Ashleigh Buhai has long been a top golfer on the LPGA Tour and has made her mark in golf with 2 career wins and 19 career top 10s. Her husband, David Buhai, is also part of the LPGA Tour as a caddie. The couple got married in 2016 after David Buhai proposed to her on the 18th green of the 2015 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. But how did they meet?

The two South Africans met at a golf academy in Johannesburg run by Gavan Levenson. Both were promising amateur golfers studying at the academy. While Ashleigh Simon, as she was called then, pursued her professional career, David Buhai shifted to professional caddying.

When they started dating, they were in a long-distance relationship. Ashleigh Buhai then lost her LPGA card and had to go to Europe. Buhai invited her for a holiday to Australia, where the two of them got on quite well.

He then caddied for her for seven years, including the year he proposed to her. They eventually came to a different arrangement, with David Buhai caddying for other professionals, including 2019 US Women’s Open winner Jeongeun Lee. One of his most famous moments came at the 2023 ShopRite LPGA Classic, where, while caddying for Jeongeun Lee, he took an unconventional shortcut to the green from under the stands. Ashleigh Buhai won that tournament and still fondly remembers the incident.

Although the Buhais have achieved much in their respective careers in professional golf, one moment is particularly special to them. Being ardent golfers, they made sure to include golf in the most special moment of their lives – the marriage proposal.

A very special proposal from David Buhai

At the 2015 Omega Dubai Ladies Open, Ashleigh Buhai, still playing under her maiden name, Simon, had just finished her 18th hole. Little did she know that her longtime partner, David Buhai, had been planning the proposal with the help of the tournament director.

Ashleigh Simon had hit into the desert, then into the rough, and then into the water. Things were not going well for her. She double-bogeyed that hole but had finally finished her round. As she was walking away from the hole, she saw her caddie and boyfriend, David Buhai, running with her bag, having broken a zip while trying to get the ring out.

Buhai then asked Simon to turn around, but she kept walking. He asked her again, and this time she saw the words “Ashleigh, will you marry me?” on the big screen. David Buhai then got down on one knee and proposed to her. She said, “Are you serious?” before saying yes to marrying him.