Gabriela Ruffels and Asterisk Talley have qualified for the 79th U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. Ruffels, No. 83 in the Rolex Rankings, medaled with rounds of 70-66 to finish at 6 under at San Joaquin Country Club in Fresno, California.
This year’s championship will be held May 30-June 2 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Talley, one of America’s brightest up-and-coming junior stars, finished second with rounds of 68-69 to qualify for her first U.S. Women’s Open. The 15-year-old Talley recently won the Sage Valley Invitational and finished eighth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Talley’s unique first name means “little star” in Greek.
Ruffels, a rookie on the LPGA, will make her fourth Women’s Open appearance. The former U.S. Women’s Amateur champ tied for 13th at the 2020 USWO in Houston. Like World No. 1 Nelly Korda, Ruffels’ parents were elite professional tennis players. In fact, Ruffels was a prodigious tennis star in Australia until she abruptly quit the game and took up golf at age 14.
Former Fresno State player Harriet Lynch of England is the site’s first alternate.