(Walton Heath, Surrey, England): American Lilia Vu claimed a second major title of her year at the AIG Women’s Open to deny the hopes of Charley Hull at Walton Heath.
The 25-year-old posted a superb final round of five-under-par 67 for a 14-under-total of 274 to finish six strokes clear of England’s Hull in the warm, but breezy conditions.
Having won the Chevron Championship in April, Vu achieved another major honour and earned the new record winner’s prize of $1.35 million at the venue south of London.
“It feels surreal to have this kind of Sunday,” shared Vu. “Just to come out with a win, given the past couple months when I’ve been struggling with my game I’m really happy. I didn’t look too hard at the leaderboard. I kind of knew that I was doing pretty well and I think I glanced at it on the 16th green just to see where I was.”
With the victory Vu ascends to the #1 spot in the Rolex World Rankings, a situation she was not anticipating.
“Honestly I just wanted to win golf tournaments out here. It’s just been a crazy year for me, just doing pretty well at the beginning of the season and just hit a lull in the middle, just struggling. I thought at the US Open after I played so bad, I didn’t know if I could ever win again.”
Hull – who was cheered on by the home fans who numbered over 51,000 for the week – had to settle for a third runners-up finish in a major after coming tied second at the US Women’s Open in June and Chevron Championship in 2016.
Hull’s long par putt at the last saw her finish at eight-under-par, a shot ahead of Korea’s Jiyai Shin, a two-time winner of the Championship. Two other Korean players, Hyo Joo Kim and Amy Yang, tied for fourth on six-under.
Ally Ewing, who led by five shots after 36 holes, shared sixth with fellow Americans Angel Yin and Allisen Corpuz, the US Women’s Open winner.
Having started the day level with Hull at nine-under-par, Vu eased clear as others struggled. The California native, ranked sixth on the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, secured birdies at the 2nd, 9th and 10th.
Hull, 27, dropped shots at the 3rd and 4th but ignited her round and delighted the crowds when she holed from the front bunker at the par-5 11th for an eagle.
That took Hull to within three shots of Vu but the American immediately replied when her brilliant approach at the 12th set up another birdie. With the Championship now a two-way tussle, the pair both bogeyed the 15th and birdied the 16th as Vu stayed four shots clear. Hull’s bogey at the short 17th and then Vu’s wonderful birdie at the last sealed the success.
England’s Charlotte Heath triumphed on home soil as the leading amateur to win the Smyth Salver. The 21-year-old finished on seven-over, five shots ahead of nearest challenger Julia Lopez Ramirez from Spain to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner Rose Zhang.
Since 2019, The R&A and AIG have focused on elevating women’s golf, and the AIG Women’s Open in particular, with the total prize fund for this year’s Championship US$9 million, a 23% increase on 2022.
The AIG Women’s Open showcased women in sport, business and entertainment with fans attending this year’s Championship enjoying world-class golf, live music entertainment and a new festival fan village designed to generate a fun, vibrant and welcoming atmosphere.
For the very first time, live music featured as part of a new, enhanced fan experience with global superstar Ellie Goulding performing a headline set on Saturday night.
Next year’s AIG Women’s Open will be staged at the Old Course, St Andrews. For further information or to purchase tickets visit www.aigwomensopen.com.
View final day scores from the AIG Women’s Open here.
