THE AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 2025

Gabriela Ruffels

Evian Resort Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Gabi Ruffels after her first round at the Amundi Evian Championship. Can you just talk about what went well out there today? Bogey-free round I'm hearing.

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yes, bogey-free. Super solid. Only missed two greens out there. Ball striking was really good. Been working hard on that with my coach.

And then the putting was good, too. I made some good long putts and then was pretty solid inside ten feet as well.

So, yeah, that added up to a pretty good score.

Q. And can you speak to preparing for this week and what went into that? And not just this week, but AIG, the last major stretch we have this year.

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, I took Dow off so I had a week and a half at home. Went to Wimbledon, so that was part of my preparation. Had a couple days off in London which was great to get over the jet lag as well and, yeah, just keep me relaxed and have fun.

Came here on Sunday, and, yeah, just kind of Monday through Wednesday normal prep. Yeah, it's worked well so far.

Q. Tell us a bit about Wimbledon. Who did you go with? How much fun was it? Were you losing your mind as like a tennis girl?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, so I last went when I was six so I didn't really remember it. I wanted to go when I remembered and appreciated it. I went with my boyfriend and also we went kind of as guests of Todd Woodbridge who was a doubles champion and really good friends with my dad. My dad coached him throughout his whole career.

So it was nice meeting up with them. He got us into the member's only area which was so cool. It was such a cool experience. Yeah, it's just kind of like a perspective switch as well from golf to kind of get in the tennis world.

Yeah, it was definitely a Bucket List thing to do and I'm glad we were able to tick that off.

Q. How were the strawberries and cream?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Very good actually. Yes, yes, I had to. Obviously you have to. It was a long line, so I was kind of getting a little bit -- I wanted to make sure they were really good and they definitely were very good.

Q. I think we always joke happy off the golf course happy on the golf course. Do you think having something like that, a positive experience, having your boyfriend out here, feeling relaxed and settled got you ready this week at the Evian?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: For sure. He's also not a golfer so it's nice to switch off a little bit, too. He does know about golf, but it's just kind of also bringing that different perspective.

But, yeah, we went to Lausanne yesterday. We've just kind of been doing different things. Probably done more things off the golf course than I have ever really done having him here, having to entertain him, too.

But, yeah, it's been great. Yeah, definitely happy off the golf course.

Q. How do you build on such a strong start here at what can be a tricky golf course if you don't have a lot of experience playing it?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: It's definitely a tricky golf course. You kind of have to know that. If you're hitting fairways and greens then it can be -- yeah, I hit a lot of fairways and greens today so it was super solid.

If that goes a little bit, then it can be pretty tricky. So just trying to keep it solid.

Q. With the preparation this week did you find you prepared differently with the elevation coming into?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: The elevation?

Q. Yeah, changes like for a typical week.

GABRIELA RUFFELS: No, I did not. I never even knew that it was elevation, so, no, I didn't. Just kind of same, similar preparation.

Q. And coming into the major, your second time at Evian?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yes.

Q. Mentally coming into the week being your second major at Evian, did you prepare differently, think of anything different? Have you been making any changes with your game?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, no, not really. Just kind of that experience of playing that golf course last year, this golf course last year has been super helpful.

I also have Travis Wilson on my bag who was Stacy Lewis' caddie for I think like 20 plus years. He told me it's been here over 20 years, so I was like, that has to help, you know, having that experience, which it definitely has.

He's one of the best caddies, one of the best guys out here. I've kind of relied on him and his experience and preparation.

Q. And with Minjee's latest win, does that give you belief in all the other Aussie girls out here, make you feel like you can be the girl at the end of the week with the trophy as well?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, for sure. I feel like we're all kind of pushing and inspiring each other. I think there is now over six Australian girls out here. I think for a lot of the time it was Hannah and Minjee and I've always looked up to those girls.

Seeing Minjee win last week was so cool, or a couple weeks ago. She's obviously a three-major champion and she's been great to me and great to all of us Australian girls coming up. She's definitely a mentor to me and someone I look up to.

Yeah, if it I can follow in Hannah and Minjee's footsteps a little bit then I would be doing pretty good.

Q. Who is your coach?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Brett Lederer.

Q. Today, first day in Evian, you do minus-6. How was the day?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, is it was really good. This is my second year at Evian and best round here so far, bogey-free today, so it was just super solid.

Hit a lot of greens. I think I missed only two greens and was able to get up and down.

So just a super solid day.

Q. What work the best for you today in your game?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: My irons were really good but I made a lot of putts, too. I made a lot of putts outside like 20, 25 feet which really helps out here. Then made some good putts inside 15 feet.

Yeah, I mean, irons were good and then I was able to capitalize on the putting.

Q. You are with the leader on the top of the leaderboard. Does that make you feel confident for the rest of the week?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, for sure. It's where you want to be. Yeah, thought I played super solid today and kind of just want to see if I can continue that and, yeah, hopefully have a great week.

Q. Last question: How do you find the course, the view, and Evian in general?

GABRIELA RUFFELS: Yeah, it's is a nice being here. This is one of my favorite tournaments. My boyfriend is here with me and my mom came here with me last year. It's just, I mean, you bring your friends and family here for sure. It's just so beautiful. You can't have a bad day even if you do have a bad day on the golf course.

It's beautiful being here and one of my favorite tournaments of the year.