Gabriela Ruffels won’t be playing any college golf this fall in the Pac-12, but she is teeing it up in her second major in four weeks at the ANA Inspiration. The 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and USC senior lives 20 minutes away from Missions Hills in Indian Wells, California, and is one of six amateurs in the field.
Ruffels, who lost a heart-breaking final match of this year’s Women’s Amateur to Rose Zhang in 38 holes, didn’t take up golf until age 15. Her parents, Ray Ruffels and Anna-Maria Fernandez, played tennis professionally, and Gabi was a top-ranked tennis player in Australia before switching to golf. Her older brother Ryan competes on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Golfweek recently caught up with the rising star to talk about her first time playing golf in the U.K. at the AIG Women’s British Open, teeing it up against the men and expectations heading into her local major. The following are excerpts from that conversation.
You shot 79-73 in tough conditions at Royal Troon playing alongside Catriona Matthew. Did you approach anything differently in that second round?
On the first day my caddie told me to knock down a 6-iron from 100 yards. I was like, wait, what? I’ve never had to hit this shot before. As I kept getting more used to it, and how the wind would affect the shot, I feel like the second day I was more prepared and more aware of what I had to do. I was just thinking if only I could make the cut, I feel like I had a grasp of what I had to do. But unfortunately, I missed it by one.
You made history playing against the men in the Jacksonville Amateur. What was that like?
I was just trying to play a tournament in preparation for the U.S. Am. My brother has a house in Orlando, so I thought that would be a really good event to test myself against the men. I kind of wanted to put myself in a pressure situation, like what I’d be feeling mentally at the U.S. Am the next week. It had a lot of media attention around it and I just wanted to see how I handled it. I thought I did pretty well, honestly. It was one of the toughest tournaments, besides the British Open that I’ve ever played in. It was so long and it was windy and the men were bombing it past me. I think it really primed my long iron shots and made me hit it a bit farther at the U.S. Am.
How does your approach to the game differ from your brother?
We’re very different people. Anyone who knows us knows that. When he practices, he’s a more technical player. He loves spending time on the range. It’s typical for him to spend maybe two to three hours on the range and then go play. I’m a very feel-based player. I don’t spend much time on the range. I’m not very technical whatsoever. I’m more reactionary than technical. I’d rather play 36 holes in a day.
Your college coach, Justin Silverstein, said that you use tennis lingo to break down your golf swing. How does that help you feel what you’re trying to do?
When I‘m trying to draw the ball around a tree, I‘m just thinking forehand in tennis and that really, really helps me. If I’m trying to fade it, I’m thinking about a slice forehand. I’m pretty reactionary because in tennis I like to see the shape of the shot and everything. I definitely speak in tennis terms a lot.
What ultimately made you stop playing tennis?
I’d been playing for about six to eight years before I stopped. I started homeschooling when I was 13 or 14 and everything was about tennis. We’d get there in the morning around 8 a.m., spend two hours in the gym, play two or three hours, have lunch, go back and play, go back to the gym. The whole day was just tennis, tennis, tennis. I got burnt out from the sport for sure.
I didn’t like the competitive aspect of it, how you’re always playing one-on-one. It’s almost like they’re your rival out there. You’re playing directly against them. What I found in golf was that you can be friends with your playing competitor, even if it’s match play. At the U.S. Am, Rose and I were talking. Last year against Albane (Valenzuela) in the final we were talking and became good friends after. That’s what I like.
How will you then safeguard from being burnt out in this game?
From the very start my mom says I enjoy this game so much more. Even in tennis I didn’t want to go practice, now I’m going on my own. I just love it. I love going to play in tournaments. I always tell Justin I want to sign up for any tournament can. I don’t care what it is, I love playing tournaments, and that wasn’t the case in tennis.
What is that you’ve learned about the game in the past two years that has taken you to the next level?
When I first came to college I was ranked like No. 800 in the world or something. Being at USC has helped me so much, especially with the caliber of players I’ve been able to play with. When I got there, I was playing with Allisen Corpuz and Jennifer Chang. All these people that really made me have to elevate my game just to qualify for the team. And when I did qualify, I was playing against Andrea (Lee) and Albane (Valenzuela) and Patty (Tavatanakit) week in and week out. These are the best in the world, and I get to compete alongside of them each week. I feel like that really motivated me to work harder.
How tough was it to battle the expectations after winning the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur?
It was pretty hard at the start. Going back to college and seeing the preseason rankings and apparently, I was like 1 or 2 – woah! I’d had a pretty good summer because I’d won the North and South too. I kind of thought I was different because I had won these, but I’m not. It was a great lesson learned in how to deal with the pressure and expectation of having good results.
What are your goals at the ANA?
I feel like each professional tournament I play I get a little bit better. I played the U.S. Open last year and I was kind of starstruck. At the British, I felt more comfortable in that field and around those players. … Seeing Ariya Jutanugarn (at the U.S. Women’s Open), I just watch these people on TV all the time. I thought I had to change my game almost to fit in with them. Like I had to play out of my skin to be able to compete with them. I learned I don’t really have to. I earned my spot there; I’m there for a reason.
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