EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Golf wasn’t the first love of Cara Gainer or Gabriela Ruffels, who grew up wanting to be professional tennis players and came close to making it.
Now they’re in sight of becoming an unlikely major winner in their adopted sport.
Gainer, a No. 129-ranked Englishwoman, and Ruffels, a 71st-ranked Australian, will be in the final group at the Evian Championship on Sunday after powering through the field in the third round of the fourth major of the year in women’s golf.
On a glorious Saturday at Evian Resort Golf Club, Gainer shot 7-under 64 to move to 11 under for the week and was soon joined in the lead by Ruffels, who shot 66.
They’ve got plenty of high-quality company on the leaderboard, however.
No. 6-ranked Minjee Lee, the recent winner of the Women’s PGA Championship, shot 66 and was a stroke off the co-leaders in her bid to become the first woman since Inbee Park in 2013 to capture back-to-back major titles.
No. 2-ranked Jeeno Thitikul (67), who has yet to win a major, was tied on 10 under with Lee, along with second-round leader Somi Lee (71) and Grace Kim (70).
They’ll all be applying pressure on Gainer and Ruffels, who have kept a keen eye on the Wimbledon tennis championships taking place this week and finished their third rounds just before the start of the women’s singles final between Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek.
They’ll no doubt be watching it.
“Tennis was, I guess, my first love,” said the 29-year-old Gainer, who tried her hand at golf for the first time at the age of 14 and quickly became a scratch handicapper. “I do still really enjoy it. I don’t really play anymore but I love to watch it. Obviously Wimbledon is on this week so that’s my evening.”
Like Gainer, Ruffels had a tennis coach for a father. She was so good — as the No. 1 junior in Australia — that she won many ITF junior events in Europe, but also turned to golf around the age of 14 and was the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion in 2019.
Before coming to the French Alps, she stopped off at Wimbledon with her boyfriend as a guest of Australian doubles great Todd Woodbridge.
“It was such a cool experience,” the 25-year-old Ruffels said. “It was great to relax and not touch the clubs for a few days and get over jet lag. Seems to have worked this week.”
Lee won her first major title at the Evian back in 2021 and has since won the U.S. Women’s Open in 2022 and the PGA Championship last month.
She believes her experience will be vital as she attempts to reel in Gainer, who is making her Evian debut, and Ruffels as they go for their first major.
“Being in this position before, being where I am, I think it’s just going to be nice to have that kind of experience under my belt and know like just being there and being patient,” she said after making a 6-foot birdie putt at No. 18.
On Moving Day, Nelly Korda went in the wrong direction.
The top-ranked American, seeking a third major title and a first win of the year, shot 75 and dropped into a share of 44th place on 1 under.
No. 1 amateur Lottie Woad started the third round in a tie with Korda and still has an outside chance of the title after holing a 60-foot birdie putt at the last for a 70. Woad was 6-under par, five shots off the lead.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who made the cut on the number, shot a 3-under 68 to move into a tie for 44th alongside Korda.
–with files from Sportsnet
