Ryan Ruffels

Ryan Ruffels is an Australian professional golfer born on 29 April 1998 in Orlando, Florida, who grew up in Southern California before relocating to Australia after his father, former Davis Cup tennis representative Ray Ruffels, was offered a major job in Australian tennis. Representing Victoria in domestic competition, Ruffels emerged as one of the most talented junior golfers his country had produced in a generation. He currently competes on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Ruffels rose rapidly through the amateur ranks in Australia and internationally. At 15 he became the youngest winner of the Riversdale Cup and claimed the Australian Boys' Amateur title in both 2014 and 2015. He also won the 2014 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship and was ranked as high as 13th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before turning professional. In January 2016, at just 17, he made his professional debut at the Farmers Insurance Open on a PGA Tour sponsor exemption. The transition to the paid ranks proved difficult: across seven Tour exemptions he never finished better than 20th, and after spells on PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada he settled into a run on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Back to full fitness, Ruffels has rebuilt his game with a freer mindset, leaning into the long-hitting athleticism that was always central to his style rather than scrutinising every area of his game daily. He attracted broad attention in 2026 when he won The Q at Myrtle Beach, a qualifying event for golf content creators, earning a sponsor exemption to the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, a result that validated both his competitive level and his growing profile as a YouTube creator.

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