Lau rallies to win North & South at Pinehurst No. 2
7/13/2018 | by Pinehurst Resort
see also: View results for North & South Women's Amateur, Pinehurst Resort and Country Club - No. 2
Even though Lau trailed at several points, she kept her chip up to win the coveted Putter Boy trophy at the North & South
By Alex Podlogar
PINEHURST, N.C. (July 13, 2018) – It’s long been said that Pinehurst No. 2 will reward the best of shots, but should a player make even the most minor of mistakes, the results could be devastating.
Just ask Stephanie Lau.
The Northwestern senior appeared to hit a beautiful high-arching iron into the par-3 15th, only to watch from the tee as the ball trickled off the back of the green. From there came perhaps the most cursed shot at Pinehurst, as her putt back up the bank ran to the crest of the green – but no further – seeming to come to a stop until it agonizingly rolled back to Lau’s feet.
Lau lost more than just the hole to Australian sensation Gabi Ruffels late in the championship match of the Women’s North & South Amateur. She lost her only lead to that point in the match, which began with her falling 3 down through the first three holes.
But as Lau walked slowly to the 16th tee square in the match, she perked up a little.
“I love 16,” she said. “I know 16 is a very good hole for me.”
“I looked at my caddie and said, ‘That’s a perfect 5 wood,’” Lau said.
It was.
After Ruffels laid up to about 100 yards in front of the green, Lau blasted a soaring shot high and deep into the Carolina blue sky, the ball fading ever so slightly. When it landed on the green, there wasn’t so much applause as there were gasps.
Lau had 5 feet for eagle.
“That shot on 16 was amazing,” Ruffels said.
Lau made the eagle to win the hole and regain a 1-up lead. And when she stoically made a testy 5-footer down the hill for par on 17, she had completed one of the more remarkable comebacks to beat Ruffels, 2 and 1, and win the 116th Women’s North & South Amateur on No. 2 on Friday.
“This has a lot of fingerprints on it,” Lau said of the victory, which comes just a few weeks after her runner-up finish in the Ladies British Amateur. “I’ve had a lot of people believe in me and who have pushed me. I had so many close matches at the British Amateur, and I think going through that definitely helped me here. I knew that anything could happen as long as you kept believing.”
The championship match had a lot to live up to following Thursday’s dramatic semifinals. Ruffels needed 22 holes and a slew of clutch putts to finally knock off Natalie Srinivasan. Lau was 1 down headed to 17 against Ruffels’ countrywoman Becky Kay, but made birdie from off the green at 17 and then made another long birdie putt on 18 to extend the match, which she won in 19 holes.
The final, though, managed to add to the drama of the week. Ruffels took a 3-up lead through just three holes as Lau missed the first three greens in regulation, even putting off the third green. But Lau’s length off the tee – and another beautiful 5-wood approach – helped her win the fourth hole, and after a birdie on the par-5 fifth, she had trimmed the deficit to 1 down.
She then made a nifty up and down from the front of the sixth green to square the match, winning three straight holes to pull even after the difficult start.
“I thought, ‘I’ve really got to slow down,’” Lau said of the opening three holes. “I just had to regroup. I knew there were a lot of holes left.”
Ruffels and Lau traded wins on 7 and 8, and the first time they halved a hole was when both made bogey on the par-3 ninth. Still, the match went to the back nine all square.
“I knew Stephanie was struggling on those first three holes, but I also knew how good of a player she is,” Ruffels said. “I didn’t take that 3-up lead for granted. But she had a couple of great holes, got it to all square, and it just went back and forth from there.”
It went back and forth because that’s when both players found their games. They both birdied the par-5 10th, and after leaving her short-yardage approach to 11 in front of the green, Lau chipped in for birdie. Ruffels, though, halved the hole by making a 12-foot putt, keeping the match square to the delight of the sizable gallery following the match.
Lau missed the 12th fairway by just a few feet, her ball coming to rest near a wire grass bush on top of a small mound. But she hit a lovely approach shot into the green about 20 feet from the pin. Moments later, Ruffels hit her approach almost to the identical spot – the balls came to rest on the green almost touching each other.
“I’ve never seen two balls that close before,” Lau said to Ruffels while walking to the green.
“Me neither,” Ruffels said.
Both players hit nice approaches into the short par-4 13th, with Lau’s ball trickling just off the back fringe. Facing a slick downhill putt, Lau made the birdie try from about 12 feet, making her third birdie in four holes, and taking just her first lead of the match.
They halved 14 before Lau’s mistake at the 15th allowed Ruffels to square the match one last time.
Lau took care of the rest.
“I mean, wow. Just…crazy,” Lau said. “It was just a great, great match.”
PINEHURST, N.C. (July 13, 2018) – It’s long been said that Pinehurst No. 2 will reward the best of shots, but should a player make even the most minor of mistakes, the results could be devastating.
Just ask Stephanie Lau.
The Northwestern senior appeared to hit a beautiful high-arching iron into the par-3 15th, only to watch from the tee as the ball trickled off the back of the green. From there came perhaps the most cursed shot at Pinehurst, as her putt back up the bank ran to the crest of the green – but no further – seeming to come to a stop until it agonizingly rolled back to Lau’s feet.
“I love 16,” she said. “I know 16 is a very good hole for me.”
She blasted her drive a staggering 275 yards – some 45 yards farther than Ruffels – leaving herself 193 yards to the front of the green and 215 to the pin of the par-5.15th hole.
