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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 9, 2019

Gabriela Ruffels

West Point, Mississippi

Q. Heck of a match; you guys combined for 13 birdies, you halved three holes, I believe, with birdie. When you're in a match like that, what's going on?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, it was crazy. I mean, from the start, she never made any bogeys. I was kind of waiting for her to kind of miss one, mis-hit a shot or something like that, but it didn't happen. She put the pressure on every single hole, and I think every hole was won with a birdie, so it was a really good match.

Q. You hadn't been in a match like that all week. It basically had ended on 15. You probably were tested here. Did you feel like you had to pick up something in your game as the match wore on? Did you have to raise your level?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Of course I had to raise my level. I was 1-down on 14, and I knew that I had to do something special coming in to beat her because she was on fire, and she wasn't missing. So I came in with three birdies and did that, which was good enough.

Q. What did you find out about yourself today? I don't know if you've been in a match like that through your career.
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, it was great. I was just telling myself, this is good for you to be in a pressure situation. It's good to see how you handle it. Yeah, I didn't want to shy away from it, I just kind of took it head on and did pretty good.

Q. You're 1-down going to 15. I know they moved the tee up. It looked like you were just short of the green in two, right?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah.

Q. How far did you hit your chip to?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: I was just short right, on the green. I was putting, but I told my caddie that was one of the hardest putts I've had all day, and my speed wasn't great kind of all day, but kind of really zoned into that one and put it to about a foot, which was nice.

Q. How long was the putt?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Maybe like 40, 45 feet.

Q. And then you birdied 16 and 17, correct?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: I did, yes.

Q. How long were your putts and shots into both holes?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: 16, I hit 6-iron in, and I hit it to gimme range. She gave me that, because she hit her chip past. And then 17 was maybe 18 feet.

Q. Now tomorrow you're going to face Andrea Lee, big match-up. I'm sure you've played with each other before, being both Pac-12 kids?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: We've played a lot together. Yeah, I mean, last time I played her was at East Lake. It was a great match. I mean, I know she's one of the best players in amateur golf right now, so I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be fun.

Q. Did you beat her at East Lake?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: I did, but anything can happen. It's match play, and I just know how good she is.

Q. What have you found out about yourself now that you've gotten to this far in the championship? You're only a couple of wins away from winning the biggest prize in Women's Amateur golf.
GABRIELA RUFFELS: I mean, I don't want to think about that just yet, kind of one match at a time. But I'm happy with how I've done, really proud of myself, and we'll see how far we can go.

Q. Where is your brother playing this week?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: He's playing in Canada, in Calgary, so he's kind of trying to follow along as well as playing.

Q. Has he been texting you?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yes, he's just been texting me like good job, keep going. Yeah, there's a lot of support from him, which is nice.

Q. Are you involved at all with Golf Australia?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, I've had tremendous support from Golf Australia.

Q. Do you go back there a lot?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: I grew up there -- I mean, I started playing golf there, but since I've been at college I haven't been back yet in a year and a half, but definitely planning to.

Q. And you were born in the States, correct?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: I was, yeah.

Q. Dual citizenship?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Dual.

Q. Ever thought about playing for the U.S. in anything?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: No, definitely Australia.

Q. Your mom and dad were tennis players, correct?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yes, they were both professional tennis players.

Q. How did the golf kind of come about for you and your brother?
GABRIELA RUFFELS: So me and my brother grew up playing all kinds of sports, everything. My brother was actually a really good tennis player growing up, and then he kind of fell in love with golf, as well, at maybe 13, 14. Maybe a little earlier. But yeah, I played tennis for about eight years pretty competitively and kind of lost interest in that, and then took up golf.

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