gabriela ruffels – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Gabriela Ruffels headlines record-tying five amateurs who made the cut at ANA

Gabriela Ruffels and Rose Zhang are excelling and leading the pack of amateurs at the ANA Inspiration.

Gabriela Ruffels was 6 years old when Karrie Webb jumped into Michael Paterson’s arms after holing out for eagle from 116 yards on the 18^th hole to get into a playoff against Lorena Ochoa and ultimately win the 2006 ANA Inspiration.

Ruffels, who didn’t start playing golf seriously until age 15, has learned all about that memorable finish this week at Mission Hills with Paterson on the bag.

“I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him,” said Ruffels, a USC senior who has proven to be a terrific student.

A second-round 68 moved Ruffels into a share of seventh at 5-under 139 in her ANA debut, six shots behind leader Nelly Korda. There are six amateurs in the field this week and Rose Zhang, the junior player who beat Ruffels in the U.S. Women’s Amateur final last month, is tied for 17th at 4 under.

LEADERBOARD: ANA Inspiration

Golf Australia’s Stacey Peters connected Ruffels to Paterson, who typically works for So Yeon Ryu, the 2017 ANA champ who isn’t in the field. Ruffels played a practice round alongside Australia’s Hannah Green, the 2019 KPMG champion, and Su Oh.

Like the Kordas, both of Ruffels’ parents, Ray Ruffels and Anna-Maria Fernandez, were professional tennis players. While Sebastian Korda recently competed in the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Ruffels’ brother Ryan plays on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“My dad knows Petr (Korda) through tennis,” said Ruffels. “It’s always fun for them to catch up when we’re playing the same tournament. My brother is pretty good friends with Nelly.”

Amateur Gabriela Ruffels on the 18th hole during the second round of the 2020 ANA Inspiration on the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Ruffels, still being fairly new to golf, took notes on where the Kordas dropped balls during practice and generally went about their business more professionally.

The 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champ said the pressure of defending her title helped prepare her for being in the top 10 of a major championship, cameras and all.

She also has the unusual added advantage of sleeping in her own bed at a major. Ruffels lives 20 minutes away in Indian Wells, California, and frequently plays in 100-plus temperatures.

“It’s so cool to be able to stay at home and come back and see my dog,” said Ruffels, who has an Australian Shepherd named Rio.

Stanford’s Lei Ye carded a third-round 69 to easily make the weekend at 1 under. Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio (1 over) and Olivia Mehaffey (4 over) of Arizona State brought the total to five amateurs making the cut, tying the record set in 2013.

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U.S. Women’s Amateur stroke-play tee times, TV info and featured groups

The tee sheet for the U.S. Women’s Amateur includes some notable groupings.

Two final players were added to the U.S. Women’s Amateur field on Wednesday at the conclusion of the Ladies National Golf Association Amateur Championship. Mark down Marissa Wenzler and Kennedy Pedigo – co-runners-up at this week’s event – and the field is now complete.

The U.S. Golf Association reduced the championship field from 156 players to 132 players this year in light of the coronavirus. It’s a field based entirely on exemption categories, which is something totally new for the USGA and this championship.

Tee times and pairings for stroke-play qualifying at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, are listed below, but here are the five groups we’re most interested in:

Aneka Seumanutafa, Lauren Greenlief, Virunpat Olankitchunchai

Call these women the locals. Seumanutafa, an Ohio State junior, is the only Maryland resident in field, though Thailand’s Olankitkunchai, as a senior at the University of Maryland, has made it her adopted home state. Lauren Greenlief, the 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion lives just 40 minutes away in Ashburn, Virginia.

Gabriela Ruffels, Rachel Kuehn, Brigitte Thibault

This trio should strike terror in the hearts of any other competitor who might happen to find herself on the opposite side of the eventual match-play bracket. All three are proven match-play competitors, with Ruffels the defending champion (also the winner of the 2019 North & South Women’s Amateur), Kuehn having just won the North & South Women’s Amateur and the LNGA Amateur and Thibault just days removed from the Women’s Western Amateur title.

Emilia Migliaccio, Lei Ye, Julia Potter-Bobb

This group owns some USGA hardward already. A clever pairing by the USGA here puts together Wake Forest’s Migliaccio, the top-ranked American in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at No. 4 (also the top-ranked player in this field), alongside Ye, the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, and Potter-Bobb, who won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2013 and 2016. Consider these women the top of each age group, junior to mid-amateur.

