Lilia Vu | |||||||||||||||||
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Full name | Lilia Kha-Tu Du Vu | ||||||||||||||||
Born | [1] Fountain Valley, California, U.S. | October 14, 1997 ||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) [2] | ||||||||||||||||
Sporting nationality | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||
Career | |||||||||||||||||
College | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||
Turned professional | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2019) | ||||||||||||||||
Former tour(s) | Symetra Tour | ||||||||||||||||
Professional wins | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
Number of wins by tour | |||||||||||||||||
LPGA Tour | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
Ladies European Tour | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Epson Tour | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 2) | |||||||||||||||||
Chevron Championship | Won: 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
Women's PGA C'ship | T2: 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Women's Open | T34: 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
Women's British Open | Won: 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
Evian Championship | T26: 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
Achievements and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Lilia Kha-Tu Du Vu (born October 14, 1997) is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour player. She has won eight professional titles, including two majors, with those victories coming at the 2023 Chevron Championship and the 2023 Women's British Open. She was the 2023 LPGA Player of the Year, and has represented her country at two Solheim Cups, winning in 2024.
The daughter of first-generation Vietnamese immigrants, she enrolled at UCLA in 2015, where she went on to rank number one on the all-time UCLA career victories list with eight wins. She reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and was on the winning Curtis Cup team in 2018. She first joined the LPGA Tour as a professional in 2019, but dropped off the tour at the end of the year and played on the Symetra Tour instead. She claimed her first three professional victories on the Symetra Tour in 2021 and rejoined the LPGA Tour for 2022. In 2023, she won four titles on the LPGA Tour, including her two major successes, and reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time in August. She won her fifth LPGA Title at the Meijer LPGA Classic in 2024 and also competed in the Summer Olympics that same year.
Vu was born and raised in Fountain Valley, California. Her parents Douglas Vu and Kieu Thuy are both first-generation Vietnamese immigrants. [3] [4] She began playing golf at age 7 after watching her father and brother at the driving range. [5] Her father has also acted as her coach, and her older brother Andre played golf for the University of California, Riverside. [1] Vu was the winner of the 2013 AJGA Junior at Robinson Ranch. In 2014, she won the KNC Champions Junior Classic, which earned her entry into the Kraft Nabisco Championship where she finished T46th. [6] [7] She also triumphed at the CIF-WSCGA Championship in 2014, and the SCGA Women's Amateur in 2016. She later placed second at the Canadian Women's Amateur in 2017. [4]
Vu enrolled at UCLA in 2015. As a UCLA Bruin, she was awarded 2016 Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year, and in 2018 she was WGCA Player of the Year, Pac-12 Conference Golfer of the Year, and Honda Award finalist. She was also three-time WGCA First Team All-American and All-Pac 12 performer, and ranked first on the all-time UCLA career victory list with eight individual titles. [4]
Vu made a series of successful appearances for the U.S. national team and won the 2018 Curtis Cup, earning four points, and won the 2018 Espirito Santo Trophy in Ireland with Jennifer Kupcho and Kristen Gillman. She also won the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup at Evian Resort Golf Club in France. Vu played in the U.S. Women's Open and the ANA Inspiration as an amateur, and at the 2018 ANA Inspiration she was the low amateur with a score of 285 (−3). [8] She was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a total of 31 weeks in 2018 and 2019. Her reign ended when she turned professional in January 2019. [9]
Vu turned professional in January 2019 and finished T27th at the inaugural LPGA Q-Series to earn status for the 2019 LPGA Tour, where she missed the cut in eight out of nine starts. [10] She lost her tour card, and subsequently joined the Symetra Tour (now known as the Epson Tour) for 2020. This initially proved unsuccessful, Vu missed the cut at four of the seven events that she entered during the year and posted a highest finish of T29th. [11]
