Lilia Vu knew. She knew that she could find victory lane again on the LPGA Tour. She knew it was only a matter of time before win number five came knocking, if only she could get healthy. She knew everything was going to end up alright at some point.
She may not have known her latest success would come in a gritty three-hole playoff with Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. But Vu knew she’d at least have a shot at contending again if she could heal.
Little did Vu know, though, that an opportunity to win would come in her first start back after a two-month hiatus and that she would once again close the deal in Belmont, Mich.
Before this week, the former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 hadn’t competed on the LPGA Tour since March, withdrawing at the last minute from her title defense at The Chevron Championship after a lingering back injury flared up and then taking an extended 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 that it wasn’t yet time for her to come back, electing to take a couple more weeks off before teeing it up this week at Blythefield Country Club. Being sidelined from competition was a different experience for Vu, a break that she wouldn’t have foreseen taking after capturing a whopping four victories in 2023, but it provided her a new perspective on golf and her career, one that has clearly paid off in spades for the 26-year-old.
“I think I definitely look at golf in a different lens,” Vu said ahead of the week in Michigan. “I think I appreciate it more now than ever, just being able to play golf. You take it for granted when you're not injured, and you don't appreciate it. Then you hit a wall, and then you're not able to swing and play as much as you would want to, and you hit pause. Then you have to be disciplined and get your things in order, and that's what I was trying to do the past couple of weeks.”
She entered the last round of the Meijer LPGA Classic in a tie for 14th at 9-under total, eight shots back from 54-hole leader Grace Kim. An aggressive player who loves to attack golf courses, Vu went bogey-free on Sunday in Belmont, Mich., making seven birdies and posting a 65 to ultimately find herself in a playoff with Kim and Thompson at the conclusion of the final day.
The trio all birdied the first two extra holes, but it was Vu who eventually emerged victorious, making a birdie on 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 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 could have been hard for Vu to list out her wins in order of significance. But when asked in her winning press conference where the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic ranks on her docket of victories, Vu didn’t hesitate with her answer.
“I think this is the most meaningful win because there was a time two months ago where I was just crying on the range not being sure if I would ever play a tournament again without pain,” Vu said. “To be here today, it's just incredible. The team I have around me, they've supported me through everything, and I just can't believe that we're in this position today. I definitely wasn't in the mindset of winning. I just happened to win. I'm very grateful for everything.”
If you know Vu’s story, you know that resiliency is just a 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 starts and nearly quitting the game entirely, tired of spinning her tires for something that just wasn’t working.
But it wasn’t only golf that was challenging for Vu that year. She suffered the devastating loss of her grandfather that spring, a death that profoundly impacted the young talent and one that taught her a lot about herself as she struggled to chase 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 okay,” Vu recalled after her win at the 2023 AIG Women’s Open. “It was a little scary, and he told me just to go out there and play my best before my tournament. Meanwhile, he's sick and he's worried about me and my golf game.
“By the time I came back, he had passed, and those were his last words to me. I always think about that every single day. Even when I'm struggling out there on the course, I know he's out there with me, letting me know that it's going to be okay.”
Vu turned the page to 2021 with a new resolve, 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 titles on the Epson Tour, 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 gritty fight back to the biggest stage in women’s golf, and after numerous close calls during 2022, Vu finally hit her stride in 2023 – winning four times, capturing two major titles, ascending to Rolex Rankings No. 1, winning the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, clinching a spot on her first U.S. Solheim Cup team and earning Rolex Player of the Year honors.
It’s a rags-to-riches success story that shows just how tenacious Vu can be in the face of adversity. Few players in professional golf manage to fully recover from the brink of quitting, never mind flip the script entirely and become one of the game’s most promising young stars. But Vu did just that, making her ability to recover from what felt like a nearly career-ending back injury and win after an extended break not surprising to those who have followed her LPGA Tour journey over the years.
Vu, however, was a little bit shocked that it happened this quickly.
“I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I won this week,” Vu said in her winning press conference on Sunday. “I think I was setting my bar really low so that I could meet 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 just trying to stay in my lane, take advantage of all the good shots, and make all the birdie putts that I get.”
The now five-time LPGA Tour winner has an exciting slate of tournaments coming up this year, a list 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 2024 Paris Olympics and the 19th edition of the Solheim Cup.
While she was just hoping to be able to participate in those events, her win at the Meijer LPGA Classic has proven to Vu that she’s just as capable of winning them as she was a year ago when she was healthy. And even though she will continue to take her recovery one step at a time over the coming weeks and months, Vu’s triumph in Michigan has to remind her of her own resiliency, her determination and her ability to persevere even through tough challenges.
It has to show her that no difficulty, no adversity, no mountain is too tall to overcome, a lesson she has more than learned during her professional golf journey.
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