ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – You’ll be pleased to hear that Ashleigh Buhai’s golf shoes are hole-free this week at St. Andrews.

A few weeks ago, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, her physiotherapist had a hole cut in her brand new shoes for Team South Africa so that the toe she broke at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when she fell over a bed frame in her Airbnb would have a little more room to move while it continued to heal.

Fortunately, Buhai did not have to change her spikes before the AIG Women’s Open and appears to be doing well, although she continues to deal with some minor pain and discomfort since her injury.

After two rounds on the Old Course, Buhai is currently tied for fifth place at 3 under par. He shot an even-par 72 in the first round and a 69 in the second round in Scotland.

On Thursday, Buhai battled through the difficult conditions that threw the 144-player field into chaos on the Old Course, making four bogeys and four birdies en route to an even opening round.

The second day at St. Andrews was much more exciting for the 35-year-old. In her second round, she made four bogeys, three birdies and two eagles to finish 3 under par. The eagles came after Buhai dunked on both the 14th and 16th holes, a welcome pair of hole-outs that gave the major winner a boost when things got tough on her final nine holes.

“On hole 14, I hit a good drive and hit a 3-wood through the green and that’s where you want to be with that pin today,” Buhai explained. “It was easier to chip back. Somewhere between the two shots, I would have either played a 3-wood or chipped and skimmed the slope and I went with my gut and chipped the ball up and holed it well.

“The 16th was a bonus. I hit a great drive down there. It’s a challenging tee shot. I played it from about 77 meters, about four meters too short, controlled it a little and it spun into the hole.”

Buhai finished her first nine holes with a birdie on the par-4 18th hole, moving her to 5 under par for the tournament with a 31-stroke score. Her second nine holes were rocky as she made a bogey on the second hole and back-to-back bogeys on holes four and five. A birdie on the par-4 6th hole was cancelled out by another bogey on hole seven, but the LPGA Tour veteran recovered with a birdie on the par-3 8th hole to finish her 3-under-par performance.

“It was tough. The wind got stronger when we were playing in the front, so in the back,” Buhai said. “Today was a little tougher, I thought, because yesterday we had those nine holes and the curves kind of helped, and today the curves were painful and the game was a lot longer. I hit the 2 with the 5-wood, the 4 with the hybrid. We played 6- and 7-iron. Yesterday I played the 7 with a sand wedge, and today I played an 8-iron. The curves of the wind definitely made a big difference on the first nine holes.”

Buhai is a former AIG Women’s Open winner and became a first-time Rolex winner at Muirfield in 2022 after defeating In Gee Chun in a four-hole playoff, also in Scotland. It was the first time women had competed in a professional event at the historic venue and Buhai had the honour of becoming only the third South African female golfer to win a major tournament at Muirfield, joining Ernie Els and Gary Player.

Now she is competing in the AIG Women’s Open again and when asked if she feels this is the big tournament where she consistently has the best chance of winning, Buhai wholeheartedly agreed.

“(The AIG Women’s Open) has always suited my game because I can let the ball fly and be creative and that’s what you have to do and I’m a pretty adaptable player,” Buhai said. “Especially today on the back nine, you had to adapt. The wind picked up. There were putts that would have normally been inside the hole, you hit a hole outside the hole and you have to trust that, especially when it’s difficult to putt into the wind right now. But I think that’s why I love this championship so much.”

This is Buhai’s 17th start in the AIG Women’s Open and in addition to her win, she has two other top-15 finishes in her 16 previous appearances: a sole fifth-place finish in 2019 at Woburn Golf and Country Club and a tied 11th-place finish in 2020 at Royal Troon Golf Club.

She is one of the few in this year’s field to have attended both previous editions of the Old Course major championship and, as a self-proclaimed “golf nerd,” she is certainly enjoying her stroll around St. Andrews this week, even in the wind and cold.

But what makes this third experience even more beautiful for the South African is the fact that her parents are here to watch her compete for her third LPGA Tour title in the home of golf, a victory that Buhai would love to achieve in front of her loved ones.

“They don’t come here very often. This was the tournament I really wanted to take them to,” Buhai said. “It’s easier to get to from South Africa than from the US. The year I won they weren’t here. The week before they were here. But because it’s St Andrews this time it’s very special and I know I’ll be playing this tournament for a long time so I can plan and book in advance.”

“Luckily, they were here before. The first time I played here was in 2007 and they were here then. But it’s special to have them here. I also have my aunt and uncle here and a host family that I lived with in the US before Dave and I found a place to live. I call them my American family. I have a nice support system.”