Buhai opens with 4-under 68 in Meijer LPGA Classic

Jun 16, 2023 | Featured, South Africans abroad

Ashleigh Buhai made five birdies on Thursday on her way to a four-under-par 68 in the first round of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give tournament at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

She also dropped just one shot – on the 12th – and finished 18 holes in a share of 10th. That was just two shots off the lead which was shared by five players: Americans Lindsay Weaver-Wright, Cheyenne Knight and Jennifer Kupcho, Japan’s Akaya Furue and Frida Kinhult of Sweden. They all led by one from four players on five-under. Buhai shared 10th with 11 other players in a congested top end of the leaderboard.

Buhai, who won last week’s tournament on the LPGA Tour for her first title in the United States, started with three birdies and no dropped shots on her front nine. She made her bogey on the par-four 12th, but answered that slip-up with two birdies in a row on the 13th and 14th.

The other South African in the field was Paula Reto, who opened with a two-over-par 74. That, in a low-scoring first round, was only good enough for a share of 118th. She will have to work hard to make her way into the weekend’s play.

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