As the Aussie trio of Adam Scott, Jason Day and Min Woo Lee went down to the US as part of the International Team contesting the Presidents Cup in Canada, Rudgeley and Hopewell flew the Aussie flag in Europe.

Four shots back of Switzerland’s Chiari Tamburlini at the start of the third and final round, Rudgeley took advantage of the leader’s struggles with a back-nine surge to take the outright lead.

Boasting five top-five finishes in her two years on the LET to date, Rudgeley made birdies at 11, 12, 15 and 16 to apply the blowtorch to Tamburlini.

Winner of the Joburg Ladies Open earlier in the season, the Swiss rookie responded with a brilliant approach to set up birdie at the par-3 17th before making par at the last to match Rudgeley’s total of 7-under par.

The pair headed back to the 18th hole for the playoff where Tamburlini holed the winning putt after Rudgeley’s birdie try came up just short.

Shoutout to Kirsten Rudgeley on an excellent performance to force the playoff. That win is just around the corner 💪#RaiseOurGame | #LLODF pic.twitter.com/7biacjjyAj

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) September 29, 2024

Tamburlini came within a whisker of winning in spectacular fashion when her approach shot at the playoff hole spun back past the hole before settling seven feet away.

Rudgeley did well to hit the green after pulling her drive left but with her birdie effort failing to get the full distance, Tamburlini was able to hole her putt for victory.

“It was way too stressful!” said Tamburlini.

“Kirsten played so well today, especially on the back nine. She really lit it up and it was tough for me to keep up.”

Rudgeley’s career-best finish elevates her to 10th on the LET Order of Merit and within reach of an LPGA Tour card that is awarded to the top four finishers at season’s end.

It was a strong week too for fellow Aussie Kelsey Bennett, who finished tied for seventh to enhance her chances of a full LET card in 2025.

Tied for seventh a week ago in Italy, Hopewell continued his strong form with a tie for fifth at the Swiss Challenge.

Rain forced the event to be reduced to just 36 holes, Hopewell picked up late birdies at 15 and 17 in a round of 3-under 69 to finish top five to finish five shots back of Scotsman Euan Walker.

Five birdies in her first seven holes set Grace Kim on a path to a final round of 5-under 66 to earn a tie for 12th at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and Aaron Wilkin’s tie for 23rd was the best of the Aussies at the Yeangder TPC on the Asian Tour.

Results

Asian Tour
Yeangder TPC
Linkou International Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
1          Suteepat Prateeptienchai         64-66-68-69—267       $US180,000
T23      Aaron Wilkin                            72-68-71-68—279       $9,700
T40      Justin Warren                           72-69-68-74—283       $5,618.75
T52      Brendan Jones                         68-72-71-74—285       $3,820
T52      Maverick Antcliff                      68-69-75-73—285       $3,820
T57      Travis Smyth                            70-71-73-72—286       $3,250
T65      Andrew Dodt                           69-70-73-76—288       $2,600
T65      Lachlan Barker                          71-70-75-72—288       $2,600
T68      Harrison Crowe                        70-71-72-76—289       $2,300
71        Jordan Zunic                            66-72-75-77—290       $2,100
MC       Kevin Yuan                               69-73—142
MC       Sam Brazel                               75-69—144
MC       Jed Morgan                             70-74—144
MC       Deyen Lawson                         74-72—146
MC       Jack Thompson                        69-78—147
MC       Todd Sinnott                            76-72—148
MC       Zach Murray                            78-70—148

Presidents Cup
Royal Montreal Golf Club, Montreal, Canada
United States 18.5 def International 11.5
Sunday Singles
Xander Schauffele def Jason Day 4&3
Sam Burns halved Tom Kim
Hideki Matsuyama def Scottie Scheffler 1 up
Russell Henley def Sungjae Im 3&2
Patrick Cantlay def Taylor Pendrith 3&1
Keegan Bradley def Si Woo Kim 1 up
Corey Conners def Tony Finau 5&3
Min Woo Lee halved Wyndham Clark
Byeong Hun An halved Sahith Theegala
Collin Morikawa def Adam Scott 2&1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout def Brian Harman 2&1
Max Homa def Mackenzie Hughes 2&1

LPGA Tour
Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Arkansas\
1          Jasmine Suwannapura 63-72-61—196
Won on the second hole of sudden death playoff
T12      Grace Kim                    69-67-66—202
T27      Robyn Choi                  68-68-69—205
T37      Stephanie Kyriacou      67-69-70—206
T44      Gabriela Ruffels           71-66-70—207
MC       Hira Naveed                 72-75—147

DP World Tour
acciona Open de España
Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
1          Angel Hidalgo             65-67-68-70—270       €494,861.54
Won in sudden death playoff
T39      David Micheluzzi          71-69-71-71—282       €17,465.70
T45      Sam Jones (NZ)            69-71-70-73—283       €13,681.47
T57      Jason Scrivener            74-70-70-71—285       €9,169.49
T65      Daniel Hillier (NZ)         71-73-74-71—289       €6,986.28
MC       Haydn Barron               75-73—148
MC       Andrew Martin             77-76—153

Ladies European Tour
Lacoste Ladies Open de France
Golf Barriere, Deauville, France
1          Chiara Tamburlini         68-67-71—206 €56,250
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
2          Kirsten Rudgeley          66-73-67—206 €33,750
T7        Kelsey Bennett             71-71-68—210 €9,150
T52      Momoka Kobori (NZ)   73-74-72—219 €1,650
MC       Whitney Hillier             70-79—149

Japan Golf Tour
Vantelin Tokai Classic
Miyoshi Country Club (West Cse), Aichi
1          Takahiro Hatachi          64-69-69-65—267       ¥22 million
T62      Brad Kennedy              70-71-73-71—285       ¥249,700
MC       Michael Hendry           75-71—146
MC       Anthony Quayle           72-75—147

Challenge Tour
Swiss Challenge
Golf Saint Apollinaire, Folgensbourg, France
Event reduced to 36 holes due to rain
1          Euan Walker                 69-66—135     €32,400
T5        Hayden Hopewell        71-69—140     €7,593.75
MC       Connor McKinney        79-82—161