Rose Zhang and Gabriela Ruffles. Pic: USGA
Rockville, MD, Aug 10: Rose Zhang almost did not play the 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club. Hit by a wrist injury, she seriously considered withdrawing a little over 10 days before the event. But she then decided to stop practice and rested as a preparation. It paid off.
Using a combination of daily ice packs, medical tape and finding fairways in regulation provided the perfect plan for Zhang, who was poised throughout the week.
She outlasted defending champion Gabriela Ruffels in 38 holes to win to deny the latter a second successive US Women’s Amateur title. The second-longest match in championship history ended in heart-breaking fashion for Ruffels, who lipped out a 3-foot par putt to extend the match.
India’s Anika Varma, who became the first Indian to play the US Women’s Amateur, missed the cut by one shot following stroke play earlier in the weeek.
“Winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur means the world to me,” said Zhang, the No. 9 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. “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.”
For Ruffels, 20, of Australia, 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, 1 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.
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 (No. 8), when they came to hole that Ruffels won four times in match play – Woodmont’s par-4 ninth. Hitting first, Ruffels pulled her drive into the left rough – her third consecutive missed fairway. After missing the green long, she played her delicate chip to within 3 feet. Zhang had an opportunity to win it, but her 18-foot missed out 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 2 up at any point in the match. Ruffels got on the board first, birdieing the second and third holes to take a quick 2-up advantage. It was her largest lead on the front nine all week, though it did not last long. Zhang birdied the par-5 fifth to cut her deficit in half, then squared the match on the par-3 sixth when she rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt then watched Ruffels lip out from 8 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 1 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 4 feet on the 23rd to regain a 1-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-3 31st, Ruffels hit a 7-iron to 12 feet and sank her birdie putt to square the match. It was the last hole won by either player until Ruffels’ stunning miss at the 38th.
What the champion receives
For winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Zhang received a gold medal and custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year. Her name also will be on a plaque in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Golf Museum that will commemorate all of the USGA champions for 2020.
She also earned a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur, as well as an exemption into the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. She also earned an invitation to next April’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and is likely to receive invitations to next year’s ANA Inspiration, Women’s British Open and Evian championships, provided she is still an amateur.
This was the fifth time a U.S. Women’s Amateur final went to extra holes, and first since 2001.
This was the second-longest championship match in Women’s Amateur history. JoAnne Gunderson Carner defeated Marlene Stewart Streit in 41 holes in 1966.
Before her loss to Zhang, Ruffels had won 11 consecutive matches to start her U.S. Women’s Amateur career. That was the longest streak since Dorothy Campbell won 13 straight in 1909-11.
As part of U.S. Women’s Amateur tradition, both finalists got to customize their lunch menus. Zhang had honey-glazed salmon with steamed broccoli and white rice. Ruffels had the same meal she had in 2019: penne Bolognese with a side garden salad.
Zhang had to reschedule her flight home three times after advancing to the final match.
Two U.S. Women’s Amateur champions – Danielle Kang (2010, 2011) and Lydia Ko (2012) – finished first and second, respectively, at this week’s Marathon LPGA Classic.
This is the second consecutive Women’s Amateur final in which Ruffels played an opponent with Stanford ties. She defeated senior Albane Valenzuela, 1 up, in 2019. Zhang has verbally committed to Stanford (Class of 2025).
By virtue of her win in the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur, Ruffels is exempt into the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston.
“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,” said Rose Zhang, on her admiration for Ruffels.
“On the course, I’m pretty stone-faced. I really don’t have any emotion. From a young age, my parents always taught us to be competitive and stay composed. But I really don’t know where it comes from because my dad is not at all composed,” added Zhang.
“It was truly an amazing week having my dad caddie for me. He really gave me confidence to believe in myself. When I was a little bit down, he helped me get back on my feet and kept me going,” added Zhang, on her father, Haibin, caddying for her this week.
“Today was a very long 38 holes. In the middle of the round, my wrist was feeling weird, so I tried to stretch it out as much as I could before going to the next shot that I had. I don’t think that my wrist was too much of a hindrance, but it definitely was in the back of my mind,” she said on her wrist injury.
“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 defense,” said Gabriela Ruffels.
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