It took a solid 48 hours before Lilia Vu finally felt like a major champion. The whirlwind Sunday at the Chevron Championship didn’t allow her to sit back and take in all that she had accomplished, having birdied the last two holes in regulation at the Club at Carlton Woods outside Houston, then winning with a birdie in the first extra playoff hole.

With two holes remaining, she didn’t think she had a chance to win the event. An hour later, she was holding the trophy, after jumping in the pond just off the 18th green.

“It’s starting to feel real now,” Vu on said Tuesday from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club, a place she knows well because she played there every Wednesday morning at 6.30am as a member of the UCLA golf team. Vu was the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2018, a three-time First-Team All-American and ranks first in all-time victories at UCLA with eight.

“It’s just very nostalgic to be in the area,” said Vu, who grew up 30 minutes south of downtown Los Angeles. “It feels like home, so it’s kind of nice to come back after Chevron and be here, somewhere that I know that family and friends are going to come out this weekend, too.”

Back to Sunday, where Vu captured her second LPGA title and first major. She missed her flight home at 8pm from Texas. The weather delay earlier helped with that, even before she vaulted into contention. Then, while waiting to see how Angel Yin would before down the stretch, Vu thought she could find a way to see the Taylor Swift concert in town that night. But she ended up winning and her Sunday night suddenly was booked solid.

Vu, 25, flew back to Los Angeles on Monday, landed at 3pm, went with family to their favourite restaurant, then returned home to pack for a three-week stretch that includes the International Crown and Founders Cup events after this week’s home game at Wilshire, which boasts eight of the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings and 17 of the top 20. She was only home for 18 hours.

“It’s amazing here,” Vu said. “It’s super fun. I said this before, it’s different from all the neighbouring golf courses around here. I feel like it can play really difficult if the wind gets up. It’s already difficult on its own. I think around the greens it’s difficult, and the putting greens are difficult. I think it should be a good test for everybody out here.”

The post ‘It’s starting to feel real now’: Inside Lilia Vu’s whirlwind 48 hours after winning her first major appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The outpouring of emotion following a victory reveals the years of sacrifice, dedication, and moments of self-doubt culminating in triumph.

The tears streamed down Lilia Vu’s face on Sunday after she holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to overcome a four-shot deficit and beat fellow California native Angel Yin to win the Chevron Championship at Carlton Woods. Her emotion after winning her first LPGA Tour major was about honouring multiple generations of her family’s sacrifice in giving her a chance to achieve her dreams.

For the win! ?

Lilia Vu birdies the first playoff hole to win the 2023 Chevron Championship! pic.twitter.com/bn0iPR0VLe

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 23, 2023

“Everything happens for a reason,” said Vu, who birdied the last two holes of regulation to shoot 68 and tie for first at 10-under. “All the bad things … everything I’ve always struggled through, family-wise. I think of myself as my biggest obstacle. I had a very tough, not easy past two days. I was definitely my own enemy. I don’t know how I pulled this out.”

The journey started two generations prior, with her maternal grandfather, Dinh Du, getting his family out of war-torn Vietnam. For months in 1982, seven years after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, he hid away in the countryside to slowly build a boat. He risked his life making the craft to give his family a chance to escape. Then, one night, he told everyone it was time to go.

“My dad said that we need to get out of Vietnam to get a better life,” Vu’s mom, Kieu Thuy, said on Sunday. “We chose America, and luckily, we did it.”

Du built a boat for 54 people. As the craft took off, people from the shore swam to climb on aboard. Du turned no one away, ending up with 82 souls searching for a new life. Hope started to fade as the boat leaked two days into the journey. Du fired off flares hoping for anyone to help them.

Fortunately, the USS Brewton, a United States Navy warship, saw Du’s flares. They rescued everyone on the boat.

“The reason I’m here is because of my grandpa,” said the 25-year-old Vu, who was born and raised in Fountain Valley, California, and attended UCLA.

Thuy felt very emotional hearing the impact her father’s sacrifices had on Vu, and the mother cried before heading to the locker room to rejoin her daughter.

“My dad, he’s my hero,” Thuy said.

