Ashleigh Buhai came out swinging at the Kroger Queen City Championship, shooting a brilliant 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead at TPC River’s Bend.
After missing the cut in her last two appearances at the tournament when it was hosted at Kenwood Country Club, the South African golfer hit her stride on Thursday, delivering her best round of the season to grab a one-shot lead.
Buhai, who’s already a two-time LPGA Tour winner and a major champion, hasn’t had the easiest of seasons in 2024.
She’s been battling back injuries and even a broken toe, which have kept her out of the top-10 so far this year. But after taking a much-needed two-week break, Buhai feels refreshed and ready to focus on the game.
“My goal this week was just to hit the simplest shot,” she said after the round. “For me, that’s a little drop-off fade unless something else is really needed.
I think I did that well today, and it showed—I gave myself more chances at birdie than I have been recently.”
Starting on the front nine, Buhai kicked things off with three birdies in her first four holes, setting the tone for a solid day on the course.
She kept the momentum going, adding birdies on the 8th, 11th, 12th, and 16th holes.
The only blip on her scorecard came on the 17th, where she dropped a shot with a bogey, but she quickly bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish strong.
“I was smart about when I could attack and played to the spaces I knew were safe,” Buhai explained.
“The greens got a little firm, and a few pins were tricky, but I made some good up-and-downs to keep things rolling.
It’s nice to have three reachable par-5s out there for everyone—it’s not often that happens.”
Just one shot behind Buhai are Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul and China’s Yan Liu, both sitting at 6-under after rounds of 66.
Thitikul has been enjoying a standout 2024 season, highlighted by a win at the Dow Championship with her partner Ruoning Yin and five other top-10 finishes.
Liu, on the other hand, is looking to turn her year around after missing the cut in her last seven events.
Also in the mix are some big names, with eight players tied for fourth at 5-under, including World No. 1 Nelly Korda, LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko, and fan favourite Angel Yin.
Korda and Ko are fresh off the 2024 Solheim Cup, where Korda played a key role in helping Team USA win the cup for the first time since 2017.
