LPGA Tour: Before the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Lilia Vu wins the Meijer LPGA Classic by defeating Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim.
With a five-shot lead blown, Grace Kim tied for second place with Lexi Thompson; Lilia Vu won the play-offs and closed the gap on Nelly Korda at the top of the world rankings.
At the Meijer LPGA Classic, Lilia Vu defeated Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim in a play-off to win her first LPGA Tour title of the year.
In a dramatic final round at Blythefield Country Club, Vu overcame an eight-shot deficit with a bogey-free 65 to tie at 16 under with Kim (who blew a five-shot lead the previous night) and Thompson.
Before Vu recorded a winning birdie at the third extra play-off hole—while Thompson and Kim could only manage par—she won her fifth LPGA Tour victory and her first of the year. The trio had all birdied the par-five 18th in the first two extra play-off holes.
Vu remarked, “I just couldn’t believe it.” “It still amazes me that I won this week. I believe that I had established a very low standard for myself in order to meet it. Probably because I get in my own way when I’m trying to win, I think I lose most of the time. So I’m just trying to remain in my lane, make all the putts that I get, and take advantage of all the good shots that I get.”
With four birdies over the final six holes, Vu’s comeback was one shot bigger than the seven-shot deficit that Linnea Strom of Sweden overcame to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic last week. Vu finished with the lowest score of the day.
After missing the US Women’s Open last month due to a back injury, Vu won four times in 2023 and is expected to be among the favorites at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