Du continued serving as the patriarch of his family up until his passing near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As he went to the hospital for a check-up on his heart condition, he chatted with Vu. Vu explained to her grandfather that she wasn’t playing her best golf. She just finished a 2019 LPGA rookie season in which Vu made one cut in nine starts. A demotion to the Epson Tour led to similar struggles to begin the year. His advice ended up being the last he’d ever give Vu, as he passed at the hospital.

“The last thing he told me was to play my best,” Vu said. “He’s in the hospital, thinking of me and my tournament.”

His advice has stayed with Vu ever since, as she thinks quite a bit of the day he passed. That included Sunday, where his memory helped keep her grounded. Vu battled a tangle of emotions in the tournament, from frustration, moodiness, and not understanding why she was so angry with herself.

“Even today, I was getting really upset on the course,” Vu said. “I just had to remind myself, like, grandpa is with you, and he’d be really disappointed if you were getting upset like this and that you didn’t get your act together.”

Lilia Vu only made one cut during her rookie LPGA Tour season in 2019. ?

Vu spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on the @EpsonTour, where she won three times and re-qualified for the LPGA Tour.

She's now won twice on Tour in 2023 and is a major champion. ?

Never give up. pic.twitter.com/Dsik8adwOG

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 24, 2023

Her father, Douglas Vu, also gave simple advice again to his daughter. He served as her swing coach from when Vu turned six to heading to UCLA for her first year of college. Vu credited him for his advice that one good round could lead to a victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where Vu went on to win in February for her first LPGA title. His thoughts after hugging her at 8pm on Saturday before Vu went to her room echoed a similar sentiment.

“I said keep your focus on the game,” he said. “If you have mid-60s [round], you may win.”

Vu’s caddie, Cole Pensanti, also kept an optimistic tone on Sunday. He reminded Vu that she came from six behind in the final round to win in Thailand and could make a comeback at Carlton Woods.

Vu cut into the four-shot deficit quickly on Sunday. On a challenging scoring day where Carlton Woods gave up only nine rounds under par, Vu birdied the second and third. Her birdie on the par-5 eighth moved Vu to nine-under, a stroke off the lead.

Then, frustration mounted. Pensanti felt Vu tried to force it over the middle of the round, not making the birdies she wanted. Vu bogeyed the ninth, then started the back nine with seven pars.

Pensanti’s advice echoed both her father’s and grandfather’s advice. “Same thing I always say, just let it happen,” Pensanti said.

That turned into birdies on the 17th and 18th to take the clubhouse lead at 10-under. Vu sat at the scorer’s tent for 25 minutes before heading to the range to warm up for 25 minutes. Then, she heard the roar on the 18th green when Yin made birdie to force the playoff and eventual victory worth $765,000.

For Yin, the co-leader at 10-under after 54 holes, getting into the playoff seemed out of nowhere this week. She had one top-10 finish before the Chevron since late July 2021. Yet even on a day when she didn’t feel her best, Yin didn’t express frustration about the round. Instead, she beamed with pride at her journey rather than agonising over the close defeat.

“I’m just really happy with who I am, where I am, and what I’m doing right now,” Yin said. “Just a lot to appreciate. If I can talk about how much I appreciate life right now, I’ll get emotional, not over this [loss].”
Yin led Vu by two shots with three holes to play, but she bogeyed the 16th and 17th after hitting her tee shots into bunkers. At the 18th, she reached the par-5 green in two shots and two-putted for birdie to close regulation with a 72.

Nelly Korda also appreciated her journey, even without a victory. She stood two shots away from her second major title at the beginning of the day, and a potential return to the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings sat 18 holes away. While Korda spent most of the day out of striking distance of contention, a closing eagle on the 18 delivered a one-under 71 Sunday that got Korda into solo third.
With current World No. 1 Lydia Ko missing the cut for the first time in 40 starts, the LPGA projected Korda to return to the top of the rankings. It’s her second time as the No. 1 player since missing the Chevron Championship last season due to a blood clot.

“It would have been obviously very nice to win the major, as well, but I think being World No. 1 is very rewarding,” Korda said. “All my hard work has paid off, and hopefully continue building, but the No. 1 ranking keeps bouncing back and forth, back and forth.”

Lilia takes the leap! ?