Gina Kim, Rose Zhang, Megha Ganne

Rising stars abound here. Gina Kim will be a junior at Duke, but had a big early summer in 2019 by helping Duke to the NCAA title then earning low-amateur honors with a T-12 at the U.S. Women’s Open just a few weeks later. Ganne returns from a semifinal run at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur and Zhang played her way to the quarterfinals of the 2019 U.S. Junior. The latter players are headed to Stanford in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Meghan Stasi, Kaitlyn Papp, Erica Shepherd

These three need no introduction considering all have won USGA championships. Staci, a four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, is playing the Women’s Am for the 14th time this week. Papp teamed with Hailee Cooper to win the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and Shepherd is a two-time winner: at the 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior and with Megan Furtney at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball.

Tee times and pairings

Monday (Aug. 3), No. 1 / Tuesday (Aug. 4), No. 1
All times Eastern

7 a.m. / 11 a.m. – Aneka Seumanutafa, Lauren Greenlief, Virunpat Olankitkunchai

7:10 a.m. / 11:10 a.m. – Hanna Alberto, Ela Anacona, Jackie Rogowicz

7:21 a.m. / 11:21 a.m. – Ashley Kim, Chanikan Yongyuan, Addie Baggarly

7:31 a.m. / 11:31 a.m. – Caroline Canales, Raquel Olmos Ros, Riley Smyth

7:42 a.m. / 11:42 a.m. – Gabriela Ruffels, Rachel Kuehn, Brigitte Thibault

7:52 a.m. / 11:52 a.m. – Ami Gianchandani, Valery Plata, Anika Varma

8:03 a.m. / 12:03 p.m. – Catherine Park, Louise Yu, Brianna Navarrosa

8:13 a.m. / 12:13 p.m. – Nicole Whiston, Maria Fernanda Escauriza, Allysha Mae Mateo

8:24 a.m. / 12:24 p.m. – Emilia Migliaccio, Lei Ye, Julia Potter-Bobb

8:34 a.m. / 12:34 p.m. – Micheala Williams, Brooke Riley, Celeste Dao

8:45 a.m. / 12:45 p.m. – Therese Warner, Natasha Andrea Oon, Julia Johnson

8:55 a.m. / 12:55 p.m. – Kelsey Chugg, Katherine Smith, Renate Grimstad

9:05 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. – Rose Zhang, Gina Kim, Megha Ganne

9:16 a.m. / 1:16 p.m. – Isabella Fierro, Clara Manzalini, Paris Hilinski

9:26 a.m. / 1:26 p.m. – Giovanna Fernandez, Jacqueline Putrino, Lauren Cox

9:37 a.m. / 1:37 p.m. – Sera Tadokoro, Kelly Xu, Pilar Echeverria

9:47 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Meghan Stasi, Kaitlyn Papp, Erica Shepherd

9:58 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Ellie Slama, Valeria Mendizabal, Kirsty Hodgkins

10:08 a.m. / 2:08 p.m. – Kenzie Wright, Haylin Harris, Jasmine Ly

10:19 a.m. / 2:19 p.m. – Mychael O’Berry, Ivy Shepherd, Malia Nam

10:29 a.m. / 2:29 p.m. – Grace Summerhays, Amari Avery, Sofia Garcia

10:40 a.m. / 2:40 p.m. – Anna Morgan, Lauren Hartlage, Kelly Sim

11 a.m. / 7 a.m. – Megan Furtney, Lauren Beaudreau, Brynn Walker

11:10 a.m. / 7:10 a.m. – Lois Kaye Go, Jackie Lucena, Morgan Baxendale

11:21 a.m. / 7:21 a.m. – Teresa Toscano Borrero, Julia Gregg, Sophia Bae

11:31 a.m. / 7:31 a.m. – Julia Becker, Libby Winans, Karen Fredgaard

11:42 a.m. / 7:42 a.m. – Maria Bohorquez, Zoe Antoinette Campos, Cecilie Finne-Ipsen

11:52 a.m. / 7:52 a.m. – Jillian Bourdage, Allisen Corpuz, Alexa Pano

12:03 p.m. / 8:03 a.m. – Hailey Borja, Shannon Johnson, Jensen Castle

12:13 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Marissa Kirkwood, Christine Wang, Amanda Sambach

12:24 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Emily Hawkins, Marta Perez Sanmartin, Vanessa Knecht

