Gabi Ruffels maintained a stranglehold on the No.1 position on the Epson Tour as a new contender emerged at the Twin Bridges Championship in New York.

A two-time winner already this season, Ruffels (70) finished just one shot shy of the playoff between Jenny Bae (73) and Natasha Andrea Oon (66), Bae going on to win at the fifth extra hole.

It is Bae's second win in succession from just three starts, the $US30,000 winner's cheque moving her to ninth in the Race For the Card standings.

Oon is in second spot in the season-long points race, less than $6,000 behind Ruffels who has accumulated $109,860 this season.

Robyn Choi kept alive her hopes of clinching one of the LPGA Tour cards on offer at season's end with her third top-10 finish in her past four starts.

The Queenslander matched Oon for the equal best score of the day - a 5-under 66 - to climb into a tie for fifth, just two shots behind Ruffels.

There were WPGA members in the top 10 also on the LPGA Tour and LET Access Series in Europe.

Veteran Sarah Kemp combined with Canadian Alena Sharp to finish eighth at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational while Victorian Stephanie Bunque was tied for third at the Trust Golf Links Series at Ramside Hall in England.

On a day in which only eight players broke the par of 73, Bunque’s even-par round saw her finish two shots back of England’s Lianna Bailey (75).

Fellow Australian Kelsey Bennett and New Zealand’s Hanee Song both shot even-par rounds of 73 to finish tied for sixth, Kiwi Wenyung Keh (73) tied for 11th in a superb week for WPGA Tour members.

Results

Epson Tour
Twin Bridges Championship
Pinehaven Country Club, Guilderland, New York
1             Jenny Bae            65-69-73—207   $US30,000
Won on the fifth hole of sudden death playoff
3             Gabriela Ruffels 69-69-70—208   $13,711
T5           Robyn Choi         69-75-66—210   $7,838
T13        Amelia Garvey (NZ)          69-72-72—213   $3,329
T13        Cassie Porter      67-74-72—213   $3,329
T26        Hira Naveed        69-70-76—215   $1,915

LPGA Tour
Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational
Midland Country Club, Midland, Michigan
1             C. Knight/E. Szokol           69-61-62-65—257            $US326,872 ea
8             S. Kemp/A. Sharp             69-64-71-60—264            $38,404 ea
T13        K. Davidson/D. Darquea 71-66-68-62—267            $22,777 ea
T26        H. Green/S. Oh                 71-66-72-62—271            $8,580 ea
MC         S.J. Smith/L. Ridderstrom              69-69—138

Ladies European Tour
La Sella Open
La Sella Golf, Spain
1             Nuria Iturrioz      68-70-67—205   €150,000
Won in sudden death playoff
T35        Momoka Kobori (NZ)       69-71-76—216   €7,550
T46        Kirsten Rudgeley               71-75-72—218   €4,728.57

LET Access Series
Trust Golf Links Series Ramside Hall
Ramside Hall GC, England
1             Lianna Bailey                     71-67-75—213   €6,400
T3           Stephanie Bunque            70-72-73—215   €2,270
T6           Kelsey Bennett                  70-74-73—217   €1,240
T6           Hanee Song (NZ)              72-72-73—217   €1,240
T11        Wenyung Keh (NZ)           70-76-73—219   €766.67
T25        Kristalle Blum                    73-75-76—224   €505.33
MC         Amy Walsh                         76-77—153
MC         Stefanie Hall                      79-74—153
MC         Munchin Keh (NZ)            75-78—153

Photo: Courtesy of Epson Tour