The 2x Tour winner is now a major champion ? pic.twitter.com/cx90BehK50

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 23, 2023

Vu’s victory culminated with a ‘traditional’ leap into the new venue’s pond alongside her caddie and trainer. Her parents watched on from afar, taking in the family affair of their daughter becoming a major champion.

“It means the world,” Vu said of her parents watching her victory. “I honestly want them everywhere whenever I play.”

No matter where Vu goes, her family is always with her, in spirit or in person.

The post Winning the Chevron Championship was a family triumph for Lilia Vu appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The overall purse at the LPGA’s first major of 2023 is a tournament record $5.1 million, and Vu took home $765,000 by making birdie in the first sudden-death playoff hole to top Angel Yin. Vu shot 68-69-73-68 to sit in the house at 10-under. Yin made birdie on the par-5 18th hole in regulation to shoot 72 and get into the playoff. During the playoff Yin hit her second shot into the water guarding the green, while Vu, 25, was over the back of the green in two shots but got up and down to make birdie and win her second LPGA title and first major championship.

The move from California’s Mission Hills Country Club, site of the event for the previous 51 years, to Texas allowed the tournament to secure its new title sponsor and beef up the overall purse. A year ago, Chevron boosted the prize money payout from $3 million to $5 million.

Win: Lilia Vu, -10/278, $765,000
2: Angel Yin, -10/278, $479,680
3: Nelly Korda, -9/279, $347,974
T-4: Atthaya Thitikul, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: A Lim Kim, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: Amy Yang, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: Albane Valenzuela, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: Allisen Corpuz, -8/280, $188,300
T-9: Jin Young Ko, -7/281, $111,615
T-9: Megan Khang, -7/281, $111,615
11: Hyo Joo Kim, -6/282, $98,481
T-12: Georgia Hall, -5/283, $89,026
T-12: Carlota Ciganda, -5/283, $89,026
T-14: Ariya Jutanugarn, -4/284, $76,334
T-14: Celine Boutier, -4/284, $76,334
T-14: Xiyu Lin, -4/284, $76,334
17: Hye-Jin Choi, -3/285, $68,283
T-18: Maddie Szeryk, -2/286, $61,585
T-18: In Gee Chun, -2/286, $61,585
T-18: Cheyenne Knight, -2/286, $61,585
T-18: Ashleigh Buhai, -2/286, $61,585
22: Amanda Doherty, -1/287, $56,200
T-23: Leona Maguire, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Brittany Lincicome, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Brooke Henderson, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Eun-Hee Ji, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Ally Ewing, E/288, $50,214
T-28: Eila Galitsky (a), +1/289, $0
T-28: Danielle Kang, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Jessica Korda, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Matilda Castren, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Hinako Shibuno, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Gaby Lopez, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Nanna Koerstz Madsen, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Lindsey Weaver-Wright, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Marina Alex, +1/289, $38,933
T-37: Nasa Hataoka, +2/290, $30,333
T-37: Pagaree Anannarukarn, +2/290, $30,333
T-37: Jodi Ewart Shadoff, +2/290, $30,333
T-37: Maja Stark, +2/290, $30,333
T-41: Minjee Lee, +3/291, $25,737
T-41: Narin An, +3/291, $25,737
T-41: Patty Tavatanakit, +3/291, $25,737
T-41: Ruoning Yin, +3/291, $25,737
T-45: Dana Fall, +4/292, $22,322
T-45: Gemma Dryburgh, +4/292, $22,322
T-45: Pavarisa Yoktuan, +4/292, $22,322
T-45: Amari Avery (a), +4/292, $0
T-49: Stephanie Kyriacou, +5/293, $19,958
T-49: Peiyun Chien, +5/293, $19,958
T-49: Chella Choi, +5/293, $19,958
T-52: Ayaka Furue, +6/294, $18,121
T-52: Sei Young Kim, +6/294, $18,121
T-54: Lucy Li, +7/295, $17,069
T-54: Ryann O’Toole, +7/295, $17,069
T-56: Yuna Nishimura, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Hae Ran Ryu, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Andrea Lee, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Karis Davidson, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Linnea Strom, +8/296, $15,232
T-61: Jing Yan, +9/297, $13,395
T-61: Dewi Weber, +9/297, $13,395
T-63: Brittany Altomare, +10/298, $12,737
T-63: Wei-Ling Hsu, +10/298, $12,737
65: Mao Saigo, +11/299, $12,343
66: Sarah Schmelzel, +12/300, $12,082
T-67: Lauren Stephenson, +13/301, $11,686
T-67: Charlotte Thomas, +13/301, $11,686

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2023 Chevron Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

There is only one place in professional golf where players try to intentionally skip the ball off the water and onto a par-3 green. That would be Augusta National Golf Club, where the golfers (and sometimes their caddies) entertain the gallery during practice rounds for the Masters by acting like kids skipping stones across the tranquil pond at the 16th hole. They sometimes actually pull it off.

