Most players find their way on the tour after failing to get a LPGA Tour card through its end-of-the year qualifying school known as Q-Series. Yet Ruffels, a 23-year-old Australian, is back because of a clerical error. The former US Women’s Amateur champion missed the entry deadline to sign up for Q-Series, preventing her from having the chance to gain LPGA status last November.

One might think given her success to date this year on the Epson Tour that Ruffels would harbour frustration at what she could be doing right now if playing on the LPGA Tour. Instead, she partially credits missing Q-Series for her successful start to the 2023 season.

“It’s probably the best thing that could have happened,” Ruffels said. “In the moment, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t extremely disappointed. But looking back at it now, it could have been a blessing in disguise.”

A former highly ranked amateur tennis player whose brother is also an aspiring tour pro, Ruffels continued working on her game with her team in the off-season to build off a 15th-place finish on last year’s Epson money list. It was five spots shy of the top 10, which would have earned her an automatic LPGA card and given her better tour status than anyone who advances through Q-Series. Ruffels feels all aspects of her game are coming together, but she sees the tangible results primarily on the greens.

“Putting is the No. 1 thing for scoring, and I feel like that’s where I’ve really improved this year,” Ruffels said. “That’s what’s allowed me to have these good results.”

Good results are a humble way to describe her year. Ruffels won the Carlisle Golf Classic in March by two strokes. She walked away from Garden City, Kansas, with her second win and multiple scoring records. Her 18-under aggregate start (62-64) shattered the Epson Tour’s previous 36-hole scoring record (15-under). Closing with a 71 let her tie the tour’s 54-hole mark at 19-under par for a four-shot win.

Your 2023 #CarlisleGolfClassic ?Champion? @GabiRuffels#EpsonTour | #Road2LPGA pic.twitter.com/Lf9HHETH6w

— Epson Tour (@EpsonTour) March 19, 2023

“I really wish I had the answer because I wish I could do that every week,” Ruffels said.

With no battlefield promotions to the LPGA, which the tour removed following 2018, so Ruffels has the rest of the season to continue brewing the alchemy of last week. Following her second win, Ruffels sits in first place on the money list with $59,262, nearly 40K ahead of 10th. (Last year’s 10th place spot earned $78,611

Epson dominance correlates to LPGA success. Patty Tavatanakit won three times in 2019 before becoming a major champion in 2021. Nanna Koerstz Madsen, the last player to earn a battlefield promotion in 2017 with three wins that season, became the first player from Denmark to win on the LPGA at last year’s Honda LPGA Thailand.

But for now, instead of eyeing what could’ve been, Ruffels remains patient as Epson serves as the building ground of the foundation of Ruffels’ future LPGA career.

“I feel like it’s so important to be able to take steps at each level,” Ruffels said. “And to be able to go out and learn how to win on a professional level is something that I really wanted to try and do this year.”

The post A silly mistake kept this tour pro from playing for an LPGA card last year. Here’s how she’s making up for it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

WE’RE BUYING

Patrick Reed: How about this guy’s timing? For a second time in three years, Reed won his first event of the season at the first FedEx Cup Playoffs event, all but locking up a spot on Team USA for the Presidents Cup in December. Captain America winning in the shadow of Lady Liberty. How PATRIOTIC.

Kevin C. Cox

Incredibly, this was also Reed’s first victory since winning last year’s Masters. His seventh PGA Tour title only moved Mr. Self-proclaimed Top 5 back to No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking. But it did vault him to No. 2 (from No. 50) in the FedEx Cup standings. If he claims that $15 million bonus, he’ll never have to worry about sitting in the “cheap” seats again.

Scott Harrington: Timing was on this guy’s side, too, as he completed one of the best stories in golf by earning his PGA Tour card for the first time at 38. The accomplishment was made all the sweeter by having his wife, Jenn, in attendance at Pumpkin Ridge a year after Harrington cut his season short when she was diagnosed with cancer. Now Jenn is doing great and so is Scott.

The culmination of an emotional rollercoaster for @ScottyGlf and his family.

His wife Jenn has twice battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is now cancer-free. She flew in Saturday night and got to hug her husband on 18 as he heads to the @PGATOUR. pic.twitter.com/6dupdnM3WJ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 12, 2019

Congrats also to Bo Hoag on winning the Korn Ferry Tour finale to secure his PGA Tour card as well. As for what happened to Vince India on the final hole, well, we’re not going to talk about that. . . Thoughts and prayers to Vince India. . .

Playing in a pro-am: I had the pleasure of playing in an LPGA Pro-Am four years ago, but as you can imagine, everything is a bit more amplified at a PGA Tour pro-am. The crowds are a lot larger (although, fortunately, my opening tee shot came on No. 10 in front of only a few fans), the SWAG is a lot cooler (I got an early Christmas gift for the wife as well), and odds are (no offence, LPGA), you’re going to get paired with a bigger name. I drew Hideki Matsuyama. You’ve probably heard of him. Decent little player.

What a thrill. At least, while it lasted. . .

WE’RE SELLING

Getting rained out in a pro-am: My only task that came with this plum assignment was finding a different angle to write about than the usual “Playing in a Pro-Am is awesome” (but again, to be clear, it is). And Mother Nature provided just that by bringing a lightning storm that chased us off the course after only three holes.

Sigh.

