Gabriela Ruffels got her tennis fix at Wimbledon last week. Taking a couple of days off to watch her former life play out was just the preparation she needed for the Amundi Evian Championship.
Ruffels was a guest of fellow Australian Todd Woodbridge—who won nine doubles titles at Wimbledon—and had a chance to watch that major before playing in this major at Evian Resort Golf Club. She was treated as a VIP.
The 25-year-old is tied for the 54-hole lead with Cara Gainer after shooting a five-under 66 to move to 11 under, and she’ll have plenty more rockstar treatment from her homeland if she’s able to lift this trophy in France.
“It was really cool to be in a different perspective, put yourself outside the ropes a little bit and watch another sport compete,” Ruffles said. “I got a lot from that, and yeah, thanks to Todd were able to go to the members’ only area, which was such a cool experience.
“It was great to relax and not touch the clubs for a few days and get over jet lag. Seems to have worked this week.”
Gainer moved up the leaderboard with a seven-under 64. She and Ruffels will be paired together Sunday. Coincidentally, both women grew up playing tennis rather than golf. Gainer, a 29-year-old from England, said Saturday that she considers tennis her first love. Although she no longer plays, she said she enjoys watching all the big events on television. Ruffels played competitive tennis until she was 15.
Cara Gainer of England plays a shot on the 13th hole during Round 3 of the Amundi Evian Championship.
Paul Devlin
The leaders will have their respective hands full over the final 18 holes as there’s a host of big names chasing, including Minjee Lee, who just won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last month. Lee, World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, Grace Kim and Somi Lee are all tied for third, just one shot back. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who is still searching for her first victory this year, is 10 shots back of the lead after a disappointing four-over 75 in the third round. Amateur Lottie Woad is tied for 19th place. A finish inside the top 25 will give her an LPGA card for the rest of this year and all of next.
Lee, the Evian winner in 2021, could certainly prove to be the biggest competition for the two in front of her on the leaderboard.
“I think just being here over the years, you know kind of a little bit where the breaks are going,” lee said. “I think in general being in this position before, being where I am probably by the end of today, I think it’s just going to be nice to have that kind of experience under my belt and know just being there and being patient and just hanging [in there] when it gets tough.
“You will still have a chance, and I think, just play each shot as it goes. It’s Evian, so the course may give you some bounces that might not go in your favor. That’s the way it is for everybody.”
Ruffels was tied for the lead after the first round, which was the first time she’s been in that position. She’s back there again, but sleeping on the lead of a major with 18 holes remaining is a different ballgame.
“This is the position you want to be in. Yeah, for sure looking forward to [Sunday],” Ruffels said.
Ruffels is the daughter of former professional tennis players Ray Ruffles and Anna-Maria Fernandez. Ruffels played competitive tennis until she was 15. She turned to golf and after playing in college at USC, she became one of the best in the world. She blitzed through the Epson Tour in 2023, winning three times, to earn her LPGA card for 2024. And now, although winless on this tour, she’s contending for a major.
Ruffels has played in 17 majors, her best finishes came five years ago when she tied for 13th in both the U.S. Women’s Open and AIG British Women’s Open in 2020.
This year, she’s made the cut in three of the first four majors and made nine of 13 cuts overall. She’s finding her way on the second year on tour and it’s clearly going well in Europe.
On Saturday at Evian she made six birdies and a bogey in her round of 66, including a run of four birdies in five holes—Nos. 11, 12, 14, 15—to jump squarely into contention. Putting has been key for Ruffels this week. She’s needed 28, 29 and 28 putts, respectively, to dazzle around the greens in the first three rounds.
“I’ve made a lot of putts inside 15 feet,” she said, “which has been crucial.”
While watching tennis last week at Wimbledon, she shared a social media message that said: “Why are their second serves faster than my driver ball speed?”
All jokes aside, if the putts are dropping for Ruffels, she could have her first LPGA victory coming at one of the five biggest events in the world.
