In 2018, I stood behind Ashleigh Buhai on the 18th tee box at Westlake. I watched as she set up the ball, studied it for a few moments and swung in an effortless motion. The ball started off low, rose and soared down the fairway. That day Ash broke a seven-year title-drought on the Ladies European Tour in the Investec SA Women’s Open.
Walking off the green, she said: “That’s the first box ticked for 2018. The next box is a win on the LPGA Tour.”
Who knew we would have to wait five years?
Since her Major breakthrough in the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield last August, she has won the Australian Women’s Open and a fourth SA Women’s Open title. I watched as that same confident swing and putting stroke earned her the ShopRite LPGA Classic title on Sunday.
And that win made it four trophies on four continents in less than 10 months. She’d come full circle and showed the world she’s not a one-hit wonder.
“Yes, I knew the Major win technically counted as my first LPGA Tour win, but this one was huge for me,” she said. “After Muirfield, I won in Australia and at home, and my one big goal this year was to get the monkey off my back and win in the US. I've been playing some really solid golf and I knew that if I kept up this form it had to come. I know it sounds strange coming from a Major winner, but now I finally feel like a real winner.”
As a youngster, Ash dominated the local golf scene, distinguished herself on the international stage and won four professional events as an amateur, including the 2004 SA Women’s Open at the age of 14 and the SA Women’s Masters at age 16. She is still the only amateur to achieve this feat in both flagship events and the only amateur to win the SA Women’s Open twice.
Naturally, expectations were huge when she joined the paid ranks in June 2007, and she didn’t disappoint, breaking her duck in her third Ladies European Tour start in the Spanish Women’s Open. She won again in 2011 and, after a couple of dry seasons, she was in striking form when the Sunshine Ladies Tour launched in 2014, racking up three titles in succession.
Another dry spell followed and, in 2017, just before the start of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, Ash joked that she’d better win quickly before people start wondering what’s happened to her. She added four more trophies to the mantle, including the Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies, and took that form to the US, where she had a career-best season on the LPGA Tour.
Year-on-year she improved until the life-changing Major triumph in 2022. I asked her recently why she thinks it took her so long. Why, at nearly 35, is she playing the best golf of her career?
“I don’t mean to sound flippant, but that’s golf,” she said.
“Since I turned pro, I’ve had some incredible success and some really bad breaks. Like being in a great position in the final stage of the LPGA Q-School with one round to play and contracting a stomach virus. Then, in 2014, I beat three other players in a playoff to get my LPGA Tour card.
“In 2021, I finally made the top 80 to qualify for the Race to the CME Globe. Then I injured my foot just before the start of the Malaysia event. After taking six weeks to recover, I tied for second in the Blue Bay LPGA. That was my best finish on the LPGA Tour, and it took me nearly a decade to get there.
“I’ve had seasons where injuries or surgery hampered my form, but I’ve had some good fortune, too, that helped me to keep my LPGA and Ladies European Tour cards. I have always said that when you choose sport as a career, you have to accept the good and the bad.
“It’s crazy how things happen in life, but that’s just the way it is. The only thing you can do is accept it, take the knocks and stay positive through the ups and downs. Right now, I am incredibly positive. I feel anything is possible. I’m in the best form I’ve been for over a decade, and I feel that I just need to keep this positive momentum going, stay patient and let it happen.”
She also pointed out that some key changes in the last few years positively influenced her career.
A few months after Ash tied the knot with David, her caddie for eight years, the Buhais split up on the golf course. And at the start of 2022, Ash began working with a sport psychologist. These two factors undoubtedly contributed to her upward trajectory.
“Dave and I split up as it was the best decision for our relationship, our finances and for my game. It wasn’t my choice, but Dave realised that I relied too heavily on him. He felt I needed to feel the shots and read the putts myself to build back my confidence. And he was right.
“I first worked with Tim Bean, and then I approached Laura Davies to use her long-time caddie, Tanya Paterson. We had often shared accommodation, and with Laura not playing as much golf any more, she gave us her blessing. I don’t need to tell you what we have achieved together, but having Tanya on the bag has been life-changing. I think the fact that we were friends off the golf course long before she started working for me is good, because she knows me really well. She knows when to get serious, and when to keep things lighthearted, like she did when I blew a five-stroke lead in the AIG Women’s Open. (Note: she won the playoff).
“Dave and my parents are my rocks. My coach Doug Wood has been with me for more than 12 years. And he was the one who introduced me to Duncan McCarthy, my mental coach. In this sport a strong support base is critical. I hit the shots, but thanks to this group of people, I can play freely. I can stay calm under pressure. I can execute the shots I want to and I back myself out there. And that is a great place to be in this game.”
Over the years, I have devoted countless column inches to the wunderkind named Ashleigh Simon and I’ve been on the journey with her every step of the way. It may have taken her nearly two decades to fulfil that teenage promise I first reported about, but one thing is certain — my late bloomer is far from done.
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