Ruffels and Ye Primed for Showdown of Champions
USGA champions Gabriela Ruffels and Ye Lei will square off in a mouthwatering Round of 32 contest at the 120th US Women’s Amateur Championship. Australian Ruffels, the defending US Women’s Amateur...
Rockville, Maryland, United States: USGA champions Gabriela Ruffels and Ye Lei will square off in a mouthwatering Round of 32 contest at the 120th US Women’s Amateur Championship.
Australian Ruffels, the defending US Women’s Amateur Championship, and China’s Ye, winner of last year’s US Girls’ Junior, both emerged unscathed from the first match play round at Woodmont Country Club.
While Ruffels overcame South African Kajal Mistry 3 & 2, Ye was taken all the way to the wire, edging past American Megha Ganne, one-up.
“I played a little later today, so the wind was up a lot more and kind of a different direction than the other days. So I had to make a couple adjustments with what I hit off of tees,” said 20-year-old Ruffels, on adjusting to the conditions in the Round of 64.
The University of Southern California student was one-down through eight holes, but surged back by winning five of the next seven holes.
“It was a little bit of a shaky start,” said Ruffels. “It took me a while to kind of get into it. But I was really happy with the way I finished.”
LPGA Tour star Danielle Kang, US Women’s Amateur champion in 2010 and 2011, said: “The US Amateur is one of the best events I've ever played. I was on the broadcast yesterday and they asked me what advice I had for Gabi Ruffels since she would be the first person to successfully defend after me. I just said: ‘It's your week. Just believe that it's your week and ride that momentum. Go out and have fun’.”
Three other Asia-Pacific representatives also progressed to the last 32.
Australian Emily Mahar defeated American Micheala Williams one-up; Malaysian Alyaa Abdulghany swept aside Australia’s Kirsty Hodgkins, 4 & 2, and Korean Park Bo-hyun had a similar margin of victory over American Mychael O'Berry.
Abdulghany’s success was all the more impressive since she was the only player who did not lose a hole in the Round of 64.
Due to Tuesday’s stroke play round being postponed, the Rounds of 32 and 16 will be played on Friday, and both the quarter-finals and semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday. The 36-hole championship match will take place on Sunday.
