The Spaniard sits second on the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol with 777.33 points and has moved into the top 100 on the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings for the first time at 91.

Another ranking that Pelaez Trivino, who turned 25 on Wednesday, has been climbing is the LET Solheim Cup Points list.

The European Cup Team will comprise the top two players on the LET Points list, six players from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and four picks.

?????? ????? ?@anapelaezgolf has now jumped 565 places in the @ROLEX World Rankings since March 2022 ?#RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/YG0waQyX2R

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) March 21, 2023

Pelaez Trivino is third behind Swedish duo Maja Stark and Linn Grant after her great start to the year and will be aiming to try and break into the top two spots to be a member of Team Europe when the Solheim Cup heads to Spain for the first time in September.

“The beginning of the season has given me a lot of confidence as we head further into the year towards the Solheim Cup,” she said. “I think all of us that represent Europe want to do our best, so starting with three top-10 finishes has definitely helped me to believe that I can become a member of the team in September at Finca Cortesin.

“What I have to do is just play my best. I think all of us go to every tournament trying to do our best and between now and September, I definitely have to show that I want to be part of this team. The only way to do that is finishing at the very, very top and hopefully I can get some wins throughout the year to give myself an even bigger chance of making the team.”

Pelaez Trivino turned professional in the summer of 2021 and secured a category on the LET at Q-School later that year, but it was six months later in Madrid when she made her mark.

The Spanish star stormed to victory at the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open and put her name out there as one to watch with her impressive performances across the rest of the LET season.

And being a native to the Costa del Sol region, having the opportunity to play in her hometown at Finca Cortsein from 22-24 September as part of Team Europe would be a dream come true for Pelaez Trivino.

She explained: “I am very excited because I previously had the chance to play the PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2015 in Germany. When I saw the first tee shot of the official Solheim Cup hit that year, I told myself I really want to be part of this tournament when I turn pro. I think it would be great to inspire lots of young kids, who will come out to watch and hopefully have a similar feeling to the one that I got to experience.

“The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin is going to be great for the culture of golf in Spain and in general for women’s golf. I’m very excited to see how this progresses. It was a life-changing moment for me back then in Germany and I think it will be the same for many people in Costa del Sol and throughout Spain that have the opportunity to watch their heroes live in person during the event.

“Representing Europe no matter where we are would be a dream but having the chance to represent Europe in the Costa Del Sol, my hometown, would be unbelievable. It would be amazing to think that my family and friends can be a part of it too. I hope I have the chance to represent Europe because it will be a dream come true, something I’ll never forget and something I’ll cherish forever.”

With six months to go until the 2023 Solheim Cup, the countdown is well and truly on until the prestigious spectacle gets underway at Finca Cortesin.

And the independent luxury golf, hotel and spa destination has announced that Pelaez Trivino is a new ambassador to the resort.

“It feels like a privilege,” she added. “I think having the opportunity to represent Finca Cortesin and its members all around the world is an amazing opportunity. Being part of a golf course that is going to make history by hosting the Solheim Cup in Spain for the first time is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is something that I am very thankful for and makes me want to do my best so that I can represent their values, both on and off the course.

“It is a world-class golf resort and has everything a professional needs to become better. Not only the incredible golf course and its facilities, but also the gym and other off-course experiences. It is just unreal. I love every single thing about Finca Cortesin and having the chance to practice on the course and imagine what the Solheim Cup is going to be like later this year will be great.

“I plan on using the break in the Ladies European Tour schedule to spend more time at Finca Cortesin and become familiar with the conditions. I am very excited to see how my progress goes and all the things that I’m going to have access to.

“The course really challenges you in every area of your game. Not just having to strike the ball well, but also having a good short-game and strategy. You will always need to be physically prepared for the challenge and the heat too.”

The post Pelaez Trivino dreaming of Solheim Cup in Spain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On a sunny yet windy day at Steenberg Golf Club, the 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion began the day four ahead of German teen Noja, but that lead was trimmed early on with a bogey on her first hole.

However, the South African bounced back with a birdie on the second before adding three more on the fourth, fifth and 18th holes to reach a total of 18-under-par, as Noja faded to settle for 14-under alongside Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino.

Finishing in style ?

Buhai closes with a birdie to post a 69 (-3) and move to -18 after three rounds ?#RaiseOurGame | #InvestecSAWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/xYaLUTpqqy

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) March 10, 2023

“I’m happy with my day,” said Buhai. “I didn’t feel very well today, there’s a gastro-bug going around and unfortunately, I came down with it last night.

“For me to hang in there mentally, I think I did a really good job. The shot on one, I hit it where I wanted to and the wind switched and it fell out of the air. I made the swing and that’s all I can do.

“The wind was very difficult to deal with. I hit quite a few shots, even on nine I thought it was going to be stiff and the next minute it fell out of the sky. The wind was supposed to be down and switched back into.