— Pinehurst Resort (@PinehurstResort) July 13, 2018
Lau.
Rossed.
All square. pic.twitter.com/qHIqepAqTR
“I looked at my caddie and said, ‘That’s a perfect 5 wood,’” Lau said.
It was.
After Ruffels laid up to about 100 yards in front of the green, Lau blasted a soaring shot high and deep into the Carolina blue sky, the ball fading ever so slightly. When it landed on the green, there wasn’t so much applause as there were gasps.
Lau had 5 feet for eagle.
“That shot on 16 was amazing,” Ruffels said.
Lau made the eagle to win the hole and regain a 1-up lead. And when she stoically made a testy 5-footer down the hill for par on 17, she had completed one of the more remarkable comebacks to beat Ruffels, 2 and 1, and win the 116th Women’s North & South Amateur on No. 2 on Friday.
“This has a lot of fingerprints on it,” Lau said of the victory, which comes just a few weeks after her runner-up finish in the Ladies British Amateur. “I’ve had a lot of people believe in me and who have pushed me. I had so many close matches at the British Amateur, and I think going through that definitely helped me here. I knew that anything could happen as long as you kept believing.”
The championship match had a lot to live up to following Thursday’s dramatic semifinals. Ruffels needed 22 holes and a slew of clutch putts to finally knock off Natalie Srinivasan. Lau was 1 down headed to 17 against Ruffels’ countrywoman Becky Kay, but made birdie from off the green at 17 and then made another long birdie putt on 18 to extend the match, which she won in 19 holes.
The final, though, managed to add to the drama of the week. Ruffels took a 3-up lead through just three holes as Lau missed the first three greens in regulation, even putting off the third green. But Lau’s length off the tee – and another beautiful 5-wood approach – helped her win the fourth hole, and after a birdie on the par-5 fifth, she had trimmed the deficit to 1 down.
She then made a nifty up and down from the front of the sixth green to square the match, winning three straight holes to pull even after the difficult start.
“I thought, ‘I’ve really got to slow down,’” Lau said of the opening three holes. “I just had to regroup. I knew there were a lot of holes left.”
Ruffels and Lau traded wins on 7 and 8, and the first time they halved a hole was when both made bogey on the par-3 ninth. Still, the match went to the back nine all square.
“I knew Stephanie was struggling on those first three holes, but I also knew how good of a player she is,” Ruffels said. “I didn’t take that 3-up lead for granted. But she had a couple of great holes, got it to all square, and it just went back and forth from there.”
It went back and forth because that’s when both players found their games. They both birdied the par-5 10th, and after leaving her short-yardage approach to 11 in front of the green, Lau chipped in for birdie. Ruffels, though, halved the hole by making a 12-foot putt, keeping the match square to the delight of the sizable gallery following the match.
Lau missed the 12th fairway by just a few feet, her ball coming to rest near a wire grass bush on top of a small mound. But she hit a lovely approach shot into the green about 20 feet from the pin. Moments later, Ruffels hit her approach almost to the identical spot – the balls came to rest on the green almost touching each other.
“I’ve never seen two balls that close before,” Lau said to Ruffels while walking to the green.
“Me neither,” Ruffels said.
Both players then burned the edges of the cup on their birdie tries, Ruffels on the right edge of the hole, and Lau on the left.Congratulations to Stephanie Lau, the Champion of the 116th Women's North & South Amateur.
— Pinehurst Resort (@PinehurstResort) July 13, 2018
She defeats Gabi Ruffels 2&1 in a wonderful match. pic.twitter.com/loffD1sSkb
Both players hit nice approaches into the short par-4 13th, with Lau’s ball trickling just off the back fringe. Facing a slick downhill putt, Lau made the birdie try from about 12 feet, making her third birdie in four holes, and taking just her first lead of the match.
They halved 14 before Lau’s mistake at the 15th allowed Ruffels to square the match one last time.
Lau took care of the rest.
“I mean, wow. Just…crazy,” Lau said. “It was just a great, great match.”
Results: North & South Women's Amateur
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Fullerton, CA | 1200 | ||
| Runner-up | , Australia | 900 | ||
| Semifinals | Spartanburg, SC | 700 | ||
| Semifinals | , Australia | 700 | ||
| Quarterfinals | Honolulu, HI | 500 |
About the North & South Women's Amateur
The Women's North & South has drawn the top amateur women from around the country. Three rounds of stroke play followed by four rounds of match play will determine the Champion. The 96 player field will be cut to a 16 player match play field and meda...
Most Popular Articles
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Guide: Sites, Scores, and Who Advanced
Dec 5, 2025Second Stage is complete and Final Stage awaits at Sawgrass — follow every Q-School leaderboard and the players still chasing
2025 LPGA TOUR Q-Series: Final Qualifying Stage FINAL SCORING
Dec 8, 2025Helen Briem earns medalist honors, 31 players headed to the LPGA next year
Australian Open at Royal Melbourne: Preview, amateur bios, and how to watch
Nov 30, 2025Rory McIlroy headlines one of the championship's top fields in years - at least four amateurs will have their chance at glory
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Final Stage: Ewart Leads Five New TOUR Card Winners
Dec 14, 2025A.J. Ewart topped Final Stage at TPC Sawgrass, leading five players who secured PGA TOUR membership for 2026.
Luke Ringkamp Cruises to Rolex Tournament of Champions Title at TPC San Antonio
Nov 26, 2025One week after committing to Pepperdine, Luke Ringkamp won the Rolex Tournament of Champions by nine shots.