Scotland – Ashleigh Buhai who held a five-shot lead overnight following remarkable rounds of 65 and 64 on Friday and Saturday did the improbable on Sunday at Muirfield, she overcame a near tragic triple-bogey on the 15th hole to claim a dramatic win over In Gee Chun on the fourth hole a sudden death playoff at the AIG Women’s Open. Buhai (75) and Chun (70) both finished regulation at 10-under-par, and then went on to extra holes matching each other shot for shot in the playoff.
Just after 9pm local time, the South African got up and down from a greenside bunker to secure the victory ( Chun made bogey after driving into a fairway bunker) and, her first major championship win. Buhai joins fellow South Africans – Gary Player and Ernie Els with Open wins at Muirfield.
Chun, the 3 time major winner finally missed a fairway, on their fourth trip down the 18th she found the right fairway bunker with no chance to reach the green in two. Her near par save would have kept the competition alive, as Buhai made a magnificent save from the right greenside bunker that left just a tap in for the win.
Chun parred the last hole in regulation for a one-under 70 to post 274, Buhai ran her lengthy putt for the win some five feet past the hole, but then righted herself to convert the comebacker and force a playoff. Hinako Shibuno (71) finished just one behind at 9 under par.
