Lilia Vu knew it. She knew she could find victory lane again on the LPGA Tour. She knew it was only a matter of time before victory number five arrived at her doorstep, if only she could recover. She knew everything would end well at some point.
Perhaps she didn’t know her latest success would come in a tough three-hole playoff with Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. But Vu knew that she would at least have the chance to compete again if she managed to heal.
Little did Vu know, however, that his chance to win would come in his first start after a two-month hiatus and that he would once again seal the deal in Belmont, Michigan.
Before this week, the former No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings had not competed on the LPGA Tour since March, withdrawing at the last minute from her title defense at the Chevron Championship after a nagging calf injury flared up. back and then it will take a long season. break from competitive golf to rest and recover.
Some might have thought she would return for the 79th U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, but Vu decided it wasn’t time to return yet and decided to take a couple more weeks off before playing this week at Blythefield. Country club. Being out of competition was a different experience for Vu, a break she wouldn’t have anticipated taking after posting four wins in 2023, but it gave her a new perspective on golf and her career, one that has clearly given its fruits. swords for the 26-year-old.
“I think I definitely look at golf from a different perspective,” Vu said before the week in Michigan. “I think I appreciate just being able to play golf more than ever. You assume you’re not hurt and you don’t appreciate it. Then you hit a wall, and then you can’t swing and play as much as you’d like, and you press pause. Then you have to be disciplined and put your things in order, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do the last few weeks.”
She entered the final round of the Meijer LPGA Classic tied for 14th with a 9-under total, eight shots behind 54-hole leader Grace Kim. Vu, an aggressive player who loves to attack golf courses, was bogey-free Sunday at Belmont, Michigan, making seven birdies and posting a 65 to ultimately find herself in a playoff with Kim and Thompson at the end of the final day.
The trio birdied the first two extra holes, but it was Vu who ultimately emerged victorious, birdying the third playoff hole to capture her fifth LPGA Tour title and first since The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican last November , a victory that propelled her to win Rolex Player of the Year honors in 2023.
For a player who has won two major championships and the first edition of Annika Sorenstam’s legacy event, it might have been difficult for Vu to list her victories in order of importance. But when she was asked at her winning press conference where the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic ranked on her list of wins, Vu didn’t mince her answer.
“I think this is the most meaningful victory because there was a time two months ago where I was just crying on the field not being sure if I would ever play a tournament without pain again,” Vu said. “To be here today is just incredible. The team I have around me has supported me through everything and I can’t believe we are in this position today. I definitely didn’t have the mentality to win. I just won. “I am very grateful for everything.”
If you know Vu’s story, you know that resilience is just one part of who she is. After a standout collegiate career as a UCLA Bruin, Vu struggled tremendously as an LPGA Tour rookie in 2019, playing in nine tournaments and only making one cut, a performance that saw her completely lose her LPGA Tour card in her inaugural campaign.
She played in a handful of Epson Tour events during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, missing four cuts in seven outings and nearly quit the game altogether, tired of spinning her tires for something that just wasn’t working.
But it wasn’t just golf that year that posed a challenge for Vu. She suffered the devastating loss of her grandfather that spring, a death that deeply impacted her young talent and taught her a lot about herself as she struggled to pursue her dreams as a professional athlete.
“I remember I was on my way to a tournament. I had seen him in the hospital before I left and he was fine,” Vu recalled after her victory at the AIG Women’s Open 2023. “I got a little scared and he told me to go out and play the best I can before the tournament. Meanwhile, he is sick and worried about me and my golf game.
“When I returned, he had already passed away and those were his last words to me. I always think about that every day. Even when I have difficulties on the field, I know that he is with me, letting me know that everything is going to be okay.”
Vu turned the page on 2021 with new determination, remembering what her grandfather wanted for her and hoping to honor him with her behavior on the golf course, not just her successes. That season saw her rediscover her winning ways, as Vu captured three Epson Tour titles, earned Player of the Year honors and finished first in the Race for the Card to regain her LPGA Tour status for the 2022 season.
It was a tough fight back to women’s golf’s biggest stage, and after numerous tough times throughout 2022, Vu finally hit her stride in 2023: winning four times, capturing two major titles, rising to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings and winning the Rolex. ANNIKA Major Award, earning a spot on her US Solheim Cup first team and earning Rolex Player of the Year honors.
It’s a rags-to-riches success story that shows how tenacious Vu can be in the face of adversity. Few professional golfers manage to fully come back from the brink of quitting, let alone completely flip the script and become one of the game’s most promising young stars. But Vu did just that, making her ability to recover from what looked like a nearly career-ending back injury and win after an extended layoff unsurprising to those who have followed her journey on the LPGA Tour over the years. the years.
Vu, however, was a little surprised that it happened so quickly.
“I just couldn’t believe it. “I couldn’t believe I won this week,” Vu said at his winning press conference on Sunday. “I think I was setting my bar too low to achieve it. I think because I tend to get in my own way when I’m trying to win, that’s when I don’t win most of the time, so I try to stay in my lane, take advantage of all the good shots and make all the birdie putts I can get.”
The now five-time LPGA Tour winner has an exciting slate of tournaments coming up this year, a slate that includes next week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, her title defense at the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews , the Paris 2024 tournament. Olympic Games and the 19th edition of the Solheim Cup.
While she was only hoping to get into those events, her victory at the Meijer LPGA Classic has shown Vu that she is just as capable of winning them as she was a year ago when she was healthy. And while she will continue her recovery step by step over the coming weeks and months, Vu’s win at Michigan has to remind her of her own resilience, her determination and her ability to persevere even through difficult challenges. .
He has to show him that no difficulty, adversity or mountain is too high to overcome, a lesson he has more than learned during his professional golf career.
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