29 Jun 2020 | Amateur golf | Professional golf |
Ruffels rolls pros for Cactus Tour win
by Golf Australia
- By Justin Falconer
Rising superstar Gabi Ruffels has secured more silverware in the US after holding off a number of pros at the Legacy Golf Club on the Cactus Tour.
Ruffels, a collegiate golfer at the University of Southern California, opened with rounds of 70 and 67 in Nevada before closing out the win with a final round 6-under 66 to beat fellow amateur Briana Chacon by two strokes.
Ruffels, 20, rattled home six birdies on her way to the equal-best round of the week and was bogey-free for the final 32 holes of the tournament.
Rookie pro Haley Moore, who burst onto the LPGA Tour early this season, finished in a share of third.
The Cactus Tour has made headlines in 2020 as the only professional golf tour to continue throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other winners this season include Carlota Ciganda (twice), Anna Nordqvist and young gun Moore.
Last week Ruffels announced she’ll tee it up against the men at the Jacksonville Amateur Championship next month, becoming the first women to do so in the event’s 59-year history.
The Victorian will use that tournament as preparation for the defence of her US Women’s Amateur crown in early August.
Ruffels created history last year when she became the first Australian to win the iconic championship.
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