On Saturday in the LPGA’s Chevron Championship outside of Houston, Angel Yin wasn’t trying to be so dramatic while rising to the top of the leaderboard in the third round. The 24-year-old California native, who shot five-under 67 to be tie for the lead at 10-under, was simply attempting to get her tee shot close to a pin just paces off the front of the pond-protected green at the par-3 12th at Carlton Woods.

Yin played her shot, but it was at least 10 yards short of the flag and found the water with a splash. Only — somehow — the ball reappeared out of the pond, bounded onto the bank and, we repeat — somehow — stayed on the bank without rolling back in. A smiling Yin couldn’t believe her good fortune. “Oh my gosh,” she is heard saying.

.@angelyinlol needs to buy a lottery ticket after this lucky bounce ? pic.twitter.com/A8aS56Q0OT

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 22, 2023

“Wow,” said NBC Sports commentator Morgan Pressel.

This was no skip, really. It was like a fish caught it and spat it out- — a scenario no less out there than the speculation that followed. Both Pressel and Karen Stupples wondered if the ball hit one of the many turtles in the lakes at Carlton Woods. “It, honestly, had to have hit a turtle,” Pressel said. “What else could it have hit?”

Anchor Terry Gannon questioned that a bit. “I hope not,” he said. “I hope it’s all right, put it that way.”

When the broadcast returned from commercial, Stupples had investigated the pond, reporting: “I went down there to have a look at what could possibly be under there to help the ball stay up. It is fairly shallow, but … ”

In other words, no turtles sighted.

As Stupples was speaking, Yin hit her second-shot pitch, and it nearly went in, grazing the edge of the hole for what would have been one of the greatest water birdies ever. As it is, in an interview after the round, Yin said of the shot: “Extremely shocked. I thought I was going to get the car for that. Karen [Stupples] was, like, go buy the lottery.”

We will never know how the ball escaped the pond, but if Yin were to go on to win, it would be one of the luckiest breaks in major championship history.

The post Chevron leader gets one of the luckiest water skips of all time. Did a turtle provide the assist? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A slow day during the third round of the Chevron Championship at Carlton Woods turned into an expensive one for LPGA Tour rookie Lucy Li. Following her round on Saturday, the LPGA confirmed to Golf Digest that Li received a fine due to slow play on the seventh hole. The tour did not disclose the amount of the fine.

“The group received a warning and was timed, as is our policy, before the fine,” an LPGA spokesperson said in a text.

The official explained that Li’s group received a warning “several” holes before it was determined a fine would be instituted. According to the tour, Gaby Lopez and Pavarisa Yokutan — the others in the group with Li that teed off at 10:06 a.m. local time on Saturday — were not fined. Li did not receive a penalty for slow play, which could have cost her two strokes. She shot four-over-par 76 in the third round and stood at three over, tied for 52nd place.

Li is best known for holding the current records as the youngest qualifier for both the US Women’s Open and US Amateur. She skipped college and turned pro in 2019 and played on the developmental Epson Tour until graduating in 2022 on the strength of a season that included two victories.

Per tour policy, which Golf Digest obtained and reviewed, groups first receive an official warning. Afterward, their pace of play must meet the average expected times to complete a certain number of strokes. The tour allows 30 seconds per shot for average expected times.

The “fineable plus time” is 1 to 10 seconds greater than the tour’s average allotted time to complete a certain number of strokes a hole. Beyond 11 seconds is where a rules official can enforce stroke penalties.

As witnessed by Golf Digest, shortly after Li, 20, signed for her 76, a tournament rules official approached Li near the scoring tent and asked to talk. After walking away from the media flash interview area to near the shuttle area, they had a five-minute conversation.

