MBABANE, Swaziland (6 May 2017) -  She was hoping to go low in the final round of the Investec Royal Swazi Open in Swaziland, but two points on the final day was more than good enough to earn Ashleigh Buhai a stash of cash and a seventh Sunshine Ladies Tour title.

Buhai shared the winner’s circle with men’s competition winner Peter Karmis on Saturday after she birdied the final two holes at the Royal Swazi Spa Country Club to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the 72-hole Modified Scoring event.

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A little less jetlag and a lot more gumption saw Ashleigh Buhai open up a three point lead in the R100 000 Investec Royal Swazi Open on Thursday.

The first round leader arrived at the Royal Swazi Spa Country Club in Swaziland via Dallas, London and Johannesburg on the back of seven straight weeks on the Ladies PGA Tour.

She battled to an opening round of 73 that featured a pair of birdies and three bogeys and was worth one point in the unique Modified Scoring event, but racked up four birdies for eight points that helped to boost the 2017 Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies champion’s overall tally to four points.

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MBABANE, Swaziland (3 May 2017) – She left South Africa as the 2017 Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies winner and two months later, Ashleigh Buhai went straight back to the top of the pile in the first round of the Investec Royal Swazi Open on Wednesday.

“Gosh, I haven’t played this course in 15 years or so and it felt I like I was playing it blind,” said the 27-year-old Edenvale golfer after she went around the Royal Swazi Spa Country Club layout in 73 strokes to bank one point in the Modified Scoring format.

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MBABANE, Swaziland (2 May 2017) – South Africa’s Stacy Bregman will lead a six-strong Sunshine Ladies Tour assault in the Investec Royal Swazi Open, which tees off at the Royal Swazi Spa Country Club on Wednesday.

Bregman arrived back from Spain last week and spent a bit of time with her family before she headed to Swaziland to join forces with fellow Investec Property player Bertine Strauss in the Sunshine Tour championship.

The rest of the ladies’ line-up features 2017 Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies champion Ashleigh Buhai, Dimension Data Ladies Challenge winner Nicole Garcia, big-hitting Bonita Bredenhann from Namibia and local favourite Nobuhle Dlamini, who will be looking to impress the Swazi crowds at her home course.

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American Lexi Thompson was denied a second ANA Inspiration title after she was hit with a four-stroke penalty for a rules infraction the previous day and then lost to South Korean Ryu So-yeon in a playoff at the first Major of the season.

Thompson was leading by three shots when LPGA Tour rules official Sue Witters approached her on the way to the 13th tee at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.

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CALIFORNIA, United States (31 March 2017) - South Africa’s Paula Reto made a good start to the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California to finish four shots behind Karine Icher.

Icher grabbed the lead in the first Major for 2017 before play had to be suspended due to high winds.

The Frenchwoman shot a five-under 67 to take the early lead, though four players were nipping at her heels, including American Michelle Wie and South Korean trio So Yeon Ryu, Sung Hyun Park and amateur Eun Jeong Seong.

Reto made the most of an early start to balance out bogeys at seven and 14 with gains at the first, second and 17th holes at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course for an opening 71 at Mission Hills Country Club.

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HAINAN, China (16 March 2017) – The dust barely settled on the 2017 Sunshine Ladies Tour but there is no rest for the country’s top ranked players, who are geared for action on the Ladies European Tour in China and LPGA Tour in the United States this week.

Stacy Bregman and Nicole Garcia hope to ride the momentum gained over the last 12 weeks to a solid start on the 2017 Ladies European Tour in China, while Lee-Anne Pace and Ashleigh Buhai will star in the Bank of Hope Founders Cup in Arizona alongside compatriot Paula Reto.

Bregman and Garcia are the only South Africans lining up the 126-strong field for the SGF67 World Ladies Championship by SBS, which tees off at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in Hainan on Friday.

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KOSTER, 12 March 2017 - All good things come to those who wait, but nobody told Ashleigh Buhai it would be quite so hard to land the Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies title on Sunday.

It finally happened for Buhai when she put the perfect pace on 12-foot clutch putt for birdie at the final hole at Millvale Private Retreat. When the ball hit the bottom of the cup, the 27-year-old Edenvale golfer sunk to her knees and pumped both her fists.

For a moment, joy and relief jostled for position on her face before she broke into a smile as big as the moon.

“I can’t believe I’ve done it,” gushed Buhai after she signed for a 71 to edge out main rival Nicole Garcia for the 2017 series title with a second place finish at four-under-par 212 in Sunshine Ladies Tour season-finale.

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KOSTER, 9 March 2017 – The most engrossing season since the Sunshine Ladies Tour launched in 2014 is heading for a dramatic conclusion in this week’s Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies Final as England’s Kiran Matharu aims to finish as the tour’s number one player for 2017.

The 27-year-old former golf prodigy nearly gave up the game at the end of 2015 after being plagued with injury problems. After being diagnosed with locked hips, Matharu decided to give it one more shot.

Her decision to come out to South Africa at the start of the season and compete on the local circuit paid off in ways the Leeds golfer could not imagine. Matharu earned a maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour victory in the Ladies Tshwane Open and remarkably consistent form in her eight other starts elevated her to the top spot in the Points race.

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The 2017 Sunshine Ladies Tour season is heading for the most enthralling of finales after Kim Williams produced a grandstand finish to capture the R500 000 Joburg Ladies Open title on Tuesday.

The Centurion Country Club player overcame an early triple bogey to shoot a five-under-par 67, racing through the back nine at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington in 29 strokes.

Williams won the season-opening SuperSport Ladies Challenge and she locked down the final counting event in the Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies with a staggering five stroke victory on 11-under-par 205.

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