Gabriela Ruffels Bio
Gabriela Ruffels (born 18 April 2000) is an Australian-American professional golfer who previously competed as a junior tennis player. After switching from tennis to golf in 2015, she rose through the amateur ranks and in 2019 became the first Australian to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She plays on the LPGA Tour after earning her card through the Epson Tour, where she was named Player of the Year in 2023.
Born in Orlando, Florida and raised between the United States and Melbourne, Australia, Ruffels combines an international upbringing with a powerful athletic pedigree. Standing 5 ft 8 in (173 cm), she is recognized for a steady competitive temperament shaped by years of high-level junior tennis before she ever picked up a golf club in earnest.
Early Life and Background
Gabriela Ruffels was born on 18 April 2000 in Orlando, Florida. She is the daughter of Ray Ruffels and Anna-Maria Fernandez, both former competitive tennis players. As a child, she moved with her family to Laguna Niguel, California before eventually settling in Melbourne, Australia, where she spent most of her formative years.
Her older brother, Ryan Ruffels, is two years her senior and also a talented tennis player turned golfer. Ryan represented Australia at the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy and turned professional in 2016, giving Gabriela a built-in training partner and role model as she transitioned between sports.
Gabriela attended Haileybury in Melbourne from 2012 to 2017, where she played on the school’s girls’ premiership tennis teams in 2015 and 2017. After graduating, she enrolled at the University of Southern California in 2018 to study business administration, joining the USC Trojans women’s golf team and quickly establishing herself at the collegiate level.
Path to Golf
Ruffels began playing tennis at the age of six and continued competitively until she was fourteen, reaching the number one ranking among Australian junior girls at age twelve and the number three ranking two years later. She won three doubles championships between 2011 and 2012 and accumulated twenty-one International Tennis Federation doubles titles across Europe, while also representing Australia at the 2014 World Junior Tennis Finals.
By early 2015, Ruffels had grown tired of tennis and made the switch to golf. Her rapid progress in the new sport was evident when she placed ninth at the 2016 Australian Women’s Amateur, and by 2018 she had earned a place on the USC Trojans roster. Her collegiate career peaked in 2019 when she was named an All-American by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association.
Gabriela Ruffels Career
Early Career (2018–2020)
As a freshman at the University of Southern California, Ruffels helped the Trojans reach the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships. The following season, she tied for 19th in the individual NCAA Championship and added team and individual accolades that confirmed her status as one of the top amateurs in the country.
Her amateur breakthrough arrived in 2019, when she won the North and South Women’s Amateur and then became the first Australian to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Those victories earned her exemptions into multiple majors in 2020, including the U.S. Women’s Open, the ANA Inspiration, the Evian Championship, and the Women’s British Open. She finished tied for 13th at the U.S. Women’s Open and tied for 15th at the ANA Inspiration, then returned to the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2020 and finished as runner-up.
Epson Tour Breakthrough (2021–2023)
Ruffels announced her decision to turn professional on 10 February 2021, making her debut at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. Throughout 2021, she split time between the LPGA Tour, the Symetra Tour, and the Ladies European Tour, recording a fourth-place finish at the IOA Championship and a tie for 17th at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open as her best results of the year.
Her first professional victory came at the 2023 Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic on the Epson Tour, and she went on to collect a total of three wins on the developmental circuit. That dominant 2023 campaign made her the first Australian to be named Epson Tour Player of the Year, securing her LPGA Tour card for the 2024 season.
LPGA Tour Era (2024–Present)
Ruffels graduated to the LPGA Tour full time in 2024, bringing her amateur pedigree and Epson Tour form into the world’s premier women’s circuit. Her 2024 rookie season included a tie for 24th at the Women’s PGA Championship, establishing her as a regular contender in major championships.
In 2025, she added a tie for ninth at the Evian Championship to her major-championship resume, her best major result to date. Continuing to balance consistency with steady improvement, she remains a watchable presence on the LPGA Tour as she builds on her early professional foundation.
Driving Style and Strengths
Ruffels is regarded as a composed ball striker whose tennis-honed footwork translates into a balanced, athletic golf swing. Her competitive background has also given her strong mental toughness and the ability to grind out scoring opportunities on tough scoring days, traits that have served her well in both amateur match-play and professional stroke-play competition.
Notable Events and Milestones
Her 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur victory stands as the headline achievement of her career, making her the first Australian to claim that title. Becoming the first Australian Epson Tour Player of the Year in 2023 marked another historic milestone, and her top-10 finish at the 2025 Evian Championship signaled her arrival among the LPGA Tour’s major-championship performers.
Gabriela Ruffels Career Wins
Gabriela Ruffels has recorded three professional wins, all of them on the Epson Tour during her breakout 2023 season. Those victories propelled her to Epson Tour Player of the Year honors and earned her a place on the LPGA Tour beginning in 2024.
Epson Tour Highlights
Her first professional title came at the 2023 Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, the win that announced her arrival on the developmental circuit. She went on to collect two more Epson Tour titles in 2023, capping the season as the circuit’s leading performer and securing her LPGA Tour card.
Other Wins & Performances
As an amateur, Ruffels won the 2019 North and South Women’s Amateur and the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur, both prestigious events in the women’s amateur calendar. She was also part of the International team that won the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup, one of the premier team events in collegiate and amateur golf.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epson Tour | 3 | Verified | Verified |
Gabriela Ruffels Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Ruffels comes from a sporting family rooted in tennis. Her father, Ray Ruffels, and her mother, Anna-Maria Fernandez, are both former tennis players who introduced their children to the sport at a young age. Her older brother, Ryan Ruffels, also transitioned from tennis to golf, representing Australia at the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy before turning professional in 2016.
Personal Life
Ruffels was born in the United States and raised in Australia, giving her a dual Australian-American identity that she has carried throughout her athletic career. She studied business administration at the University of Southern California while competing for the Trojans, balancing academics with a demanding amateur and professional playing schedule. She continues to pursue her professional golf career with the support of her family.
2025 Season Performance
Ruffels’ 2025 season on the LPGA Tour has been highlighted by her best major-championship result to date, a tie for ninth at the Evian Championship. That performance reinforced the gains she made during her Epson Tour Player of the Year campaign and signaled continued progress against the world’s top players.
She also competed in the Women’s British Open, where she did not advance past the cut, a result she will look to address in future major starts. Across the broader LPGA schedule, her combination of steady ball striking and a calm match-play temperament has kept her in contention in a number of regular events.
With full status on the LPGA Tour and several years of developmental experience behind her, Ruffels enters the heart of the 2025 season with realistic ambitions of contending in majors and adding to her professional win total. Her trajectory suggests she is well positioned to climb the Rolex Rankings and become a consistent presence in the closing groups of LPGA Tour events.