Bryson’s pace of play: On one hand, I feel bad for Bryson getting absolutely torched by the rest of the golf world after a pair of videos exposing his plodding pace of play went viral. On the other, if that’s what needs to happen to bring about change, then so be it. First off, here are the two videos in question:

anyone need a nap?

here’s DeChambeau pacing off a 70-yard shot which took over 3 minutes to hit (couldn’t post the entire video it took so long) pic.twitter.com/7A3Azeftyu

— Eric Patterson (@EPatGolf) August 9, 2019

We can… pic.twitter.com/TOnRS4BXds

— Fantasy Golf Pod (@fantasygolfpod) August 10, 2019

Not good! And here is a sample response from Eddie Pepperell:

Just look at Tommy and Justin, both looking completely bored. Slow players do this to their playing partners making the game less enjoyable. Problem is, the unaffected single minded twit in this instance, doesn’t care much for others.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 10, 2019

Again, content! I’m also selling the fact that the PGA Tour hasn’t penalized an individual player since Glen “All” Day in 1995. That’s 24 years ago! DeChambeau was still using single-length diapers!

The Jason Day-Steve Williams Era: The old New Zealand looper was supposed to toughen up the young Aussie and rejuvenate the former World No. 1’s career. Instead, it resulted in a mostly forgettable T21-T8-T66-MC-T40-MC run over six tournaments. Day called the breakup “mutual” and that it was “a disconnect of old school and new school,” which can be summed up perfectly by this photo:

David Cannon

There’s no way Stevie stood for Jason wearing that shirt.

ON TAP

The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings (including, hopefully, Tiger Woods. We’re going to forget last week’s WD ever happened. . . ) make their way to the BMW Championship at Medinah, AKA that place where Tiger Woods has won two majors and where the Miracle at Medinah happened in 2012. Isn’t it nice when things are so perfectly named? Makes them a lot easy to remember.

Random tournament fact: Medinah is also the site of Sergio Garcia’s running, leaping scissor kick at the 1999 PGA Championship. Sadly, Sergio won’t be here this year because he didn’t advance to the second state of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Sadly to the fans, that is. The course’s superintendent is probably relieved.

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

Pick a photo, any photo from Michelle Wie’s wedding to Jonnie West. She Instagrammed 26 (and counting) to be exact:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1DQSrlJh8w/?utm_source=ig_embed

Then there were other photos posted by guests, including tennis player Genie Bouchard:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1CM3fnpJYR/?utm_source=ig_embed

And Golf Digest’s own Hally Leadbetter:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1B9lAtAiTy/?utm_source=ig_embed

Anyway, congrats to Michelle and Jonnie on looking fantastic and for coming up with a great wedding couple hashtag. And congrats to THE LOGO, Jerry West!

Think their kids will be any good at sports? LOL.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Rory McIlroy delivered quite the random dagger at Matt Kuchar during the Wyndham Rewards awards ceremony:

Rory eviscerated Kuchar today. ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/omtMHRS8rh

— Chris Chaney (@Wrong_Fairway) August 6, 2019

Poor, Matt. He’s never living down that cheap tip.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Yeah, look, it’s changed my life a little bit. I’m definitely more recognized now, and even coming over here to events, but if anything when you’re like that, it makes you feel more comfortable. That’s the way I feel, anyway. They’re not calling me Beef or they’re not calling me J.B. Holmes out there, anyway. That’s a plus.” — Shane Lowry on winning the Open Championship. That’s a plus, indeed. Beardism is real.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Danielle Kang managed to be at her good friend Michelle Wie’s wedding in LA:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1B5AqtnwZb/?utm_source=ig_embed

AND in Oregon to see her boyfriend, Maverick McNealy, earn his PGA Tour card for the first time:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1DDCRWnx5t/?utm_source=ig_embed

Awww.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

First, Phil. . . went for a hike?

I hiked the Precipice Trail at Acadia National Forest and wanted to share that it is one of the coolest things I’ve done. Hard to explain the beauty and challenge of this amazing trail. pic.twitter.com/9dfc8HuFTf

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 6, 2019

Then Phil posted this odd video with Bryson DeChambeau (before the slow-play storm hit):

Intellectual thinking with @b_dechambeau. pic.twitter.com/TOhNkBMkGk

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 7, 2019

Then he retold a classic yarn involving himself, Tony Romo, and Tiger Woods in front of Tiger (sort of) in his latest Phireside Chat:

The one and only @TigerWoods was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to join me on Phireside with Phil. We got to talk about all the times I beat him (one). pic.twitter.com/IPbUufpUKH

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 12, 2019

Absolutely brilliant. Both the gamesmanship at Pebble Beach in 2012 and the use of Tiger photos to re-tell the story. It’s too bad Phil didn’t start these little chats last year leading up to THE MATCH. Woods would have been happy to actually come on for real to promote that event.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Gabi Ruffels for winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur despite her caddie having to leave for a funeral on the 31st hole of the 36-hole final. Congrats to tour pro Ryan Ruffels as well. To say he was proud of his little sister is an understatement.

SHE DID IT US AM CHAMP LETS GOOO pic.twitter.com/50Q3UnH16Q

— Ryan Ruffels (@RRuffels) August 11, 2019

Congrats to Amanda Balionis for consistently hitting the gym on the road. That takes serious discipline (the only thing I consistently do on the road is eat fast food) and the results are evident by the GUN SHOW she put on at the Northern Trust:

Congrats to Chris Naegel for making this hole-in-one:

Eagle at 11.
?ACE at 12! ?

Chris Naegel is trying to do something special @PortlandOpen. pic.twitter.com/3kEbfV5orZ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 11, 2019

But condolences to Chris for not winning the BMW on display behind the tee. That’s messed up. . . . And finally, now that my daughter, Julia, is walking, I presented her with her first set of golf clubs:

We need to work on her form, but most importantly, I’m doing my part to GROW THE GAME.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Steve Williams ever caddie on the PGA Tour again?

Will I ever play in a PGA Tour pro-am again?

When should I talk to my daughter about slow play?

The post Michelle Wie walks the aisle, Phil Mickelson needles Tiger Woods, and Bryson DeChambeau gets roasted for slow play appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.