Two of Australia’s finest were brilliant at the weekend with Minjee Lee and Adam Scott locking down top 10s on the world’s biggest tours.
Lee recorded a second straight LPGA Tour top 15 after finishing in a share of 6th at the Women’s Scottish Open, while Scott cracked the top five after a final-round 65 at the opening FedEx Cup Playoffs event in New Jersey.
But Aussie of the week goes to a rising star who we all hope will reach those heights one day with 19-year-old Gabi Ruffels making Australian golf history in Mississippi.
Ruffels became the first Australian to win the US Women’s Amateur and she did it in unbelievable fashion, birdieing four of the last five holes to earn a 1-up win in the 36-hole final against Albane Valenzuela.
The Melburnian stiffed her approach on 17 on her way to birdie to go ahead in the match, before draining a downhill 6m putt on the final green for the biggest win of her life.
So it’s exemptions into next year’s US Women’s Open, ANA Inspiration, Women’s British Open, Evian Championship, Augusta National Women’s Amateur for Gabi Ruffels!
Here is the recap from the rest of this past week’s action and the Australians’ performances.
PGA TOUR
THE NORTHERN TRUST
Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City, New Jersey, August 8-11
Purse: $9,250,000 ($1,665,000 to the winner)
Next tournament: BMW Championship
Medinah Country Club (No. 3), Medinah, Illinois, August 15-18
| Player | Result | Earnings | FedExCup
Standing |
Notes |
| Aaron Baddeley | WD | — | 116 | Failed to qualify for the BMW Championship after withdrawing during the first round with a back injury. |
| Jason Day | CUT (E) | — | 50 | In his 12th consecutive start at THE NORTHERN TRUST, missed the cut for the first time. Dropped 10 spots to No. 50 in the FedExCup standings entering the BMW Championship. |
| Matt Jones | T30 (-6) | $53,765 | 108 | Ended his season at THE NORTHERN TRUST, despite earning his best finish at this event in his sixth appearance. |
| Marc Leishman | CUT (+2) | — | 16 | Missed the cut for the seventh time in his 11th start at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Best finish at this event is a T32 in 2011 at Plainfield Country Club. Easily advanced to the BMW Championship. |
| Adam Scott | 5th (-13) | $370,000 | 14 | THE 2013 NORTHERN TRUST winner notched his third top-five finish in his last three starts at this event, while sharing the low round of the day with Kevin Tway. Advanced to the BMW Championship. |
| Cameron Smith | T59 (-2) | $20,165 | 84 | Failed to advance to the BMW Championship for the first time since 2016, where he finished No. 157. |
Korn Ferry Tour
WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft Heinz
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Witch Hollow), North Plains, Oregon
Purse: $800,000 ($144,000 to the winner)
Next Tournament: Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet), August 15-18
| Player | Result | Earnings | Regular Season
Standing |
Notes |
| Robert Allenby | DNP | — | — | |
| Jamie Arnold | CUT (-3) | — | 38 | Despite not securing his PGA TOUR card by finishing inside The 25, will have a chance to compete in the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals to lock up his card. |
| Brett Coletta | CUT (+2) | — | 27 | Entered the tournament No. 25 in the standings but fell to No. 27 with a missed cut in Portland. Despite not securing his PGA TOUR card by finishing inside The 25, will have a chance to compete in the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals to lock up his card. |
| Brett Drewitt | T18 (-12) | $10,080 | 88 | Season ended in Portland. |
| Harrison Endycott | DNP | — | 229 | |
| Rhein Gibson | T11 (-14) | $17,600 | 10 | Earned his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season after ending the season with eight top-25 finishes, including a victory at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. |
| Cameron Percy | DNP | — | 58 | Remained exempt for the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season. |
| Travis Smyth | DNP | — | 239 |
MacKenzie Tour
ATB Financial Classic
Country Hills Golf Club Talons Course, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Purse: CAN $200,000 ($36,000 to the winner)
Next Tournament: Players Cup
Southwood Golf and Country Club, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, August 15-18
| Player | Result | Earnings | Order of Merit
Standing |
Notes |
| Josh Hetherington (a) | CUT (+1) | — | — | |
| Ryan Ruffels | CUT (-1) | — | 18 | |
| Ruben Sondjaja | T23 (-9) | $1,714 | 104 |
US WOMEN’S AMATEUR
Old Waverly, Mississippi
Won by Gabi Ruffels 1UP in the Final over Albane Valenzuela
Australians:
1 – Gabi Ruffels, 72-68, Rd of 64: 5&4, Rd of 32: 4&3, Rd of 16: 6&5, Quarter: 2&1, Semi: 2-Up, Final 1-Up
T33 – Doey Choi, 71-73, Rd of 64: lost 1 Dn
T33 – Steph Kyriacou, 75-72, Rd of 64: lost 22 holes
MC – Becky Kay, 76-73
MC – Jessica Whitting, 79-74
MC – Amelia Grohn, 79-76
MC – Sue Wooster, 80-80
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR/LPGA TOUR
Ladies Scottish Open
The Renaissance Club, Scotland
Won by Mi Jung Hur at -20 by four shots
Australians:
T6 – Minjee Lee, -11, 69-73-64-67
T13 – Su Oh, -9, 65-73-66-71
T35 – Katherine Kirk, -4, 68-69-70-73
T55 – Hannah Green, 67-73-71-74
MC – Sarah Kemp, +3, 71-74
MC – Whitney Hillier, +5, 71-76
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR
Made In Denmark Challenge
Silkeborg Ry Golfklub, Denmark
Won by Calum Hill at -22 by one shot
Australians:
T47 – Jordan Zunic, -9, 71-66-67-75
T61 – Ben Eccles, -6, 72-65-73 (MDF)
SYMETRA TOUR
PHC Classic
Brown Deer Park Golf Course, Milwaukee
Won by Robyn Ree at -17 by three shots
Australian:
MC – Steph Na, +3, 74-73
JAPAN LPGA TOUR
Hokkaido Meiji Cup
Sapporo International Country Club, Japan
Won by Seonwoo Bae at -12 in a playoff
Australian:
MC – Karis Davidson, +5, 77-72
A four-time winner of the Australian Golf Media Awards, including Best Photojournalism, Best Opinion, Best Column and Best Photographic Presentation, Inside Golf Group Editor Richard Fellner is the quintessential Golf Tragic, having played the game for over 50 years (but has never gotten any better!) He has played and reviewed courses all over the world, and has interviewed many of the great players of the game (including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Greg Norman). Richard is a member of both the Australian Golf Media Association and the Golf Society of Australia, and has been a featured guest on many Australian "sports talk" radio shows and networks, including ABC Grandstand, SEN 1116, Melbourne Talk Radio 1377, 2GB and others.
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