After the end of the discussion, Li and her caddie walked through the autograph area and went towards the clubhouse. She met with her agent and appeared to express frustration, taking her visor off before the group walked away to the clubhouse.

The tour did not disclose if Li, as she’s allowed, appealed the fine. She can appeal up until the conclusion of the Chevron.

The fine follows a challenging third round in which Li posted a double bogey on the third, and then back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14. The Californian has been up and down at the first major of the year. She opened with a 74, but bounced back with a 69 on Friday to have a chance for her third straight top-25 finish.

Li is making the seventh major start of her career and second at the Chevron. She finished T-70 at Mission Hills in 2017 as a 14-year-old.

The post LPGA Tour rookie Lucy Li incurs slow-play fine during third round of Chevron Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Weather has been looming over most of Carlton Woods’ debut as the home of the LPGA Tour’s Chevron Championship. Delays marred the opening 36 holes, forcing the second round to finish Saturday morning and groups to go out in threesomes during the third round.

But the climate finally cleared, with the conclusion of the first three days revealing a wide-open leaderboard heading into Sunday. The final pairing of Allisen Corpuz and Angel Yin, tied at 10-under, will tee off at midday, each aiming for her maiden LPGA victory. Lurking near the leaders are 14 players five strokes or closer. Ten of those are past tour winners.

Even with Yin’s struggles the last few years, the 24-year-old Californian burst into her post-third-round press conference, after a five-under 67, beaming confidently. She says her self-assured perspective came from a practice round at the 2020 Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee with former Solheim Cup teammate Cristie Kerr.

Angel Yin

“She was walking after she hit a tee shot off a practice round, and she was, like: ‘I’m four days away from people knowing I’m back,’” Yin said. “That’s the confidence. Every day I tell myself that. Just channel your Cristie Kerr.”

Given Corpuz’s recent results, she could have her own reasons to doubt herself. Coming into the Chevron, she finished T-61 at the DIO Implant Open and missed the cut in her native Hawaii. But Corpuz, 25, took a few days to determine what went wrong. She concluded her alignment was off, and with the confidence of growing up on Bermuda grass similar to that of Carlton Woods, Corpuz is in a position to prove to herself she belongs.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of really good players out there, and just keep reminding myself that at my best I’m just as good as them,” Corpuz said. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been telling myself.”

One stroke back from the leaders are three players also aiming for their first LPGA major.

Albane Valenzuela, 25, had to play nearly her in age in holes on Saturday to sit a stroke back. She finished her last five holes from the second-round 67 in the morning, then posted a third-round 68 with only one bogey.

It’s a notable turnaround from a WD at the DIO Implant Open three weeks ago, when her knee unexpectedly swelled. Now, rest and bringing her dad on the bag for the week allowed Valenzuela to slow down her pace on the course and her swing. The adjustment’s allowed her to enjoy being in contention for her first LPGA win.

“It’s just been fun to have my whole family, just have family vibes, and we’re just playing as if it was home,” Valenzuela said.

Amy Yang, 33, shot a 65 on Saturday, the low round of the championship, to be in position for her 20th career top-10 at an LPGA major. The four-time LPGA winner earned her first top-10 with a T-9 at the then-McDonald’s LPGA Championship in 2009. Yang has been knocking on major doors for so long that that tournament’s name has changed twice, becoming the Wegmans LPGA Championship in 2010 and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2015. Yet, even with the South Korean’s embroidered smiley face on her visor, Yang’s sunny disposition belies the challenges for her breaking through on the major stage.

“I’m out here to win a major, and getting close a lot of times and not being able to get one is just mentally tough,” Yang said.

Megan Khang, 25, shares Yang’s near-victory battle scars. The eight-year veteran posted 30 top-10s in her career, yet no wins. Seven of those top-10s have come in majors, including a T-8 finish at last year’s US Women’s Open. Khang has talked to herself about dealing with nerves on the tee and acknowledging that instead of feeding the negative energy, she should try to get more excited. It proved effective with a Saturday two-under par 70, her third consecutive round in red figures.

“The pressure is on for all of us,” Khang said. “I didn’t take a big look at the leaderboard, but it looks to be a pretty crowded leaderboard up there, and on this golf course, anything can happen, whether if the wind picks up or they move some tees forward or back. It’s definitely going to be interesting, and that’s what majors call for.”

