ST ANDREWS, Scotland — Defending AIG Women’s Open champion Lilia Vu is well on her way to adopting another cat.
The five-time LPGA Tour winner got a kitten last fall and named him Walton in honor of her victory at the 2023 AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club. She said in her pre-tournament press conference ahead of her title defense this week at St Andrews that another cat is on the table if she were to capture a third major title, motivation that appears to be working for the 26-year-old through the first round at the Old Course.
Vu carded a 3-under 69 on day one in Scotland, battling through difficult conditions to post an early round in the red as she works to successfully defend a championship for the first time in her career.
The California native raced out of the gates with a birdie on the par-4 1st hole, ultimately giving that shot right back with a bogey on the second. She then parred her next three holes before throwing a one-two punch of birdies on holes six and seven, grabbing one last birdie on the ninth to turn in 33.
Vu parred holes 10, 11 and 12 before dropping a shot with a bogey on the par-4 13th hole. But she cleaned up that error with a birdie on 16, parring out to post a 69, her lowest first-round score ever in any of her title defenses thus far during the 2024 LPGA Tour season.
“It was super tough,” said Vu. “You just have to be on every single shot. You have to be really disciplined. Front nine, the wind is off the left, kind of between hurting and helping, and then the back nine, you kind of have to rewire your brain, like okay, the wind is off the right. It's okay to hit out to the right and then have it come back. It's definitely a mental battle.”
Vu’s victory last year at Walton Heath was one of four that she would capture in 2023, and while she only has one win under her belt so far this season, Vu has played solidly over the course of this year.
She nabbed a T7 finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where she was also the defending champion, before having to step away from professional golf in April to rehab a lingering back injury. The 26-year-old then returned to competitive golf in June, winning in her first start after her two-month break at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, defeating Grace Kim and Lexi Thompson in a playoff at Blythefield Country Club.
She next finished in a tie for second at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club and hasn’t finished worse than T26 in her three previous starts ahead of this week at the Old Course, tying for 26th at The Amundi Evian Championship, tying for 12th at the CPKC Women’s Open and tying for 25th last week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.
But even though her recent form has shown that her back is no longer hindering Vu from the golf she is capable of playing, it’s still something that she has to think about, particularly in Scotland’s cold weather.
“I think it's just staying warm,” said Vu when asked what the most challenging part of golf at the Old Course has been. “Especially for me with my back stuff, I just am constantly stretching even when the pace is good. Definitely had to do a lot of that.”
The second round will see Vu start two shots back of her groupmate Charley Hull, who carded a 5-under 67 in the first round, and she is more than looking forward to once again competing alongside the Englishwoman and Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda on Friday at St Andrews as she works to put herself in a good position to defend ahead of the weekend at the Old Course.
And while the forecast threatens rain and more of the gusty wind that she experienced on day one in Scotland, Vu is a player who is more than willing to rise to the occasion when things start to get challenging, an attribute that has proven to be valuable to the Epson Tour graduate in her last few years on the LPGA Tour.
“Everyone is so solid in this group. It was definitely a lot of fun, and I can't wait for tomorrow,” said Vu. “I think it's comforting knowing that it's tough for everybody, not just me, so I knew that we were all in this together. I was just going to try my best out here.”
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