Ashleigh Buhai’s playoff win at Muirfield was gripping. Callum Shinkwin’s victory at the Cazoo Open was heartwarming. And Tom Kim’s comeback at the Wyndham Championship was inspiring.
A fantastic Sunday of professional golf comes to a close, with the highlights belonging to Ashleigh Buhai over In Gee Chun. The South African emerging victorious from a playoff after 72 holes was not enough to separate the two.
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Ashleigh Buhai looked all but certain to hoist the trophy through 14 holes on Sunday, leading by four and only making two bogeys all day. An implosion on 15 saw a treble bogey 7 materialize, opening the door for In Gee Chun to sign for a 1 under 70 and enter the playoff.
Choosing to play the 18th hole on repeat led to a spellbinding playoff, with a bogey and two fighting pars apiece after three visits to the 18th green. On the fourth visit, the standard was still so high. After 75 holes, a 426-yard par 4 with the wind blowing tests the mental and physical fatigue more than in any other sport. With the swing of a veteran who had the accolades of a rookie, Buhai nailed the fairway every time, center cut.
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In the fading light, Buhai shone. She was in unfamiliar territory from the word go today, yet played to a level that deserved the title. After three fairways and three greens in a row, Buhai pushed her approach to the last into the furthest greenside bunker.
Chun took three strokes to reach the green and settled for a bogey 5. Buhai secured the win with the best sand save of her life, winning her over $1 million and her first LPGA and Major win rolled into one.
Her reaction was one of relief, after a rollercoaster of a day, including a treble bogey and a Sunday 75 – she appeared to have thrown it away. Showing the fight to come back and perform under pressure is what makes major champions.
On a side note, the fact that Muirfield will see a wave of celebrations tonight for their first female Major champion is a sign of the progress being made in the game, from the venue allowing female members in 2019 to hosting an after-party in honor of their winner three years later. Let’s hope there are many more.
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Over on the PGA Tour, Joohyung Kim (who goes by ‘Tom’) demonstrated further grit and determination, the sort that has impressed so many spectators since early on Thursday. H showed maturity beyond his 20 years after carding a quadruple bogey 8 on his very first hole, before responding with seven birdies to card an opening 67. He followed up with 64-68 – before going out in eight under par (27 strokes) on Sunday, slamming the door on his competitors with a dazzling display of golf.
He refused to let up. Birdie on 15 to get to -19, birdie on 16 for -20. Tom Kim closed with a Sunday 61, meaning after his opening 8 on Thursday, he was 24 under for the next 71 holes. A five-shot winning margin over John Huh and Sung-Jae Im, who is sat 10th in the FedEx Cup standings – Kim’s first PGA Tour title was a statement to the rest of the world’s best.
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After turning 20 in June, he is the youngest Wyndham Championship winner of all time. He has a long and successful career ahead of him.
And finally, a win for Callum Shinkwin over in Wales. Shinkwin sits just outside the World’s Top 300 and recording another win on the DP World Tour clearly meant everything to him, choking up in his post-round interview. His winnings were just over $300,000, and he was ecstatic.
And it sounds cliché, but money can’t buy those moments. Because they can’t be manufactured. I think all the LIV news and financial figures have made us die-hard golf fans support the little guy that bit extra.
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Yes, all professionals put in the work to get where they are, but there is something about a story where a kid who would’ve been told all his life he is the next big thing in golf, always been the best in his club, town, and county – to then jump into the big pond with the pros and suddenly seem so…average.
It would take its toll, and the outburst of emotion seen from Shinkwin today encapsulates all those feelings that are experienced by the lesser-known Tour pro, the one who would perhaps love to play in a LIV event to secure his future but doesn’t want to give up on that Ryder Cup dream, or that Top 50 World Ranking status, or that lifetime Tour membership.
Sedgefield, Celtic Manor, and Muirfield provided the goods today. The three victors all demonstrated the desire and talent it takes to win at the highest level, and it won’t go unnoticed. It made for great viewing and shows that there really are no free lunches. Each win at this level is earned and justifies the thousands of hours that go into each aspect of this confusing and brilliant game. For this weekend alone, controversy and anger took a back seat, and milestones were achieved, emotions ran wild, and we saw displays of golf – on both male and female professional Tours – that definitely meant something.
Cover Image Via startribune
