Fresh from her runner’s-up spot in the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic at the weekend, Ashleigh Simon-Buhai is one of the early starters when the US Women’s Open gets under way at Trump National on Thursday.
Buhai moved up 89 positions on the Women’s Rolex Rankings to No146 and is one of three South Africans in the next women’s Major, one of five on the annual calendar. The other South Africans in the field are Lee-Anne Pace, who remains at No76 in the rankings and Paula Reto, who dropped seven places this week to No213.
‘We both played great last week,’ Buhai said of her and Catherine Kirk after the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. ‘Today, five-under (67), no bogeys. I had three lip-outs on the back nine, but I hit the putts and the shots that I had to just keep hitting. Finally on 18, it was just a little close, and enough to think maybe I could hole the putt, but the two shots Katherine hit on 16 and 18 to work it around trees were fantastic, so all good to her.’
Buhai will undoubtedly carry confidence into the US Open and with an early tee-off time she has an opportunity to go out with little pressure and put a solid number on the board.
Here are selected tee-off times (South African time, six hours ahead of New Jersey):
FIRST ROUND
12.45pm (10th hole): Ashleigh Buhai (SA), Pei-Ying Tsai (Taipei), (a) Emma Bradley (USA)
1.07pm (10th hole): Lexi Thompson (USA), Brooke Henderson (Can)
1.29pm (10th hole): Ariya Jutanugarn (Thail), So Yeon Ryu (Kor)
1.40pm (10th hole): In Gee Chun (Kor)
1.51pm (1st hole): Amy Yang (Kor)
1.51pm (10th hole): Sei Young Kim (Kor)
2.24pm (10th hole): Paula Reto (SA)
6.52pm (1st hole): Suzann Pettersen (Nor), Michelle Wie (USA)
7.18pm (10th hole): Inbee Park (Kor), Lydia Ko (NZ), Shanshan Feng (China)
7.47pm (10th hole): Lee-Anne Pace (SA)
Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images
