PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. — Epson Tour graduate Gabriela Ruffels raced up the leaderboard on Moving Day at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, carding a 6-under 65 at Palos Verdes Golf Club that saw her make one bogey and seven birdies on a windy day in Southern California.
Starting her day at 1-under, the 23-year-old shot out of the gate, carding four consecutive birdies on holes two through five and then grabbing another birdie on the par-5 7th hole to turn in 31, now sitting at 6-under overall with nine holes to play.
The Australian cooled off on the back nine, dropping her only shot of the day on the par-4 10th hole and making five pars in a row before picking up her sixth birdie of the round on 16. After a par on 17, Ruffels then managed to snag one last birdie on the par-4 18th hole to post a 65, the 2024 LPGA Tour rookie’s lowest 18-hole score since becoming a Tour member and tying her career-low round on the LPGA Tour, which she last shot on day two of the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“I putted really well out there today. I kind of knew that it wasn't going to be a very low-scoring day with the wind,” said Ruffels, who hit 26 total putts in the third round. “I knew the wind was really going to get up around (noon), and I teed off at 10:30. It was just taking advantage of those calm conditions and weathering the storm as the wind picked up towards the back nine and staying patient out there, which I was really happy I was able to do.”
Ruffels graduated to the LPGA Tour from the Epson Tour after winning three titles in 2023 at the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic, Garden City Charity Classic and Four Winds Invitational and finishing first in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card, ultimately earning 2023 Player of the Year honors at the end of last season.
The University of Southern California alum is more than familiar with Palos Verdes Golf Club having played at the venue often during her collegiate career and has been using that local knowledge to her advantage this week in just her third start as an LPGA Tour member. She missed the cut in her rookie debut at the LPGA Drive On Championship, righting the ship with a T15 finish at the Blue Bay LPGA in the People’s Republic of China, and now will be looking to capture her first top 10 of the year on Sunday at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship.
While that pressure would be more than enough to rattle most rookies, Ruffels is no stranger to LPGA Tour success, earning five top-20 results in 22 total starts as a non-member, three of which were in major championships. So, a final round in contention shouldn’t pose too much stress for the young talent, at least until Ruffels has a chance at victory coming down the stretch on Sunday.
But until that chance presents itself, she’s just focused on taking advantage where she can in her last 18 holes at Palos Verdes Golf Club, a strategy that worked well for Ruffels on Saturday in SoCal.
“This course is not easy,” said the rookie. “I think the wind is going to be pretty high tomorrow as well, so just staying patient and trying to take advantage of the first couple of holes out there.”
And Ruffels will also relish the opportunity to vie for her first LPGA Tour title in front of a somewhat hometown crowd on the final day of the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, considering her connections to the Los Angeles area.
“My mom grew up here. This is her hometown, and I'm staying with my aunt this week,” she said. “My whole extended family lives in this area, and I also went to USC. I have a lot of ties to this area and this place. It's cool to be around family this week. I feel very relaxed and at home. It's been fun.”
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