NAPLES, Fla. – One memory has been with Lilia Vu throughout this journey. Through the highs and lows. Even through the frustrations and second thoughts. Even in the excitement.
She no longer knows the man she calls “the best I’ve known.” Dinh Du was Vu’s grandpa and he played a big role in Vu being the first American to win the LPGA Rolex Player Of The Year in nine years.
If there was any doubt, Vu, who shot the lowest round of the day (65) at the CME Group Tour Championship on Sunday, earning her fourth place, was asked about his grandfather. She raised her hands with the backside of her hand facing forward.
She said, “I always think of him.” “My nails look like koi. When he was still alive, he raised 50 koi in his backyard. I think of him all the time. He’s always beside me. “Even when I feel bad about myself, I think, okay, Grandpa didn’t make all of this just for you to be upset over a single shot.”
Vu, 26 years old, entered the final LPGA event for the 2023 season in the lead by 27 points over Celine Boutier. She never lost that lead and finished 21-under-267, just six shots behind Amy Yang.
This journey, which began in Fountain Valley, California and ended with a decorated UCLA career before she turned pro in 2019, could only have been possible thanks to one man.
Vu’s grandpa got his family out of Vietnam and other people by building a vessel. He would take his family to the countryside to work for a whole month. In 1982, Vu, his mother Yvonne and her siblings loaded onto the boat that was intended for 54 people. Others, however, saw it as a way to freedom and arrived soon after.
No one was turned away.
Vu told reporters earlier in the season that “my grandpa’s is why I am here.”
The boat began to leak soon after and they were saved by the USS Brewton. This was the same naval ship which in 1984 transported the body the Vietnam Unknown Soldier from California to Arlington National Cemetery.
Vu said, “I’m a little like him.” Her grandfather was her grandfather. “He left for a month each time to build this boat. He worked quietly. I am the same. I don’t say much about what I do. I just write down my goals and then put them away. I don’t say everything out loud. I don’t openly say all the stuff. “I think I share the same passion for hard work as my grandfather.”
Vu began the 2022 season in the Gainbridge LPGA Boca Rio at No. She was ranked No. 228 in the World. She was No. She was No. 12 in early 2014 after winning the Honda LPGA Thai Championship, her first LPGA title and her first of four victories for the season.
Six months later she was ranked No. After winning the Women’s British Open, she has been No. 1 ever since.
Vu said, “I keep thinking of the last thing that he told me, “Play your best.” “I try to think about it every day.”
Vu struggled to cope with the expectations and pressures she faced during her first years of professional life. She considered switching from professional golf to a law degree, but her mother convinced her to keep going.
She said that her first year of college “devastated” her.
Her grandfather’s death occurred not by chance in 2020 during the pandemic.
She said, “I remember feeling miserable.” “This is the dream. Everything we worked for was out here and I just wasn’t in the right mind for it.”
Even so, it was not easy. That pressure showed itself last year on the 18th hole of this tournament when she wept after finishing in the middle 60-woman field.
She said, “I wanted to win so bad.” “I had so much fun in college.” Once I became a professional, I lost the fun because I was under so much stress.
Vu reflected on what she enjoyed in college, and realized that it was being a part of a team. She surrounded herself with those who could recreate the atmosphere that she enjoyed at UCLA, where she won eight titles and was the winningest athlete in school history.
She was also inspired by the man who had a woman adorning her nails with koi.
Vu said that her grandfather was a quiet man who worked in the yard, on cars and other things. “I don’t really know but I feel that he is the best person I have ever known.”
“Oh my God, I’m about to cry.”
Vu then went to the 18th hole at Tiburon Golf Club and collected another trophy. She cried for the right reasons.
