Buhai denies Lee to defend Women’s Australian Open crown

Ashleigh Buhai has an eye fixed on nice mate Karrie Webb’s report haul after holding on to grow to be the primary back-to-back Ladies’s Australian Open champion in additional than a decade.

The steely South African denied Minjee Lee an elusive maiden nationwide championship with a tension-filled one-stroke conquer Australia’s widespread pre-tournament favorite.

Buhai closed with a nervy three-over 75 at The Australian on Sunday to complete with a nine-under 280 complete and efficiently defend the title she received final yr on the Victoria Golf Membership in Melbourne.

The 34-year-old is the primary participant to win successive Opens since Taiwan’s former world No.1 and five-time main champion Yani Tseng in 2011.

However the 2022 Girl’s Open champion is probably not completed but.

After exchanging textual content messages from five-time Open champ Webb all through the match, the triumphant Buhai mentioned “after all” she deliberate on returning for years to come back to attempt to match the legend’s tally.

“That may be fairly some report to beat. I am going to hold coming again down right here so long as you will have me,” mentioned Buhai, who has household in Australia.

“Everyone is aware of that I really like coming right here yearly.”

Regardless of being as many as 4 photographs in entrance down the stretch, Buhai’s victory was something however comfy.

Extremely, the champion could not discover a single par all spherical, whereas the vanquished runner-up rolled in eight.

“I am completely satisfied however I am slightly sad on the similar time. My second-day (75), I let myself down slightly bit,” Lee mentioned.

“However aside from that I had a reasonably good match, regardless of being drained getting over right here (from the US).”

Trailing by 4 photographs with 5 holes to play, Lee minimize Buhai’s result in only one heading up the ultimate gap after the 2022 Ladies’s Open champion discovered the water on the seventeenth.

Nevertheless, a valuable par on No.18 was sufficient for Buhai as Lee was unable to style a ninth birdie in an in any other case valiant three-under spherical of 69.

After beginning the day seven strokes behind, Lee knew she wanted to conjure one thing particular – and she or he delivered, with six birdies within the first 10 holes.

Some wretched dangerous luck on the eleventh gap, when her ball ensconced itself deep within the upslope of a bunker, may have cruelled her momentum.

However the World No.5 dismissed the bogey and swiftly posted a bounce-back birdie on the twelfth.

Lee’s hopes once more appeared to evaporate when she double-bogeyed the par-4 thirteenth after leaving her strategy quick, then watched her too-cute chip shot spin again off the inexperienced.

However Buhai provided her a lifeline with successive bogeys of her personal on the thirteenth and 14th – her first blemishes since Friday – and the house hope replied together with her eighth birdie to scale back the deficit to 2 photographs as soon as once more.

A packed home watches Minjee Lee play her third shot into the par-5 18th. PHOTO: Getty Pictures.

Alas for Lee, Buhai calmly two-putted from 12 toes on the 72^nd gap to shut out the championship.

Lee’s newest close to miss – in ten Open appearances she has completed within the top-10 5 occasions – extends the house title drought, with legendary Karrie Webb’s victory in 2014 being the final time an Australian claimed the Patricia Bridges Bowl.

For Buhai, she joins Webb (2007-08) and Tseng as the one back-to-back winners of the championship in its 49-year historical past.

Former World No.1 and five-time main winner Jiyai Shin, who closed with a 77, shared third with fellow Korean however unrelated Jenny Shin (72) after additionally attending to inside one shot of Buhai early.

They completed at four-under, 5 strokes again, and one forward of West Australian Hannah Inexperienced, who, like Lee, posted her second successive top-five end after a three-under 70 within the remaining spherical.

Compatriot Steph Kyriacou (73) shared fifth place with Inexperienced.