The Woodlands, Texas – Lilia Vu experienced an unusual level of anger this week. It was over small things. Vu was upset by her anger management and thought of her grandpa Dinh Du during the final round at the 2023 Chevron championship. He would be disappointed if Vu didn’t control her emotions.
Vu, clad in white slippers and a white robe, stood at the podium, drenched in champagne, and told the story of her grandfather, who built a boat for his family to escape war-torn Vietnam. He would spend months in the country, literally building a better future for his family.
Vu’s mother, Yvonne and her siblings ran in the forest when her father told her it was time to leave. The boat had a maximum capacity of 54, but as more people swam to meet the boat, it grew to 82.
“He took all of them,” said Yvonne.
The boat began to leak after two days. The boat sprang a leak after two days. The USS Brewton was soon called in to rescue them.
“My grandfather is the reason I’m here,” Vu said, after she birdied the final two holes of the Nicklaus course at the Club at Carlton Woods in order to qualify for a play-off against Angel Yin.
The pair, who finished the tournament tied at 10 under par, headed back down the 18th hole, where Vu had a drive that was so long, she could have used a 7-iron on a hybrid she had hit not long ago in regulation.
Vu’s shot was long and over the green after Yin’s first shot found water. Vu chose to putt over the long grass in her eagle shot and missed the hole by 14 feet.
Vu did not lose her turn and, after she converted the birdie-putt with stoicism, broke down into a sob as her friends showered champagne on her.
The win is yours!
Lilia Vu wins the 2023 Chevron championship with a birdie on the first playoff hole! pic.twitter.com/bn0iPR0VLe
— LPGA 23 April 2023 HTML0
Cole Pensanti caddied for Danielle Kang at the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA.
Yin was emotional not because she had lost but because she wondered if this would be her last chance to compete like this after battling with injuries.
“I’ve come a very long way,” said Yin. “I am really happy with where I am and who I am right now. “There’s so much to be grateful for.”
Vu earned $3,830 in her first LPGA season in 2019. She made only one cut out of nine starts. With eight titles in UCLA’s history, the winningest player considered quitting and attending law school.
Vu’s mother, however, convinced Vu to continue.
Vu’s grandfather was battling a serious heart condition in the hospital as she prepared to travel to Florida to attend an Epson Tour during the pandemic of 2020.
Lilia Vu jumping in the lake, after winning the 2023 Chevron Championship. (Photo: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports)
Vu said, “The last thing that he told was to do my best.” “He is in the hospital and thinking about me and my tourney.”
Her grandfather died not long after her family returned to California.
Vu realized that she had been treating each shot as if it were life or death and comparing her own success with that of peers that she had grown up competing against.
Vu’s new outlook allowed her to reach her full potential. In 2021 she won the Epson Tour Money List and earned back her LPGA Card.
Vu, frustrated after finishing in the top three on three occasions last year but not winning a trophy and unable to lift a trophy up her arms, changed her mentality once more. She realized she had been putting herself under too much stress. Vu decided that she would win one day, and just needed to let it happen.
Vu has not finished outside of the top 15 since 2023. The $765,000 check she received at the Chevron brings her career earnings to $2,036,647.
Team Vu Lilia and her parents Dad taught her how to play. Mom persuaded her to continue. pic.twitter.com/KzlAYKe77j
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) April 23, 2023
Vu was ranked as high as 127th at this time last season. Nelly Korda, who is expected to climb to the top spot in the rankings after winning at Chevron, was ranked 12th when Vu entered. Vu, who finished third in Texas in her last match, is the most popular American player right now.
Sunday was windy, cold and rainy at first. It was not guaranteed that the winner of this year would want to step foot on the new dock near the 18th green. Even Vu was unsure if she would jump into the murky waters after seeing a snake on the 17th hole earlier in the week.
The crowd was chanting “Jump!” and the emotions were high. Jump! This is the major that the girl from Southern California knew best – this was her opportunity.
Vu removed her shoes and socks and grabbed her trainer’s hand. As her caddie flopped to the left and rolled over, Vu continued the oldest tradition of women’s golf.
What would her grandpa think?
She said, “I believe he would say that my struggle was worth it.”
As was his.
