Buhai looking for first win
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai has come close to finding the winner’s circle this year on the LPGA Tour, and through one round at the Blue Bay LPGA, she’s in position to challenge for a win again.
Buhai, who has a tie for fifth and a runner-up finish on her resume this year, fired a 5-under-par 67 in round one and sits just two shots back of the lead.
She said she was ‘very happy’ with the way she played Wednesday, with just one bogey on her scorecard on a golf course she admitted was a tough one.
“(People) told me the greens were tough and very undulating. (In my) practice round, they played very firm but luckily the rain yesterday softened them a little bit. So they are very tough if they are firm, but today they were a little more receptive which helped to get it closer,” she said.
Buhai knows there are still three rounds to go, but she said she’s happy with where she’s at through one round.
“Obviously every week you enter, you want to win. But we've got three days to go. There are a lot of good players obviously playing this week. I came close this year… I found this week I was trying to do the same thing with my putting that I did that week, and it showed today,” she said. “So if I just keep that going, hopefully I'll have a chance on Sunday.”
Sister act
Sometimes, it just takes a little laugh to get over a rough start.
Just ask Jessica Korda, who, paired with sister Nelly, managed to get over making a quadruple-bogey 9 on her third hole of the day to make six birdies and get back to 1-under par for the day.
“She was kind of laughing, like, ‘well at least it’s not a 10,” said Jessica with a smile of her sister’s reaction to her big number.
Both sisters said they really enjoyed their day playing together, firing matching 1-under-par 69s and talking about ‘pretty much everything.’
For Nelly, it’s her first year on Tour, and she said having older sister Jessica around has made things a lot easier.
“It’s made me more comfortable,” said Nelly. “She’s my best friend. So having her out here has been a blast this year.”
The Jutanugarn sisters – Ariya and Moriya – were also paired together in Wednesday’s opening round and shot matching 3-under-par 69s to sit four shots back of the lead.
With their matching scores, both the Jutanugarn’s and the Korda’s will be playing together once again on Thursday.
Sharp takes veteran as caddie
With her usual caddie recovering from surgery on her ACL, Alena Sharp turned to fellow Canadian Gail Graham as her caddie this week.
Graham, who has been working as a broadcaster with the Golf Channel after her LPGA Tour career, where she won twice, came to a close.
Sharp said Graham was willing to come to China for this week’s Blue Bay LPGA and will also caddie for her during the season finale at the CME Group Tour Championship while Sharp’s usual caddie, Sarah Bowman, recovers from ACL reconstruction.
Sharp fired a 3-under-par 69 Wednesday in China to sit four shots back of the lead held by Sun Young Yoo.
She said the first round with Graham was a good one, as the two-time LPGA Tour winner was happy to provide Sharp with pointers.
“She's really knowledgeable. She's played on Tour and she's a teacher. She just gave me a little tip yesterday. I just looked a little stiff over the ball. Tried to loosen it up. Really been playing really well, just haven't been scoring well,” said Sharp. “It was nice to have a nice first round to start the tournament.”
Munoz looking for best result of the season
A year ago, Azahara Munoz notched her fourth top 10 of the season right here at the Blue Bay LPGA, and through one round at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club, it’s looking like she’s on track for a great result once again.
Munoz fired a 4-under-par 68 – with no bogeys – on Wednesday and sits just three shots back of the lead.
She admitted she did ‘everything’ well during the first round.
“Hit my driver really well. Only missed one fairway. Actually, my irons were really good. It's kind of hard to judge with the wind, so I missed a… few greens, but hitting good shots, anyways. Then when I didn't, I made really nice up-and-downs. I would say I putted pretty solid. Every putt that I hit, if it didn't go in, it was barely,” she said.
Munoz said she had no complaints about her start, and is in position for her first top-10 result of the season, saying the golf course this week just fits her eye.
“I think it's because the greens are so big but they are -- it's like little sections on every green, and I like that you really have to focus on small targets,” she stated.
Ernst enjoying the course
By her own admission, Austin Ernst ‘loves’ the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club.
And through two rounds, her admiration is showing.
Ernst shot a 4-under-par 68 Wednesday, including birding three of her last four holes, and said she played ‘really well.
“I got a lot of good looks at birdie. Actually, lipped out a lot of putts. So, it was really just getting a lot of looks at birdie, and then rolling a few in. But I made it pretty easy on myself,” she said. “Hit the fairway or just off the fairway and hit a bunch of greens, which is what you need to do out here. Hit it actually relatively close in the right quadrants out here.”
Ernst has three top-10s on the season, but none since March.
Returning to a place where she’s had success in the past has re-motivated her, and she’s looking forward to ending the year as strongly as she started it.
“I know the golf course really well. This is my fourth year here… There's something about it that I really like, so I hope we keep coming back,” she said. “Got good memories, too, which is always nice. When you stand on greens, you know you made a bunch of birdies. Kind of at the beginning of the week, you kind of are in a good mind-set.”
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