The Chevron Classic pond.

Like the number of animals in the pond next to the 18th green, a variety of players are swimming near the top five within a stroke of the lead. At eight-under are past major champions Hyo Joo Kim, Nelly Korda, and A Lim Kim, while Hye-Jin Choi had the 54-hole lead at the 2017 US Women’s Open as an amateur before finishing runner up to Sung Hyun Park. A win for Korda would return her to the top of the Rolex Women’s World Rankings.

Former World No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul sits three back of the pace. Recent breakthrough winners Ashleigh Buhai (2022 AIG Women’s Open) and Lilia Vu (2023 Honda LPGA Thailand) are four back.

One could envision any of them emerging as the newest Chevron Championship winner Sunday. All that’s left to find out is who will or will not leap into the newest pond.

The post Chevron leaders are searching for maiden LPGA victory, chased by pack of proven winners appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Past champion Lexi Thompson missed the cut for the first time in the Chevron Championship. Stacy Revere

Through 36 holes at the Chevron Championship, some of the best players have answered the first test Carlton Woods has put out. A Lim Kim, who won the US Women’s Open in 2020 at nearby Champions Golf Club, set the pace at eight-under. This year’s Honda LPGA Thailand winner, Lilia Vu, sits a stroke back alongside eight-year tour veteran Megan Khang. Rolex Women’s World Ranking No. 2 Nelly Korda joins fellow major champions Patty Tavatanakit and Brooke Henderson two shots off the lead.

Nine other LPGA winners lurk within five of Kim, setting up a clash over the final 36 holes to become the first victor at the Chevron’s new home. However, multiple potential contenders heading into the week weren’t among the 68 players to make it to the weekend, with the cut coming at one-over.

Lexi Thompson (74-72, two-over)

Thompson’s impressive Chevron Championship run closes with the tournament’s new chapter at Carlton Woods. This week is her first missed cut at the championship in 14 starts. Since the 28-year-old’s victory in 2014, Thompson has posted seven top-10s in nine appearances, with an average finish of ninth. Two starts into 2023, Thompson has yet to play on the weekend.

Stacy Lewis (73-74, three-over)

Stacy Lewis. USWO

The matriarch of the Carlton Woods edition of the Chevron Championship, having grown up three miles from the course and sleeping in her parent’s home this week, can now focus on her role as the Team USA Solheim captain. Lewis, 38, quietly rounded into form going into the Chevron by posting her first top-10 since last July at the LPGA Drive On Championship in March. She tied for 23rd at the Lotte Championship last week.
Lewis got to one-under for the championship on her fourth hole of the second round. But she posted four bogeys and a double over the last 14 holes.

Lydia Ko (71-76, three-over)

Lydia Ko. ATS

The first opportunity Ko had to win her way into the LPGA’s Hall of Fame ended early. The No. 1 player in the world opened with a one-under 71 on Thursday, but in the weather-delayed second round, she shot a four-over 76 that included four bogeys and a double. It’s Ko’s first missed cut at a major since the 2019 AIG Women’s British Open. She had six top-10s in majors since, including three in 2022.
Missing the weekend marks the end of 40 straight made cuts for the $5 million Aramco Saudi Ladies Championship champ, dating back to exactly two years ago on April 22, 2021, at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open.

So Yeon Ryu (73-75, four-over)

The two-time major champion and 2017 winner of this event was not in good form coming into the tournament, having missed the weekend in her opening two starts. But it’s shocking how Ryu, 32, missed the cut.
The South Korean sat right on the cut number at one over going into her 36th hole, the par-5 18th, which has played as the second-easiest hole this week. But Ryu made a triple-bogey 8 — the highest score at 18 for the week.

Jennifer Kupcho (72-78, six-over)

Jennifer Kupcho. Michael Reaves

The defending champion came undone on the back nine of her second round with a double bogey on No. 10 and a triple on No. 15. Entering the week, Kupcho had quietly trended upward. Her T-25 at the DIO Implant at the end of March followed finishes of T-34 and T-43. This is Kupcho’s first missed cut of the season.

