Huffer, Laisne hope to chase down Ruffels for top spot
SOUTH BEND – Since graduating from Notre Dame, professional golf victories have been rare for Becca Huffer — four in 2013, including the Colorado Women’s Open.
Saturday, the 33-year-old Huffer will have a chance to grab her biggest yet in the final round of the Epson Tour’s $200,000 Four Winds Invitational at South Bend Country Club. But in order to accomplish that, Huffer will have to chase down a golfer from Notre Dame’s athletic nemesis Southern California and hold off a former University of Texas All-American from France.
Huffer birdied four of her incoming nine holes on South Bend’s front side during an afternoon round of four-under 68 that left her at seven-under 137, two strokes behind Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels, the former Trojan who currently leads the Epson Tour in earnings with $126,283.
Huffer, who is 13th in tour earnings with a career-bests $48,701, is tied for second place with 24-year-old Paris resident Agathe Laisne, who won the Epson Tour’s opening tournament, the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic March 5, and is fifth in earnings with $72,502.
The 23-year-old Ruffels, already a two-time winner this season, fired the best round of the tournament, a sevenunder 65 with seven birdies, in the calm conditions Friday morning to take command of the tournament. Huffer and the 24-year-old Laisne, who shot 69, had to battle afternoon gusts to gain their spots in Saturday’s final pairing off the first tee at 9:42 a.m.
Another stroke back at six-under 138 are four golfers — China’s Michelle Zhang (68) and Americans Amy Lee (69), Laura Wearn (70) and Katherine Smith (70). They and 68 others made the 36-hole cut in the tournament which will pay $30,000 to the winner. A victory would catapult Huffer well inside the Top 10 in earnings, which is where she needs to be to regain her LPGA Tour card.
“It was tough at the beginning, especially with the wind and playing the back nine (many of which lie near South Chain Lake),” said Huffer, who had a birdie at the par-5, 507-yard 12th hole and then bogeyed the 424-yard, par-4 13th. “I just felt if I could get through those holes, I’d see what I could do on the front nine.”
Huffer birdied the par-4 first, third and sixth holes of South Bend’s front and birdied the 496-yard, par-5 seventh for a four-under 33.
“Everything is feeling good,” Huffer said. “On these greens, you have to leave yourself in good spots. I did and on some I could have done better.”
Ruffels, who opened with a two-under 70 Thursday, took apart South Bend’s front nine with five birdies to turn in 32. She then made birdies at Nos. 12 and 15 and just missed another at the 475-yard, par-5 18th.
“I’m super happy,” said Ruffels, who made a 30-foot birdie putt at No. 3 to get her round going and then added birdies at Nos. 4, 6, 7 and 8. “After Thursday, I thought a good score was out there because I hit it really solid. A lot of holes out here are gettable, especially the par 5s.”
The 24-year-old Laisne started her round Friday with bogeys at Nos. 10 and 13 but rallied with birdies at Nos. 15 and 18 to turn in even par 35 before she rode a roller coaster on the front nine, with five birdies offsetting two bogeys. She finished with a 10-foot downhill birdie putt at the difficult 327-yard ninth.
“I knew it was going to be tough in the afternoon with the wind,” Laisne said. “I just tried to be patient, hit fairways and greens and see if I could make birdies. The birdie putt I made at 9 was a bonus.”