Women’s British Open has seen a different leader after reach round and that trend continued after the third when Ashleigh Buhai stormed to a menacing 5-stroke lead at Muirfield.
The South African who is still searching for her first major win on the LPGA circuit stormed up the leaderboard after a 7-under 64 third round giving her a total of 14-under 199.
Buhai also led this very tournament in 2019 at Woburn after the second round but faltered towards the end to finish fifth which remains her best result at a major thus far.
She is in a much more comfortable position this time around and only needs to avoid major pitfalls to secure her first golf major. Her latest score came courtesy of eight birdies and only a single bogey on the last hole.
Five of those birdies came on the first seven holes but the most impressive was on the par-5 17th when she chipped in from off the green after hitting her tee shot into the rough.
Day 1 leader Hinako Shibuno of Japan (66) and the second-round leader In Gee Chun of South Korea (70) were tied for second with seven-time major winner Inbee Park and Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden another two shots back. Realistically the rest of the pack is chasing a second-place finish.
Winning the Women’s British Open will give Ashleigh Buhai her first win on the LPGA Tour complementing her three victories on the Ladies European Tour. Though she may not have won a major before, a five-stroke lead gives her some margin for error in the final round.
