Four birdies and a bogey saw Ashleigh Buhai to a three-under-par 69 on Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s 2020 season finale tournament, the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.
Her solid start saw her end the day four shots off the hot pace set by Lexi Thompson of the United States, who made eight birdies in a stunning round of 65 which had her in a one-stroke lead over Norway’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen, and two ahead of countrywoman Megan Kang, world number two Sei Young Kim of South Korea, and Germany’s Caroline Masson.
Buhai, South Africa’s top-ranked woman, bogeyed early in her round on the third, but she kept things in check as she went on to make par for five consecutive holes after that. She picked up her first shot of the day on the par-four ninth, so she headed homeward at level-par. Things stayed as they were with pars for the next five holes, and she picked up her second birdie on the 15th. That sparked her to a fast finish, with birdies on the par-five 17th and a final one on the 18th.
World number one Jin Young Ko of South Korea was one stroke ahead of Buhai on four-under, together with five other players.
The action from the second round can be caught on SuperSport channel 213 from 8pm.
