Gabi Ruffels, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is one of five amateurs invited to compete in the LPGA’s first major of the season, the ANA Inspiration.
Ruffels, a junior at the University of Southern California, is also the North and South Amateur champion. She is joined in the field by:
*Rose Zhang, the No. 1-ranked player on the Rolex AJGA rankings and winner of the 2018 ANA Junior Inspiration.
*Kaitlyn Papp, a junior at the University of Texas and ranked 14th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
*Olivia Meheffey, a three-time All-American senior at Arizona State.
*Angela Ye, a Stanford freshman who won the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior and is a member of the Chinese national golf team.
The final amateur spot will go to the winner of this year’s ANA Junior Inspiration, a 54-hole, AJGA-sanctioned event that takes place the week prior to the ANA. The LPGA’s first of five major championships contested this year will take place April 2-5 at Mission Hills Country Club in Racho Mirage, California.
Past amateur invites to this event include Michelle Wie, Georgia Hall, Lydia Ko, Angel Yin, Minjee Lee, Brooke Henderson, Su Oh and Nelly Korda.