“The thing you have to do at that moment is you’ve made the swing and done what you’ve wanted to and accept the outcome. That’s what I did well. I got up-and-down to keep myself in it. On the back nine, I hit a lot of solid shots. There was one bad swing on the par-five, but I hit some good putts that didn’t drop today as they have the last few days.”

Buhai is a four-time winner on the LET and has won this title three times previously — the last time being in 2018.

With a four-shot lead heading into the final day, the major champion knows she will still have to play well.

She explained: “The goal was to try and come and win this week. It would be huge, to win your home open is a huge honour. I’ve been able to do it before and to be able to do it again and tick it off would be great.

“Chiara played great today, she came at me hard in the beginning and so did Maggie [Simmermacher], I know I’m going to have to keep my foot on the gas but at the same time play my game and stay patient.”

Pelaez Trivino, who is fourth in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, fired the joint-best round of the day with a 66 to move up the leaderboard.

“It was a really good moving day,” said the LET winner. “We started off with a couple of birdies which was nice because it was very windy at the start.”

Tiger line from @thechiaranoja ?#RaiseOurGame | #InvestecSAWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/Cd2eZ2sRlv

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) March 10, 2023

Dubai school pupil Noja produced a round of 69 with six birdies and three bogeys on her scorecard.

“I think I played a lot better than I scored,” she said. “I’m a little sick and I got a little sloppy and tired. On the back nine, I could really feel it.

“I was just trying to get across 18 and go to sleep and recover for tomorrow and try to keep myself in contention as much as possible. I’m really gutted that putt on 18 didn’t drop because I hit it and thought it was going in.

“It’s a positive I played how I did. I was pretty determined to try and keep in contention today. It’s a shame I couldn’t hold it together as much as I wanted to on the back nine, I tried my best today and I’m going to try and sleep and come out stronger tomorrow.”

Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher sits in outright fourth place on 13-under-par after carding a round of 67.

Italy’s Alessandra Fanali and Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson share fifth place on nine-under-par with South Africa’s Casandra Alexander in ouright seventh on eight-under after she made an ace on the second hole.

Six players are in a tie for eighth place on seven-under including Spain’s Marta Sanz Barrio, who also produced the joint-best round of the day with a 66, English duo Alice Hewson and Eleanor Givens, India’s Vani Kapoor, Scotland’s Michele Thomson and South Africa’s Kaleigh Telfer.

The post Buhai maintains advantage over Dubai’s Noja at Investec South African Women’s Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
To be sure, Kate Smith is an accomplished golfer. The fifth-year senior at the University of Nebraska has twice won the Minnesota Women’s State Amateur. She is one of the Cornhuskers’ all-time most decorated golfers, including being the first from her program to capture the Big Ten’s Mary Fossum Award for the best stroke average relative to par among conference players in the 2019-20 season.

Yet the 21-year-old probably gets a bit overlooked when it comes to big-time tournaments with a heavy mix of peers who have played all over the world. And there is Smith’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, which currently is 134th.

That’s why the first round that she is putting together in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is a bit of a stunner. In an 82-player field that includes many of the top-ranked women in the world, Smith motored out ahead of all of them in the first round, making four birdies in her first 11 holes to be in the lead at four under par when play was suspended because of weather.

Only five other players were in red figures at Champions Retreat, including two who were comfortably finished in the clubhouse with one-under 71s—reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and World No. 1 Rose Zhang and Spain’s Ana Peleaz Trivino.

Twenty-nine players were unable to finish their rounds and were set to come back on Thursday morning to complete the first round before playing the second round at Champions Retreat. The top 30 players after two rounds will play the third and final round on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club, following a practice round for all competitors at ANGC on Friday.

Among the golfers who were still on the course and having strong rounds were Linn Grant, the Swede from Arizona State who won three consecutive college tournaments heading into the ANWA. She was joined at one under (through 12) by Denmark’s Karen Fredgaard (through 15) and Finland’s Kiira Riihijarvi (through 13).

Zhang, a 17-year-old from Irvine, Calif., who finished T-17 in the inaugural ANWA in 2019, birdied the second, third and 17th holes in her round. Trivino, 23, opened her first ANWA with two birdies and a bogey.

Smith, a Minnesota native, is playing the ANWA for the first time, and though she is ranked outside the top 100 in the world, she qualified because she was one of the top 30 Americans in the rankings when the invitation list was frozen last year due to the cancellation of the ANWA due to COVID-19. In the current rankings, Smith currently is the 27th American.

She has been on a roll as of late after opting to take a fifth year at Nebraska when the end of the 2019-20 NCAA season wiped out by the coronavirus. In her first four years at Nebraska, Smith had not won a college tournament, but she finally broke through earlier this month, capturing the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at English Turn in New Orleans. The victory followed two other top-6 finishes in the spring portion of the Huskers’ schedule.

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