my steps, and the outcome will come.”
Amongst her challengers, she will be up against another woman who has dominated the Investec South African Women’s Open to an even greater extent than she has in defending champion Lee-Anne Pace. Pace has won the title five times, and the tournament is one which she quite deliberately attempts to peak for. In addition, Pace loves the windy conditions which are almost always encountered at Cape Town courses, so she will be a formidable hurdle for Buhai to overcome if she is to win a fourth title.
Additionally, there have been younger players, for whom Buhai has become a role model, if not a mentor, who have emerged over recent times, and are hungry for success at a higher level. The likes of Casandra Alexander who is a two-time winner on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this year, and rookies like Kaleigh Telfer and Kiera Floyd, will be keen to end their Investec Order of Merit campaigns on a high – and there’s nothing higher for them than this title.
Buhai’s contribution to the growth which has produced this situation cannot be overstated. “I don’t know how much part I played, but hopefully a little bit,” said Buhai. “Obviously it’s fantastic to see how it’s grown, how the sponsors are starting to support women’s golf in South Africa. And you can see it in the trend in women’s golf around the world. All prize purses are starting to increase.”
The Sunshine Ladies Tour played for R1.075-million in its first year in 2014, and the purses this year total R16-million. “With six tournaments on the tour now, the next step would be if we could get it to double figures at least,” said Buhai. “And also just to not only have February through April, because to be able to play all year around is what you need. So if you have two a month at least, you know, I understand that the purse might not be what it is in these events, but it’s more just about being able to play, getting that game time.”
Of course, as the major winner she is, Buhai’s example is one admired by more than just her compatriots. From the ranks of the players from 28 other countries represented in the field, there is certain to be a handful who could challenge for – and even win – the title. Chief amongst those is the leader of the Investec Order of Merit on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, Lily May Humphreys of England, who won the Joburg Open last week, a tournament also co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
But Buhai brings the best early-year form of her recent past with her, so toppling her won’t be easy. She finished seventh last week in the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore; she finished 10th in the Honda LPGA Thailand on February 26; and those were all improvements on the share of 24th she had in the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International on February 19.
“I’ve always tried to play the Investec SA Women’s Open when I could,” said Buhai, “but the change in the date over the least three years has made it difficult. This year, with it falling in an off week, I’ve made the effort to come back.”
That alone makes the tournament this year worth the price of admission.
