Ruixin Liu has always been resilient. The 25-year-old has taken the highs and lows of golf as they come, playing stints on both the Epson and LPGA Tours since 2017. But nothing showed that resilience more than the back nine of the final round at the 2024 Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic.
Liu began Sunday’s final round in a share of sixth, five strokes behind third-round leader, Dana Fall. A slow start had the People’s Republic of China native questioning if it would ultimately be her in the winner’s circle at the end of the day, but an eagle on No. 8 of TPC Scottsdale – Champions Course flipped her mindset.
“I started with a bogey on number four, so I didn’t really think I had a chance until I started making putts,” said Liu. “And I had an eagle on number eight. That’s when I started realizing, hey, I’m still in this. And from that point on, it was game on.”
However, that eagle almost cost Liu her victory. Knowing she would have to hit her second shot hard, Liu did just that, resulting in an injury. Showing her resilience, Liu continued, making birdie on No. 9 and then seeking medical attention when she made the turn to No. 10. After working with the on-site medic, Adrian Marnell, Liu went on to finish her final nine holes.
“I won’t say it was a bad move for me to try and hit it hard on the second shot,” said Liu. “But it did really affect my ability to turn on the back nine. Adrian (Marnell) saved me on the back side.”
Liu’s experience shined bright coming down the stretch. Instead of letting the injury rattle her, the Epson Tour veteran remained mentally strong, keeping the same mindset she’d had all day. Going bogey-free and rolling in four birdies post-injury made it evident just how gritty she had to be to get the job done.
“My main focus was to turn properly. I didn’t think about the result, and I didn’t watch the leaderboard. At that moment, it was me playing against my injury, playing against myself,” said Liu. “I know the pin locations were not very easy on the back nine, so I just told myself to stay patient and come back clean. And that’s exactly what I did.”
After hoisting her seventh Epson Tour trophy at the end of the day, Liu was feeling good about where she is headed. A seventh-place finish earlier this year at the Blue Bay LPGA will improve her LPGA Tour status after the reshuffle in May and allow her to continue to test her game against the best in the world. Until then, Liu is gearing up for the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, carrying the confidence from the win with her all the way.
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