Rockville, Maryland, United States: Rose Zhang outlasted defending champion Gabriela Ruffels in 38 holes to win the 120th US Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club. The second-longest match in championship history ended in heart-breaking fashion for Australian Ruffels, who lipped out a three-foot par putt to extend the match.
American Zhang, 17, considered withdrawing from the championship because of a left wrist injury, but instead opted to rest by not playing for 10 days before the Women’s Amateur began. A combination of daily ice packs, medical tape and fairways in regulation were the perfect treatment plan for Zhang, who was collected and poised throughout the week.
“Winning the US Women’s Amateur means the world to me,” said Zhang, the number nine player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. “To have my name on the trophy with the best players of all-time is life-changing for me. It’s a dream come true.
“Gabi is honestly such an amazing player, and just playing with her, I learned a lot today. I was watching her final match on TV last year, and it made me want to work on my game more, and she inspired me to keep playing the game that I love.”
For 20-year-old Ruffels it was a stunning reversal of last year’s Women’s Amateur, when she drained a 10-foot birdie putt on the 36th hole to defeat Albane Valenzuela, one-up, at Old Waverly. Ruffels was looking to become the fifth player since World War II, and first since Danielle Kang in 2011, to successfully defend her title.
Reflecting on her performance, Ruffels said: “This is the first time I’ve defended a tournament that I’ve won, so I wanted to see how I would deal with the pressure and expectations. I feel like I stayed mentally strong this week and can hold my head high with how I tried to go about my defence.
“Rose was one of my toughest opponents. She never let the door open. She was dead straight down the middle and hits a lot of greens. Her wedge game is amazing, putting is amazing. She’s so solid. I can’t believe she’s only 17.”
With the match tied on the 36th hole, Zhang delivered the shot of the championship. After missing her drive into the left rough, her recovery effort failed to get back to the fairway. With Ruffels on the green in regulation, Zhang needed to get up-and-down from 95 yards to have a chance. Her wedge hit on the front of the green, bounced up and curled to within 18 inches for a conceded par. When Ruffels’ 25-foot birdie effort came up short, the championship match was extended to extra holes for the first time since 2001.
Both players exchanged pars on the 37th hole (number eight), moving on to the hole that Ruffels won four times in match play – Woodmont’s par-four ninth.
Hitting first, Ruffels pulled her drive into the left rough – her third consecutive missed fairway. After missing the green long, she played a delicate chip to within three feet. Zhang had an opportunity to win it, but her 18-footer missed to the left, setting up Ruffels putt to extend the match.
“You can’t take any putt for granted out here,” said Ruffels. “These greens are crazy fast, and that did have a little break to it. I was playing it outside of the hole. I actually hit it on my line, but it was heart-breaking to see it horseshoe out.”
Neither player had a lead of more than two-up at any point in the match. Ruffels got on the board first, birdieing the second and third holes to take a two-up advantage. It was her largest lead on the front nine all week, though it did not last long. Zhang birdied the par-five fifth to cut her deficit in half, then squared the match on the par-three sixth when she rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt then watched Ruffels lip out from eight feet.
Zhang won the ninth and 12th holes with pars, pulling ahead for the first time. She maintained that margin until she caught a flier lie with her approach on the 18th, sailing it over the green, leading to a bogey which trimmed her lead to one-up at the break.
Just like in the morning, Ruffels won the second and third holes, the 20th and 21st of the match, to take her first lead in more than four hours. But just when it seemed the momentum had swung, Zhang birdied the 22nd hole to tie it up, then stuck a wedge to four feet on the 23rd to regain a one-up advantage.
“Winning those two holes was huge,” said Zhang. “That gave me a chance to recover after losing the previous two holes. It allowed me to regain the momentum.”
The players exchanged victories with pars on the 25th (Ruffels) and 30th (Zhang). On the par-three 31st, Ruffels hit a seven-iron to 12 feet and sank her birdie putt to square the match. It was the last hole won by either player until Ruffels’ miss at the 38th hole.
