THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Lilia Vu felt an unusual amount of anger bubbling up inside this week over little things. Upset by the way she handled that anger, there were times during the final round of the 2023 Chevron Championship that Vu thought about her grandpa, Dinh Du, and how disappointed he’d be if she didn’t get her act together.
Standing at the podium soaked in champagne and cloaked in a white robe and slippers, the shiny Dinah Shore trophy by her side, Vu told the story of how her grandfather built a boat to help his family escape a war-torn Vietnam. How he’d go off in the countryside for months at a time, trying to literally build a better life for their family with his bare hands.
Vu’s mom, Yvonne, and her siblings ran through the forest the day in 1982 her father told them it was time to go. The boat was meant to hold no more than 54 people, but as others swam out to meet them, the number swelled to 82.
“He took them all,” said Yvonne.
After two days, the boat sprang a leak. They shot off a flare and were. soon rescued by the USS Brewton, a Naval ship that was decommissioned in 1992.
“My grandpa is the reason why I’m here,” said Vu, who birdied the last two holes on the Nicklaus Course at the Club at Carlton Woods to make her way into a playoff against fellow American Angel Yin.
After finishing the tournament knotted at 10 under, the pair headed down the par-5 18th once again, where Vu hit a drive so long she had 7-iron in on a hole she hit hybrid not long before in regulation.
After Yin’s approach found the water, Vu’s second shot went long over the green. Vu opted to putt through the long grass for her eagle attempt and left it 14 feet short of the hole.
Vu didn’t lose her turn, and after she stoically converted the birdie putt broke down in a heap of sobs as friends showered her with champagne.
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
“One of the things I noticed early on when I started caddying for her was that she rises to the occasion pretty well,” said Cole Pensanti, who also looped for Danielle Kang when she won the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA.
Yin, who has yet to win on the LPGA, was emotional after the round not because she lost, but because she wondered if she’d ever have a chance to contend like this again after battling injuries.
“I think I’ve just come a long way,” said Yin….
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golfweek…