American professional golfer
Lilia Kha-Tu Du Vu (born October 14, 1997) is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour player. In 2023, she rose to number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings and became LPGA Tour Player of the Year after winning four titles, including two majors at the 2023 Chevron Championship and 2023 Women's British Open .[ 1] [ 2]
Early life, college and amateur career
Vu was born and raised in Fountain Valley, California . Her parents are both first-generation Vietnamese immigrants.[ 3] She began playing golf at age 7 after watching her brother and father at the driving range.[ 4] Vu was the winner of the 2013 AJGA Junior at Robinson Ranch, the CIF-WSCGA Championship in 2014, and the 2016 SCGA Women's Amateur. She placed second at the Canadian Women's Amateur in 2017.[ 5]
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.[ 5]
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).[ 6] 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.[ 7]
Professional career
Vu turned professional in January 2019 and finished T27 at the inaugural LPGA Q-Series to earn status for the 2019 LPGA Tour , where she made one cut in nine starts.[ 1]
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.[ 8] 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.[ 9] [ 10] 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.[ 11]
2023: World No. 1, two times major title
Vu beat Angel Yin in a playoff to win her first major at the 2023 Chevron Championship .[ 2] She took her second major with a six shot victory over Charley Hull at the 2023 Women's British Open .[ 12] The win moved her to number 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[ 13]
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 .[ 14] [ 15]
Amateur wins
2016 Women's Southern California Amateur Championship
2017 Battle at the Beach, Pac-12 Championship, Silverado Showdown, Anuenue Spring Break Classic, Bruin Wave Invitational
2018 Pac-12 Championship, Arizona Wildcat Invitational, Bruin Wave Invitational, Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge
Source:[ 6]
Professional wins (8)
LPGA Tour wins (5)
Legend
Major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (3)
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of victory
Runner(s)-up
Winner's share ($ )
1
Feb 26, 2023
Honda LPGA Thailand
66-70-66-64=266
−22
1 stroke
Natthakritta Vongtaveelap
255,000
2
Apr 23, 2023
Chevron Championship
68-69-73-68=278
−10
Playoff
Angel Yin
765,000
3
Aug 13, 2023
AIG Women's Open
72-68-67-67=274
−14
6 strokes
Charley Hull
1,350,000
4
Nov 12, 2023
The Annika
67-66-62-66=261
−19
3 strokes
Alison Lee Azahara Muñoz
487,500
5
Jun 16, 2024
Meijer LPGA Classic
69-70-68-65=272
−16
Playoff
Grace Kim Lexi Thompson
450,000
LPGA Tour playoff record (2–1)
Symetra Tour wins (3)
Results in LPGA majors
Wins (2)
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order.
Win
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
NT = no tournament
T = tied
Summary
Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2023 Evian – 2024 Women's British, current)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2023 Women's British – 2024 Women's PGA)
LPGA Tour career summary
Year
Tournaments played
Cuts made*
Wins (Majors)
2nd
3rd
Top 10s
Best finish
Earnings ($ )
Money list rank
Scoring average
Scoring rank
2019
9
2
0
0
0
0
T72
3,830
176
74.88
n/a
2020
Did not play
2021
Did not play
2022
24
22
0
0
3
8
3
918,939
30
70.20
20
2023
19
15
4 (2)
1
0
7
1
3,502,303
1
69.81
3
2024
18
16
1
2
0
4
1
2,088,335
8
70.48
13
Totals^
70
55
5 (2)
3
3
19
1
6,513,407
62
^ Official as of 2024 season[ 16] [ 17] [ 18]
*Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.
World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
Professional
Solheim Cup record
References
^ a b "Lilia Vu Bio" . LPGA Tour. Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ a b "Lilia Vu wins Chevron Championship in playoff for first major" . ESPN . Associated Press. April 23, 2023.
^ Quinn, Brendan. "An escape, a shot in the dark, a legacy: Here is Olympian Lilia Vu" . The New York Times .
^ "Lilia Vu Returns to the LPGA Tour Mentally Stronger" . LPGA. Retrieved July 1, 2024 .
^ a b "Women's Golf Roster: Lilia Vu" . UCLA Bruins. Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ a b "Lilia Kha-Tu Vu" . World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ "The Women – Performances of the week – Kupcho moves back to number one" . World Amateur Golf Ranking. January 23, 2019.
^ "Lilia Vu" . Women's World Golf Rankings. Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ Hudson, Melissa (August 16, 2021). "Lilia Vu wins Four Winds Invitational" . ABC57 . Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ "In The Winner's Circle With Lilia Vu - Four Winds Invitational" . Symetra Tour. Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ "Symetra Tour Championship Final Round News and Notes" . Symetra Tour. October 10, 2021. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021.
^ "American Lilia Vu wins Women's Open for 2nd major in 2023" . ESPN . Associated Press. August 13, 2023.
^ "Lilia Vu rises to No. 1 in women's world golf rankings" . ESPN . Reuters. August 14, 2023.
^ Imran, Khambe Huda (May 7, 2024). "LPGA Injury Update: Lilia Vu Quits Blue Bay Event Despite Confirming Illness Recovery" . EssentiallySports .
^ Root, Alison (June 12, 2024). " 'You Take Golf For Granted And Then Hit A Wall' - Former World No.1 Lilia Vu On Her Comeback After Injury" . Golf Monthly .
^ "Lilia Vu stats" . LPGA. Retrieved November 27, 2024 .
^ "Lilia Vu results" . LPGA. Retrieved November 27, 2024 .
^ "Career Money" . LPGA. Retrieved November 27, 2024 .
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 29, 2014.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 28, 2015.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 26, 2016.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 25, 2017.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 31, 2018.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 30, 2019.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 28, 2020.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 27, 2021.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 26, 2022.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 25, 2023.
^ "Women's World Golf Rankings" . December 30, 2024.
External links
† event won in a playoff; ‡ event won wire-to-wire
† event won in a playoff; ‡ event won wire-to-wire
Player in italics denotes current number one