Epson Tour graduate Lilia Vu is enjoying her first experience with Scottish golf, firing a 7-under 65 on Thursday with eight birdies and one bogey on the card. The score ties her lowest career round on the LPGA Tour – she shot 65 at both the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol and the Meijer LPGA Classic earlier this season – and she currently sits one back of the lead, tied for second with France’s Celine Boutier and major champion Lydia Ko. While it’s her first time playing in Scotland, Vu is someone who enjoys playing in the wind, a perfect attitude to have around Dundonald Links.
“I tend to like links golf,” said Vu, who is making her first Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open appearance. “The wind hasn't picked up quite as I expected yet. So I'm just anticipating that. It was a shaky start the first three holes. Didn't find any fairways. I thought it was going to be a rough day. But somehow I made up-and-down from a couple areas, and I just kept my head down and tried to hit those fairways. And then it came along on the par-5, I was able to birdie, and I think that really got me going.”
Vu made her way back to the LPGA Tour this season after finishing first in the Race for the Card after winning three times on the Epson Tour in 2021. Since her return, she has notched four top-10 finishes in 13 starts, including a T10 at last month’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, her best result in a major. Confidence can be hard to come by in professional golf, especially when you’re working your way back from a rough patch. But Vu seems to have finally found her footing which bodes well for the 24-year-old with the year’s last major coming up next week.
“I think I'm just enjoying myself more,” said Vu. “I was a little bit of a party-pooper last week. I was just in a bad mood. And then I had some self-reflection. I missed the cut by 1, but anyone would kill to be in my position to play in France, and Evian, it's so beautiful there. I was telling my mom, I was in such a bad mood, I complained about everything. And I'm just trying to appreciate everything and be grateful for where I am.”
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