Gabi Ruffels played her first 18 holes with her dad’s clubs in December of 2014 after a career as a tennis phenom. By April, she was down to a five handicap. The Aussie native landed a scholarship to USC, her mother’s alma mater, won the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur and notched a pair of top-15 finishes in LPGA majors before turning pro in 2021.
Coming to the game so late means golf still feels fresh to Ruffels, who loves to play more than practice. All signs pointed to her being on the LPGA earlier than this, but on her way to play a practice round for 2022 LPGA Q-School, it dawned on Ruffels that she never signed up.
A paperwork error sent her back to the Epson Tour for the 2023 season, where she won three times and topped the money list. Ruffels handled the mistake with great grace and called it a big year of learning.
Ruffels relies heavily on her brother and pro golfer Ryan, often sending him questions about how to play certain shots or advice on course management. While mom caddied for her on the Epson Tour, she’s had veteran LPGA caddie John Killeen on the bag to start the 2024 season.
Here’s a look at the phenom through the years: