Lilia Vu Captures Second Major Victory of the Year at AIG Women’s Open in Dominant Fashion

Vu captured her second major championship title at Walton Heath, winning by six shots thanks to a surge of rediscovered confidence.

The leaderboard at the AIG Women’s Open was jam-packed with top LPGA talent when the final round at Walton Heath commenced, but only one star thrived under the game’s brightest spotlights.

Lilia Vu added a second major victory to her 2023 resume on Sunday with a 5-under 67, outlasting England’s Charley Hull by a stunning six shots. 

MORE: Final prize money from AIG Women's Open

After beginning the final round tied for the lead with Hull—the championship’s hometown hero—Vu steadily broke away from the pack, carding four birdies over her first 12 holes. 

Meanwhile, Hull battled a cold putter and made back-to-back bogeys on her third and fourth holes to drop down the leaderboard, and she struggled to regain her form from previous rounds throughout the day. 

A hole-out eagle from one of Walton Heath’s treacherous bunkers on the 11th showed brief signs of hope for the Englishwoman, but her woes continued with a bogey-birdie-bogey stretch within her last four holes. 

Eagle for Charley Hull!! 🦅

A world class bunker shot 🏝 pic.twitter.com/AEB4JrWo9X

— AIG Women’s Open (@AIGWomensOpen) August 13, 2023

Hyo Joo Kim and Angel Yin, who both sat just one back of Vu and Hull when they teed off, also crumbled. The pair of contenders both failed to break par during the final round despite being in similar positions several times throughout the 2023 major season.

Vu, on the other hand, looked like a champion from the moment she teed off. She carded just one bogey en route to the victory, which she brilliantly capped off with a closing birdie. 

What a way to win it!

A stunning six stroke victory for @TheLiliaVu 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Hk3yRIPZpo

— AIG Women’s Open (@AIGWomensOpen) August 13, 2023

After winning her second LPGA event at the first major championship of the year, the California native didn’t see the results she was yearning for. Vu missed the cut in four of her previous seven events, and her best result came at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play with a 17th-place finish. 

But Vu’s form returned just in time for Walton Heath’s tough test, and it brought her a surge of confidence on the historic inland links—a sensation she had been patiently waiting to feel again since her win in April.  

“I didn’t feel like myself for the past couple of months,” Vu said. 

“After the Chevron, and how I felt afterwards, honestly thinking that those two wins were a fluke. Just to be here today, I can’t thank my team and my family enough for really believing in me. It was just really hard for the past couple of months, and then somehow they believed in me and helped me get this win here,” she continued. 

Vu struggled to hold back tears during her interview on the 18th green at Walton Heath when speaking about spectators in the Surrey, England. The crowds were undoubtedly rooting for their countrywoman to win on home soil, but never refused to give credit where it was due. 

A wonderful speech from our champion!

Class and emotion from @TheLiliaVu, a role model for all 🙌 pic.twitter.com/359rIOFUnQ

— AIG Women’s Open (@AIGWomensOpen) August 13, 2023

“This has been the best crowd I’ve ever played in front of in my life. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life,” Vu said. “They’ve been so great. I know they’ve been rooting for Charley, but they clapped for me too, which is amazing.” 

According to golf statistics expert Justin Ray, Vu became the first American woman to win a major by more than four shots since 2010 when Paula Creamer won the U.S. Women’s Open, and the first to win more than one major in the same season since Juli Inkster in 1999. 

The championship trophy won’t be the only new addition to Vu’s resume after Sunday—she will officially move to the position of world No. 1. 

The 25-year-old’s stellar year couldn’t be farther from a “fluke.”