Charley Hull (79-71, six-over)

Charley Hull. LET

The English star was T-126 with her seven-over first round — Hull’s first over-par card of the season. Then, following a nine-shot improvement with a second-round one-under 71, Hull aptly summarised her week with an Instagram post on Saturday morning. “Couldn’t find my swing in the first round, but bounced back to my normal rhythm in the second round,” Hull captioned. “That’s golf for you.”

The post All cut up: The Chevron at Carlton Woods has not been kind to past champions appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Lilia Vu’s Friday at the Chevron Championship symbolised her approach to playing in contention on the LPGA Tour since the end of 2022. Vu, 25, got four hours of sleep as thunder and lightning raged overnight. A two-hour rain delay followed suit in the morning.

Instead of reacting to the challenging Texas climate, the seemingly unflappable Vu marched to an up-and-down three-under 69. It brought the California native to seven-under par for the championship, alongside Meghan Khana and one behind leader A Lim Kim at Carlton Woods.

“I just wanted to win so badly towards the end of last season and put too much pressure on myself, and now I’m just allowing whatever to happen happen and try and have fun out there,” Vu said.

The 2023 Honda LPGA Thailand’s slow boil from struggling to make cuts to a consistent force on the LPGA, staring at an opportunity for her fifth straight top-15 finish to open the year, began over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the isolation, Vu turned to multiple self-help and personal development books following her dispiriting rookie LPGA season. She made one lone cut over nine starts. Vu didn’t retain her card and went to the Epson Tour, where 2020 provided similar struggles. She made three cuts over seven starts on the developmental circuit, with a best finish of T-29.

Then, in 2021, seemingly out of nowhere, Vu broke through, going from clawing to playing on the weekend to winning three times to regain her LPGA card.

Beth Wu played on the Epson in 2021 alongside Vu and travelled with her throughout the season. She watched Vu continue reading her books and felt in awe of the surge in growth of her best friend. She never doubted Vu’s talent.

“I feel like if she finds something, she will hold onto it, and she will consistently do it because she knows that it’s successful,” Wu said over voice memo.

Vu held onto her routines with returning to the tour in 2022. She posted the first top 10 of her career, a T-8, the week before last year’s Chevron Championship at the JTBC Classic. Unfortunately, an opportunity to punctuate her return to the tour ended up in the first missed cut of the season for Vu.

Her self-assurance, lacking in her previous LPGA stint, was apparent in her reaction to missing the weekend.

“I don’t really take to heart a missed cut because I know that I’m pretty good and pretty solid,” Vu said. “I was pretty excited to come back out here and just try and do better than I did last year.”

Her season evolved from simmering to full heat following the final major of 2022 at the AIG Women’s Open. Over her last 13 starts from the CP Women’s Open in late August of last year to the DIO Implant Open this season, Vu finished outside the top 20 once. Even that finish was solid, a T-30 at the CME Group Championship in November. She finished T3 at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, and posted her first LPGA victory and four top 10s over the stellar stretch.

While Wu, now an assistant coach on the University of Florida women’s golf team, doesn’t catch as much of Vu’s rounds as she used to, she’s unsurprised at her success.

“Once she gets in a groove, it’s almost like it magnifies once she’s found it,” Wu said. “And honestly, based on when I’ve been talking to her, the confidence is just there. The way she holds herself and everything, it’s there. She’s extremely confident.”

Vu’s conviction carried over to the bounce-back nature of her second round Friday. After a clean four-under front side, she followed a carded two birdies and three bogeys on the back. Vu closed with a four on the par 5 18th, her 11th birdie of the week. After the round, Vu reassured herself that Carlton Woods is challenging the entire field.

It’s the latest thing she’s holding onto that’s put her in a position to contend for her first major title.

“I try to remind myself that it’s a really tough week,” Vu said. “Everybody is going to make mistakes. It’s just how I come back from it, and then just try and make birdie the next hole and just let it go.”

The post Lilia Vu’s new-found comfort level pays off on a difficult first two days as she sets an early pace appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Brittany Lincicome’s newest ball marks remind her of her most significant remaining LPGA Tour dream. Using one with the name Sophia on it Thursday, in honour of her eight-month-old daughter, she’ll rotate to one engraved with Emery, her eldest daughter’s name, on Friday. Both were in attendance as Lincicome posted a two-under 70 at Carlton Woods Thursday, putting her in contention for her first major title since the 2015 ANA Inspiration, the former namesake of this tournament.