12:34 p.m. / 8:34 a.m. – Phoebe Brinker, Kaitlin Milligan, Mika Jin

12:45 p.m. / 8:45 a.m. – Siyun Liu, Bohyun Park, Marissa Wenzler

12:55 p.m. / 8:55 a.m. – Briana Chacon, Pimnipa Panthong, Bentley Cotton

1:05 p.m. / 9:05 a.m. – Reagan Zibilski, Kajal Mistry, Kennedy Pedigo

1:16 p.m. / 9:16 a.m. – Ashley Gilliam, Cory Lopez, Megan Schofill

1:26 p.m. / 9:26 a.m. – Sadie Englemann, Siarra Stout, Auston Kim

1:37 p.m. / 9:37 a.m. – Rachel Heck, Emily Mahar, Kennedy Swann

1:47 p.m. / 9:47 a.m. – Brooke Seay, Tyler Akabane, Alyaa Abdulghany

1:58 p.m. / 9:58 a.m. – Katherine Zhu, Katie Chipman, Michaela Morard

2:08 p.m. / 10:08 a.m. – Ellen Port, Angela (Yilin) Liu, Talia Campbell

2:19 p.m. / 10:19 a.m. – Yurika Tanida, Courtney Dow, Aline Krauter

2:29 p.m. / 10:29 a.m. – Kaleigh Telfer, Hailee Cooper, Siripatsorn Patchana

2:40 p.m. / 10:40 a.m. – Gurleen Kaur, Anne Chen, Brooke Matthews

How to Watch

Wednesday, Aug. 5

Round of 64 matches: 4-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Thursday, Aug. 6

Round of 16 matches: 4-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Friday Aug. 7

Quarterfinal matches: 1-4 p.m., Golf Channel

Saturday, Aug. 8

Semifinal matches: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Golf Channel

Sunday, Aug. 9

Championship match (afternoon 18): 1-4 p.m., Golf Channel

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ANA Inspiration’s amateur invites include two USGA champions, No. 1-ranked junior

Five amateurs have chosen to compete in the ANA Inspiration the first week of April, which overlaps the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The top female amateurs face a difficult decision when it comes to the first week of April. Many will play the second annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur, but the opposite event offers a career opportunity, too.

Ultimately, five amateurs have committed to play the ANA Inspiration, the first LPGA major of the season, on a sponsor exemption.

The tournament traditionally invites a handful of amateurs to compete in the event, and announced that lineup on Wednesday. Rose Zhang (Stanford commit), Kaitlyn Papp (Texas), Gabriela Ruffels (Southern California), Olivia Mehaffey (Arizona State) and Angelina Ye (Stanford) will all compete April 2-5 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, among a strong LPGA field.

One more amateur will have the opportunity to play her way into the field the weekend before the event at the ANA Junior Inspiration, an AJGA sanctioned 54-hole invitational with a 48-woman field.

“This is one of our favorite traditions at ANA Inspiration,” said Shigeru Hattori, ANA Senior Vice President of the Americas. “The tradition is crucial to growing the sport and fostering the dreams of young female golfers around the world. We’re proud to help each amateur invitee’s dream take flight as they play with the ladies of the LPGA Tour this April.”

Zhang, ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, is the only junior in the event so far. Zhang won the ANA Junior Inspiration in 2018, qualifying for the 2018 ANA Inspiration, where she made the cut and finished a credible T-60.

Ruffels is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and a junior at USC. Ye, a freshman at Stanford is also a USGA champion, having won the U.S. Girls’ Junior in July. Olivia Mehaffey, a senior at Arizona State, has twice represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Curtis Cup. Papp, the final amateur, is ranked No. 13 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and last year finished fifth at the ANWA.

All five women were eligible for the ANWA based on either world ranking or another exemption category.

“I am so happy to receive an invitation to play in the 2020 ANA Inspiration. I didn’t hesitate for a second as I really wanted to test my game with the professionals,” said Zhang. “My experience in the 2018 ANA Inspiration was absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to have a second chance after everything I learned when I played in 2018.”

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Know their names: These top players will drive amateur golf in 2020

The following names are likely to appear in amateur golf headlines in 2020. Their path to the top of amateur golf is worth following.

In most cases, players have a limited window in which to make waves in amateur golf. Juniors and college players generally use amateur events – from the Western Amateur to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur to the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur – as a platform to launch them into long and successful professional careers.

Even if amateur golf is transient for the top players, there’s still time to develop a rooting interest for these men and women. The following names – some highlighted individually, and some highlighted in clusters – are likely to appear in headlines on the biggest stages in 2020. Their growth and their path to the top of amateur golf is worth following. Here’s the background.

Emilia Migliaccio, top-ranked U.S. female

Emilia Migliaccio during a Curtis Cup practice session in December. (Photo: USGA/Steven Gibbons)

Migliaccio’s last act before returning to Wake Forest for her junior season was to represent the U.S. at the Pan-American Games. The team won gold that week in Lima, Peru, and so did Migliaccio, which made her the first American, male or female, to win a gold medal in golf at either the Pan American Games or the Olympics since the event was reintroduced to the games in 2015.

It’s fitting that Migliaccio is the top-ranked American in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (at No. 7) entering 2020. It’s also fitting that it’s a Curtis Cup year. Someone like Migliaccio, who shines in a team setting, would be an excellent leader for a U.S. squad looking to win on foreign soil. Migliaccio stands to figure in to all conversations surrounding women’s golf in 2020, from college golf to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

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