In 2021, Vu won three titles on the Symetra Tour and rose into the top 250 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time. [12] In addition to winning the Garden City Charity Classic, the Twin Bridges Championship and the Four Winds Invitational, she also collected the 2021 Potawatomi Cup and bonus prize money. [13] [14] She finished the season first on the money list, winning Symetra Tour Player of the Year honors and earning her LPGA Tour card for 2022. [15]
Vu recorded eight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour in 2022. [16] Her first came in a tied eighth place finish at the JTBC Classic in March, [17] [11] and she recorded a third place finish at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in May. [18] She then made her first top-10 finish in a major at the Women's PGA Championship in June. [19] The following month she finished T8th at the Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open. [20] Later in the year, she finished in a tie for third at the AmazingCre Portland Classic in September, [21] before recording further top-10 finishes at the BMW Ladies Championship in October (T3rd) [22] and at the Toto Japan Classic in November (T10th). [23]
Ranked number 33 in the world, Vu secured her first victory on the LPGA Tour after securing a one-stroke win at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February. She began her final round trailing the leader by six strokes, but shot a final-round 64 to claim victory. [24] Vu won her first major at the 2023 Chevron Championship in April. After making birdies on both the 17th and 18th holes of her final round, she reached a playoff where she overcame Angel Yin on the first extra hole. [25] [26] In May, she represented the United States at the International Crown, in which the United States finished in third position. [27] She then secured her second major with a six-shot victory over Charley Hull in the 2023 Women's British Open at Walton Heath. [28] [29] The win moved her to number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Reflecting on her achievement, Vu said "Being the best in the world, that's just crazy to me," and added "Just thinking about the struggle I had this year and just to come out with that has been - it's just incredible." [30] In August, Vu secured the Rolex Annika Major Award for the player with the best combined record at the year's five majors. She became the first American to win the award since Michelle Wie West in 2014. [31]
Vu made her Solheim Cup debut for the United States in September, which was held at Finca Cortesin in Andalusia, Spain. The contest ended in a 14–14 tie with Europe retaining the trophy. Vu finished with a 1–3–0 (win–loss–tie) record, with her victory coming in the day three singles where she secured a 4 and 3 victory over Madelene Sagstrom. [32] [1] The following month, Vu was beaten by Angel Yin in a playoff at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. [33] In November, Vu claimed her fourth LPGA title of the year with victory at The ANNIKA. The win also took her back up to number one in the world rankings. [34] The following week, she finished fourth at the CME Group Tour Championship, [35] and at the end of the season, she was awarded LPGA Tour Player of the Year. [36] She won a total of $3,502,303 in prize money on the LPGA Tour during the calendar year. [16]
On March 8, 2024, Vu withdrew from the Blue Bay LPGA after a back injury. She returned to competition in June at the Meijer LPGA Classic. [37] [38] There, she prevailed in a three-way playoff against Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim to win her first LPGA title of the year. Vu had started her final round eight strokes behind Kim. [39] Vu finished runner-up at two different majors as she looked to add the two that she had won the previous year. At the Women's PGA Championship, she finished T2nd, three shots behind Amy Yang. [40] She then competed at the Women's British Open, attempting to defend her crown. She finished the event T2nd, two shots behind Lydia Ko. [41]
Vu represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in August, where she finished T36th. [42] In September, Vu was part of the United States team that won the Solheim Cup from Europe. The United States secured the trophy with a 15.5–12.5 victory, with Vu finishing the event with a 1–2–1 record. Her victory came in the day one foursomes partnering Sarah Schmelzel, and she halved her match with Albane Valenzuela in the final day singles. [43] Across her LPGA season, Vu made the cut at 16 of the 18 LPGA Tour tournaments that she entered and concluded the year with $2,088,335 in prize money. [16]