“I could retire I think today or Sunday [if I won],” Lincicome said. “It would just be so cool to have them run out on the green. You know, we see it on the PGA [Tour] all the time. You know, seeing the kids run out and give their dads a hug. So I think that would just be so cool.”

The eight-time LPGA winner’s world has substantially changed since her last win at the 2018 Marathon Classic. During Lincicome’s opening round, she wore a plain, white hat, striking for a two-time past major championship winner not to have sponsorship. Lincicome joked that she’s open for business, hoping someone would call and offer one tomorrow.

“I was going to put like: ‘Your name here,’ but I thought I would just do it blank,” Lincicome said.

Yet the two-under 70 at Carlton Woods was her first under-par round at a major since the second round of last year’s Chevron Championship. Part of the rejuvenation came from reflection. The 37-year-old focused on remembering some of her best major moments to conjure up a solid first round at Carlton Woods.

“Just thinking back and replaying those shots in my head,” Lincicome said. “Like, you’ve hit those shots before. Let’s take those into this week. Just gives you a little bit more confidence.”

Lincicome entered this season understanding her ability may no longer be there. A 19-year veteran, she told Golf Digest back in February that if the year doesn’t go how she wants, she may retire to spend more time with her kids. Early returns weren’t promising. Lincicome made one cut in her first two starts, a T-68 at the LPGA Drive On Championship a month ago.

The importance of parenthood to Lincicome was visible when her father was the first person she cited when noting Carlton Woods might fit her game.

“My dad always says I play better when I’m in the rough or in the trees because then I just have to focus that much harder,” Lincicome said.

She explained the keys to that success, from the clutch 10-footers she made to save par, the challenge of birdieing only one par 5, and closing with two birdies over her last four holes.

Those put her in contention to enter rare historic air at the event. A third victory would make her tied for the most wins at the 52-year event, joining tour legends Amy Alcott, Betsy King and Annika Sorenstam. With the $765,000 first-place check, she’d become the 25th player in the LPGA’s history to earn $10 million or more in her career.

But instead of those potential accomplishments, she dreams of the emotions of having family by her side if she wins.

“I just, I would love to win any tournament and have my girls out,” Lincicome said.

The post LPGA veteran Brittany Lincicome’s goal is to win, of course, but for different reasons than at the start of her career appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Stanford sophomore isn’t even halfway through her college career, and yet on Wednesday it became official that she has been ranked the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer longer than any other women’s golfer. Zhang has now spent a total of 136 weeks at No. 1, surpassing the previous record of 135 established by Leona Maguire in 2018.

Last month, Zhang topped Lydia Ko’s mark of 130 consecutive weeks in the top spot.

“It’s an unbelievable honour and a testament to a lot of hard work not just by me but by my team as well,” Zhang said in a statement. “Passing names like Lydia and Leona on any list is incredible; they’ve both gone on to have such impressive professional careers and are great role models in golf. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received and look forward to continuing to pursue my dreams in this game.”

And the 19-year-old is in no danger of losing her spot after claiming the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier this month. Well, unless she decides to turn pro.

But there’s still work to be done, in particular on the collegiate level. Later on Wednesday, Zhang closed out a seven-shot win at the Pac-12 Championship, shooting a final-round three-under 69 at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix. She finished at 12-under 204, tying the conference record for lowest 54-hole score in relation to par and breaking the record for largest victory margin.

Oh, and the win was her 10th at Stanford, which, you guessed it, broke another record. Current LPGA pro Andrea Lee won nine times as a Cardinal.

“Records are made to be broken, right? I’d be really happy for her if she managed to pull off the win today, which I’m sure she will have no problem doing,” Lee told Golf Digest at the Chevron Championship. “She’s playing some really good golf. I’m looking forward to see how she finishes out the Pac-12 Championship. It’s been really great to see a fellow Stanford tree do so well.”

Zhang will also be the defending champ at next month’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club.

“I’m sure she’ll be out here pretty soon,” Lee added. “Hopefully she’ll kind of look up to me for advice or any questions she might have coming out on tour. I’d be very happy to answer them.”

The post Rose Zhang continues to rewrite amateur and college golf record books, sets two milestone marks in one day appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.