Lilia Vu

Last updated

Lilia Vu
Personal information
Full nameLilia Kha-Tu Du Vu
Born (1997-10-14) October 14, 1997 (age 27) [1]
Fountain Valley, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) [2]
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Career
College UCLA
Turned professional2019
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour (joined 2019)
Former tour(s) Symetra Tour
Professional wins8
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour5
Ladies European Tour1
Epson Tour3
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
Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year2016
Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year2018
WGCA Player of the Year2018
Potawatomi Cup2021
Symetra Tour Player of the Year 2021
Rolex Annika Major Award 2023
LPGA Tour
Player of the Year
2023
LPGA Tour
Money Winner
2023

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.

Contents

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.

Early life, college and amateur career

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]

Professional career

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]

2023: World No. 1, two times major title

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 1414 tie with Europe retaining the trophy. Vu finished with a 130 (winlosstie) 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]

2024: Injury and comeback

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 15.512.5 victory, with Vu finishing the event with a 121 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]

2025

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]

Amateur wins

Source: [8]

Professional wins (8)

LPGA Tour wins (5)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-upWinner's
share ($)
Ref
1Feb 26, 2023 Honda LPGA Thailand 66-70-66-64=266−221 stroke Flag of Thailand.svg Natthakritta Vongtaveelap 255,000 [24]
2Apr 23, 2023 Chevron Championship 68-69-73-68=278−10Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Angel Yin 765,000 [25]
3Aug 13, 2023 AIG Women's Open [1] 72-68-67-67=274−146 strokes Flag of England.svg Charley Hull 1,350,000 [28]
4Nov 12, 2023 The Annika 67-66-62-66=261−193 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Alison Lee
Flag of Spain.svg Azahara Muñoz
487,500 [34]
5Jun 16, 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic 69-70-68-65=272−16Playoff Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grace Kim
Flag of the United States.svg Lexi Thompson
450,000 [39]

1 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)ResultRef
12023 Chevron Championship Flag of the United States.svg Angel Yin Won with birdie on first extra hole [25]
22023 Buick LPGA Shanghai Flag of the United States.svg Angel Yin Yin won with birdie on first extra hole [33]
32024 Meijer LPGA Classic Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grace Kim
Flag of the United States.svg Lexi Thompson
Won with birdie on third extra hole [39]
42025 Ford Championship Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Hyo-joo Kim won with birdie on first extra hole [44]

Symetra Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1May 2, 2021 Garden City Charity Classic −8 (69-70-69=208)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Beth Wu
2Jul 25, 2021 Twin Bridges Championship −8 (70-67-68=205)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Rachel Rohanna
3Aug 15, 2021 Four Winds Invitational −12 (68-69-67=204)2 strokes Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ruixin Liu

Results in LPGA majors

Wins (2)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-upRef
2023 Chevron Championship 4 shot deficit−10 (68-69-73-68=278)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Angel Yin [25]
2023 Women's British Open Tied for lead−14 (72-68-67-67=274)6 strokes Flag of England.svg Charley Hull [28]

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order.

Tournament201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Chevron Championship T46T40LACUT 1 78
U.S. Women's Open CUTT34CUTCUT
Women's PGA Championship T10CUTT2CUT
The Evian Championship NTCUTT42T26CUT
Women's British Open T41 1 T2CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Chevron Championship 10011154
U.S. Women's Open 00000041
Women's PGA Championship 01012242
The Evian Championship 00000042
Women's British Open 11022243
Totals2204552112

LPGA Tour career summary

YearTournaments
played
Cuts
made*
Wins (Majors)2nd3rdTop
10s
Best
finish
Earnings
($)
Money
list rank
Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
2019 920000T723,83017674.88n/a
2020 Did not play
2021 Did not play
2022 242200383918,9393070.2020
2023 19154 (2)10713,502,303169.813
2024 1816120412,088,335870.4813
Totals^70555 (2)331916,513,40762

^ Official as of 2024 season [47] [48] [49]
*Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

YearRankingSource
2014548 [50]
2015921 [51]
2016n/a [52]
2017n/a [53]
2018623 [54]
20191,007 [55]
2020n/a [56]
2021244 [57]
202243 [58]
20231 [59]
20245 [60]

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Solheim Cup record

YearTotal
matches
Total
W–L–H
Singles
W–L–H
Foursomes
W–L–H
Fourballs
W–L–H
Points
won
Points
%
Career82–5–11–0–11–2–00–3–02.531.3
2023 [32] 41–3–01–0–0 def. M. Sagström 4&30–1–0 lost w/ J. Kupcho 2&10–2–0 lost w/ L. Thompson 1 dn
lost w/ D. Kang 2&1
1.025.0
2024 [43] 41–2–10–0–1 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 dn1.537.5

References

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