Ashleigh Ann Buhai (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Simon, born 11 May 1989) is a South African

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who won the 2022 Women's Open, one of the major championships in women's golf.

Amateur career

Buhai had a successful amateur career. She was the youngest player to win the ladies’ South African Amateur Stroke Play and Match Play double. She represented her country in the mainly professional

Women's World Cup of Golf The Women's World Cup of Golf was a professional golf tournament contested by teams of two female golfers representing their respective countries. The tournament was played in several incarnations, first in 1992 as the Sunrise Cup World Team Ch ...

three times while still an amateur.

Professional career

Buhai turned professional the day after her 18th birthday. She won the 2007 Catalonia Ladies Masters, which was her third event as a professional. She became the youngest ever professional winner on the Ladies European Tour (South Korea's

Amy Yang Amy Yang, also known as Yang Hee-Young (, born 28 July 1989) is a South Korean professional golfer, currently playing on the United States–based LPGA Tour and on the Ladies European Tour (LET). Amateur career Yang began playing golf at age 10 ...

won the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters at a younger age as an amateur). Ashleigh now plays under the name Ashleigh Buhai after marrying her husband, David, in December 2016. Buhai earned her

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

card for 2014 at

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

. On 7 August 2022, after 221 LPGA Tour starts, Buhai won her first major title by winning the

AIG Women's Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for T ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. She defeated

Chun In-gee Chun In-gee (, born 10 August 1994), also known as In Gee Chun, is a South Korean professional golfer. She was born in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. She is a three-time major champion, having won the 2015 U.S. Women's Open, the 2016 Evian C ...

on the fourth hole of sudden-death playoff after both players finished regulation play at −10. In December 2022, Buhai won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open by 1 stroke over

Jiyai Shin Jiyai Shin (; ; born 28 April 1988) is a former world No. 1 ranked South Korean professional golfer who primarily plays on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She previously played primarily on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Korea Tour (KLPGA). She has broke ...

. In December 2023, she successfully defended her ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open title with a 1 stroke victory over Minjee Lee at

The Australian Golf Club The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 22 Australian Ope ...

Amateur wins

*2004 Jack Newton Junior International Classic (Australia), South African Amateur Stroke Play, South African Amateur Match Play *2005 South African Amateur Stroke Play *2006 South African Amateur Stroke Play, South African Amateur Match Play, AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions (USA) *2007 South African Amateur Stroke Play, South African Amateur Match Play

Professional wins (22)

LPGA Tour wins (2)

Co-sanctioned by the

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. Most of the players on the tour are European, with members from more than 40 countries internationally. Despite its name, the tour also has tournaments in A ...

. LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Ladies European Tour wins (5)

Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
Co-sanctioned by the

. Ladies European Tour playoff record (1–0)

WPGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open

Sunshine Ladies Tour wins (12)

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

(3) Chase to Investec Cup Glendower, Ladies Tshwane Open, Chase to Investec Cup Blue Valley *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

(1) Sunshine Ladies Tour Open *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

(3) Cape Town Ladies Open, Sun International Ladies Challenge, Investec Royal Swazi (Ladies) *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(2) Joburg Ladies Open, Investec South African Women's Open (3) *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

(1) Canon Sunshine Ladies Tour Open *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

(1) Jabra Ladies Classic *

(1) Investec South African Women's Open (4) Co-sanctioned by the

Other wins (4)

*2004 Acer South African Women's Open (as an amateur) *2005 Pam Golding Classic (Ladies Africa Tour) (as an amateur) *2006 Nedbank Masters (Ladies Africa Tour) (as an amateur) *2007 Acer South African Women's Open (2) (as an amateur)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order.'' ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013. CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2022 WPGA – 2023 Evian) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

LPGA Tour career summary

^ official as of 2024 season
* Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.
** *ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open not counted by LPGA

World ranking

Position in

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...

at the end of each calendar year.

Team appearances

Amateur *

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fren ...

(representing South Africa):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(winners) Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(representing South Africa): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buhai, Ashleigh South African female golfers Ladies European Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of LPGA major golf championships Olympic golfers for South Africa Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Golfers from Johannesburg 1989 births Living people 21st-century South African sportswomen