Vu missed out on the Ford Championship title in March after being defeated in a playoff by Kim Hyo-joo. [44] Vu missed her fifth consecutive cut of the year at the Evian Championship in July, [45] and she then proceeded to miss the cut at the Women's British Open as well, her fourth missed cut at a major in 2025. [46]
Source: [8]
Legend |
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Major championships (2) |
Other LPGA Tour (3) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ($) | Ref |
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1 | Feb 26, 2023 | Honda LPGA Thailand | 66-70-66-64=266 | −22 | 1 stroke | ![]() | 255,000 | [24] |
2 | Apr 23, 2023 | Chevron Championship | 68-69-73-68=278 | −10 | Playoff | ![]() | 765,000 | [25] |
3 | Aug 13, 2023 | AIG Women's Open [1] | 72-68-67-67=274 | −14 | 6 strokes | ![]() | 1,350,000 | [28] |
4 | Nov 12, 2023 | The Annika | 67-66-62-66=261 | −19 | 3 strokes | ![]() ![]() | 487,500 | [34] |
5 | Jun 16, 2024 | Meijer LPGA Classic | 69-70-68-65=272 | −16 | Playoff | ![]() ![]() | 450,000 | [39] |
1 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
LPGA Tour playoff record (2–2)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2023 | Chevron Championship | ![]() | Won with birdie on first extra hole | [25] |
2 | 2023 | Buick LPGA Shanghai | ![]() | Yin won with birdie on first extra hole | [33] |
3 | 2024 | Meijer LPGA Classic | ![]() ![]() | Won with birdie on third extra hole | [39] |
4 | 2025 | Ford Championship | ![]() | Kim won with birdie on first extra hole | [44] |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 2, 2021 | Garden City Charity Classic | −8 (69-70-69=208) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
2 | Jul 25, 2021 | Twin Bridges Championship | −8 (70-67-68=205) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
3 | Aug 15, 2021 | Four Winds Invitational | −12 (68-69-67=204) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Chevron Championship | 4 shot deficit | −10 (68-69-73-68=278) | Playoff | ![]() | [25] |
2023 | Women's British Open | Tied for lead | −14 (72-68-67-67=274) | 6 strokes | ![]() | [28] |
Results not in chronological order.
Tournament | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chevron Championship | T46 | T40LA | CUT | 1 | 78 | |||||||
U.S. Women's Open | CUT | T34 | CUT | CUT | ||||||||
Women's PGA Championship | T10 | CUT | T2 | CUT | ||||||||
The Evian Championship | NT | CUT | T42 | T26 | CUT | |||||||
Women's British Open | T41 | 1 | T2 | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
NT = no tournament
T = tied
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chevron Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
U.S. Women's Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Women's PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Women's British Open | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Totals | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 12 |
Year | Tournaments played | Cuts made* | Wins (Majors) | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring average | Scoring rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T72 | 3,830 | 176 | 74.88 | n/a |
2020 | Did not play | ||||||||||
2021 | Did not play | ||||||||||
2022 | 24 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 918,939 | 30 | 70.20 | 20 |
2023 | 19 | 15 | 4 (2) | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3,502,303 | 1 | 69.81 | 3 |
2024 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2,088,335 | 8 | 70.48 | 13 |
Totals^ | 70 | 55 | 5 (2) | 3 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 6,513,407 | 62 |
^ Official as of 2024 season [47] [48] [49]
*Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
Year | Ranking | Source |
---|---|---|
2014 | 548 | [50] |
2015 | 921 | [51] |
2016 | n/a | [52] |
2017 | n/a | [53] |
2018 | 623 | [54] |
2019 | 1,007 | [55] |
2020 | n/a | [56] |
2021 | 244 | [57] |
2022 | 43 | [58] |
2023 | 1 | [59] |
2024 | 5 | [60] |
Amateur
Professional
Year | Total matches | Total W–L–H | Singles W–L–H | Foursomes W–L–H | Fourballs W–L–H | Points won | Points % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Career | 8 | 2–5–1 | 1–0–1 | 1–2–0 | 0–3–0 | 2.5 | 31.3 |
2023 [32] | 4 | 1–3–0 | 1–0–0 def. M. Sagström 4&3 | 0–1–0 lost w/ J. Kupcho 2&1 | 0–2–0 lost w/ L. Thompson 1 dn lost w/ D. Kang 2&1 | 1.0 | 25.0 |
2024 [43] | 4 | 1–2–1 | 0–0–1 halved w/ A. Valenzuela | 1–1–0 won w/ S. Schmelzel 3&2 lost w/ S. Schmelzel 4&3 | 0–1–0 lost w/ A. Corpuz 1 dn | 1.5 | 37.5 |