Major champion Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa prevailed on American soil for the first time when she won the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday in Galloway, N.J.
Buhai, 34, fired her second straight round of 65 to finish at 14-under 199 in the 54-hole event, winning for the fourth time worldwide in the past 12 months.
The reigning Women’s Open champion from last year at Muirfield, Buhai had five career Ladies European Tour victories to her name and one in Australia last winter but had yet to win in the U.S.
“It’s definitely the best golf I’ve ever played in my career, but I think we’ve found a good balance,” Buhai said on the Golf Channel broadcast. “I said I’m on the older side on tour nowadays, one of the veterans, but I think between everything I’m doing between my putting, working with a putting coach, my swing coach and the mental side, when I put them all together I know that I can compete and have a chance to win.”
Buhai, who entered Sunday three shots off the pace, beat South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim by one stroke.
Kim had a chance to force a playoff if she eagled the par-5 18th at the Seaview Golf Club’s Bay Course, but her pitch shot came up short and she had to settle for a birdie that gave her a final-round 68 and pushed her to 13 under.
Buhai rolled in five of her seven birdies over her first eight holes, including a long putt at No. 5, to make a charge up the leaderboard. Her lone bogey came at the par-3 11th, but she rebounded with a birdie 3 at No. 14 and added a birdie on the last that ended up solidifying her winning score.
“Obviously I got off to such a good start, and the putt on 5 is a hallelujah,” Buhai said. “It’s like, those things need to happen for you to win, obviously. But at no point did I think it was mine until now, until it was really confirmed.”
Yan Liu of China shot a final-round 67 to take third place at 11 under. Nann Koerstz Madsen of Denmark fired a 65 and tied Sweden’s Dani Holmqvist for fourth at 10 under.
Seeking her first LPGA win, Holmqvist led the tournament after each of the first two rounds but only managed a 1-over 72 on Sunday.
–Field Level Media