Million-dollar Ashleigh Buhai wins playoff for Women’s Open and first major

You wait more than 130 years for a mainstream women’s event at Muirfield then nobody wants to leave. The R&A, which presides over the Women’s Open, was at least spared the embarrassment of a Monday conclusion but such an outcome was in the equation as a playoff between Ashleigh Buhai and Chun In-gee rumbled on to the fourth sudden-death playing of the 18th hole.

For Buhai, glory and $1.1m from a major she looked at one point determined to give away. Chun, who would have completed a grand slam – but not a super slam – of majors with victory here, drove into a penal fairway bunker at the worst possible time and the rest is history. Muirfield, once the epitome of male-only golf environments, toasted a female major champion at ten past nine at night. Buhai beat rapidly fading light – the consequence of preposterously late tee off times to accommodate television schedules – as well as Chun.

Buhai led by five at the start of day four. Those below her on the scoreboard swung and missed all day until the 33-year-old reached the 15th tee, still with a three-stroke advantage. She drove into a bunker, from where she could only play out sideways. The trouble was, this attempted recovery flew into thick rough. Buhai advanced the ball 10 yards, with her fourth shot just short of the green. In no time, she was standing over a 15ft putt for a double-bogey six, which she missed. She was now tied with Chun. Almost simultaneously, Chun came so close to finding the bottom of the hole at the 16th, from 50ft, for a birdie. A procession had turned into an engrossing duel.

Buhai could have regained momentum but her birdie try at the penultimate hole stayed above ground. At the last, the eventual champion rattled her putt for a three past the