Title Hopes Stay Alive for Abdulghany and Ruffels

Rockville, Maryland, United States: Malaysian Alyaa Abdulghany has joined defending champion Gabriela Ruffels of Australia in the quarter-finals of the 120th US Women’s Amateur Championship.

On a gruelling Friday at Woodmont Country Club, Abdulghany and Ruffels both won twice to progress to the last eight.

In Saturday morning’s quarter-finals, Ruffels takes on American Emilia Migliaccio while Abdulghany faces off with Riley Smyth, also from America.

The winners of those matches will play their semi-final in the afternoon with the 36-hole final set for Sunday.

Abdulghany, 21, is a rising senior at the University of Southern California who earned WGCA All-America honourable mention as a sophomore and junior.

Winner of this year’s Australian Master of the Amateurs Championship, Abdulghany began the week in 34th place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Having defeated Marissa Kirkwood, 4 and 2, in the Round of 32, the Malaysian displayed her grit with a two-up success over Ellie Slama in the Round of 16, closing out her match with a 35-foot birdie putt.

“The greens were a little slower this afternoon compared to this morning. I honestly thought I smashed the ball six feet by the hole and it just dribbled in. It was nice to end with that one,” said Abdulghany.

Ruffels, meanwhile, has stepped to the ninth tee trailing in all three of her match play contests. Each time , the 20-year-old has dug deep and mounted a comeback to earn her spot in the quarter-finals.

Ruffels defeated South African Kajal Mistry on Thursday, then took down 2019 US Girls’ Junior champion Ye Lei of China, two-up, on Friday morning and Spaniard Teresa Toscano Borrero, 4 and 2, in the afternoon. In all three matches, Ruffels hit her stride in the middle of the round. Between the ninth and 16th, she won a combined 14 holes and lost just one, swinging each match in her favour.

“I've been down in all of my matches, but number nine has been a big turning point for me,” said Ruffels, who has advanced farther than any defending champion since Danielle Kang in 2011. “If I can be close heading to the back nine, then I feel like I have an advantage.”

On progressing to the last eight, she added: “I've done this before so I don't really feel the pressure or expectations. I'm just trying to have as much fun as I can out here, and I am doing that, so it's been awesome.”