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Ruffels moved to top spot on the Epson Tour money list with her two-shot win over American Kathleen Scavo at the Arizona Women’s Golf Classic in Mesa.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old pocketed a winner’s cheque of $50,250 ($A74,700) and jumped from a tie for 24th to the No.1 spot on the money list.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels so good. I\u2019ve wanted this all week, especially after the first round when I kind of got into the tournament,\u201d Ruffels told the Epson Tour website. \u201cI just had to stay patient all day, and I can finally relax knowing that I won. It\u2019s a really cool feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruffels entered the final event of the 2022 Epson Tour season with the chance to finish inside the top-10 and earn promotion to the LPGA Tour in 2023.<\/p>\n
She ultimately finished 15th and then missed the cut-off to enter the LPGA Q-Series where she could also have obtained her card after forgetting to file her entry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came in 15th on the Epson Tour last year and still felt like I had a lot to improve on,\u201d Ruffels said. \u201cI feel like this year, if I can prove myself out here, then hopefully next year, if I get onto the LPGA Tour, I\u2019ll be super ready. Definitely having this win, any win but especially this one, is going to boost my confidence for the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Australian carded a bogey-free final round of four-under 68 and led by as many as five strokes on Sunday in Mesa, before Scavo eagled the final hole to trim the winning margin to two shots, with Ruffels finishing on 18-under-par.<\/p>\n
It was a first pro win for Ruffels, who in 2019 became the first Australian to win the US Women’s Amateur title and had her mum, former tennis star AnnaMaria on the bag this week.<\/p>\n
She also boasts four top-25 finishes in major championships.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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