After Ruffels broke the 20-year Epson Tour 36-hole scoring record on Saturday, Ruffels started the final round with a six-stroke lead.
A bogey on the second hole – only her second bogey of the week – would be her only misstep as she closed with a one-under 71 for a five-shot win from Isabella Fierro (62), Agathe Laisne (63) and Ga Yul Kan (65).
Her total of 19 under par equaled the 54-hole scoring record, and after winning the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic in March, Ruffels is just one win away from automatic promotion to the LPGA Tour with three wins.
Even without her, she’s all but assured of a 2024 LPGA Tour ticket, further extending her lead at the top of the Epson Tour money list.
“This win is a big step in the right direction,” Ruffels said of her LPGA Tour ambitions.
“We’re all out here for the same reason, which is to take the LPGA Tour to the next level. There’s still a long season ahead of us, but I’m definitely making some progress.”
The win earns Ruffels $30,000 to take her yearly tally to $89,262, enough to place seventh in the 2022 Race To The Card.
The 23-year-old broke the Buffalo Dunes course record with 10-under 62 on Friday and backed that up with 8-under 64 in Round 2 to set a new low for the Epson Tour.
Even the biggest leads can bring expectation and pressure, but Ruffels was never really threatened, and birdies at 14 and 16 ensured she always had at least a three-shot lead through the back nine.
“I was definitely very nervous, but I knew I had a big buffer, which really helped,” Ruffels said.
“I just tried to play every shot as it was and not overdo it.
“I just tried to be super consistent and I managed that today, so I was very happy.”
Four of Australia’s current LPGA Tour contingent did their country proud at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown in San Francisco.
Seeded 7th at the start of the week, the Australian team of Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Steph Kyriacou and Sarah Kemp defeated both Korea and Japan in the round robin matches to earn a place in the semifinals.
With a format change for the final day, the Aussies secured a spot in the finals with a clean win over Sweden in the semis. In the two singles games, Stephanie Kyriacou defeated Anna Nordqvist 4&3 and Hannah Green defeated Caroline Hedwall 3&2 while Minjee Lee and Sarah Kemp achieved a 5&3 four-a-side victory over Madelene Sagstrom and Maja Stark.
But in a repeat of their last round robin duel, Team Thailand again proved too strong in the final.
Atthaya Thitikul provided Kyriacou 4&2, Patty Tavatanakit defeated Green 4&3 and Sisters Jutanugarn, Moriya and Ariya defeated Lee and Kemp 4&3
Adam Scott’s fifth-place finish at the Wells Fargo Championship was his best PGA TOUR result since last August, resulting in a rise to 37th in the world rankings and a check for $772,500.
Scott had plans to rein in runaway leader Wyndham Clark early in the final lap, but bogeys on one and six made the task all the more difficult.
A two-putt birdie on the seventh par-5 and a 15-foot birdie putt on the eight provided some positive momentum, but a back nine from a 37-plus prevented Scott from making a bigger impression on the course .
Results
Epson tour
Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes
Buffalo Dunes Golf Course, Garden City, Kansas
1 Gabriela Ruffels 62-64-71-197 $30,000
T21 Robyn Choi 69-69-70-208 $2,260
T29 Cassie Porter 69-68-72-209 $1,764
T36 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 71-69-70—210 $1,420
MC Emily Mahar 74-74-148
PGA TOUR
Wells Fargo Championship
Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina
1 Wyndham Clark 67-67-63-68-265 $3.6 million
T5 Adam Scott 67-68-67-71-273 $772,500
T59 Cam Davis 71-70-73-72-286 $44,600
T59 Harrison Endycott 74-66-71-75-286 $44,600
MC Jason Day 72-70-142
LPGA Tour
Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown
TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California
final
Atthaya Thitikul defeated Steph Kyriacou 4&2
Patty Tavatanakit def. Hannah Green 4&3
Moriya Jutanugarn/Ariya Jutanugarn def. Minjee Lee/Sarah Kemp 4&3
semifinals
Stephanie Kyriacou defeated Anna Nordqvist 4&3
Hannah Green def. Caroline Hedwall 3&2
Minjee Lee/Sarah Kemp def. Madelene Sagstrom/Maja Stark 5&3
round robin
Australia vs Korea
Minjee Lee/Steph Kyriacou defeated Hye-Jin Choi/In Gee Chun by 2 points
Hannah Green/Sarah Kemp def. Jin Young Ko/Hyo Joo Kim 2&1
Australia vs Japan
Minjee Lee/Steph Kyriacou defeated Nasa Hataoka/Ayaku Furue by 2 points
Hannah Green/Sarah Kemp separated Hinako Shibuno/Yuka Saso
Australia vs Thailand
Patty Tavatanakit/Atthaya Thitikul def. Minjee Lee/Steph Kyriacou 1
Moriya Jutanugarn/Ariya Jutanugarn def. Hannah Green/Sarah Kemp 3&2
DP world tour
DS Automobiles Italian Open
Marco Simone GC, Rome, Italy
1 Adrian Meronk 68-68-66-69—271 €500,495.38
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ) 69-78-147
MC Jason Scrivener 74-75-149
Asia tour
The 42nd GS Caltex Maekyung Open
Namseoul Country Club, Korea
Event reduced to 54 holes due to rain
1 Chanmin Young 63-68-66—197 $US222,222.22
T31 Zach Murray 75-67-69-211 $8,018.52
T43 Wonjoon Lee 71-70-72—213 $6,000
T43 Kevin Yuan 76-64-73—213 $6,000
T51 Terry Pilkadaris 69-71-74-214 $4,888.89
T60 Junseok Lee 72-70-73—215 $4,074.07
T60 Scott Hend 71-71-73-215 $4,074.07
MC Todd Sinnott 74-73-147
PGA TOUR Champions
Mitsubishi Electric classic
TPC Sugar Loaf, Duluth, Georgia
1 Stephen Ames 65-64-68-197 $300,000
T10 David McKenzie 72-70-66-208 $41,714
T17 Stuart Appleby 72-66-71-209 $29,150
T17 Rod Pampling 66-71-72-209 $29,150
T52 Richard Green 71-76-69-216 $5,200
T64 John Send 74-75-70—219 $2,600
challenge tour
UAE challenge
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
1 Maximilian Rottluff 68-73-63-70-274 €43,481.95
T46 Jarryd Felton 74-70-73-71—288 €1,277.28
T51 Maverick Antcliff 71-68-76-74—289 €1,096.11
T54 Hayden Hopewell 72-72-74-72—290 €1,005.52
MC Jordan Zunic 73-72-145
PGA TOUR Latin America
be open
Quito Tennis and Golf Club, Quito, Ecuador
1 Toni Hakula 64-76-65-67-272
T34 Harry Hillier (NZ) 70-70-73-69-282
T37 Charlie Hillier (NZ) 74-64-71-74-283
MC Aaron Pike 73-71-144
MC Denzel Ieremia (NZ) 74-82-156
