Lilia Vu celebrates her victory Sunday in the Women’s British Open at Walton Heath in Surrey, England. It was the second major title this year for Vu, who will be ranked No. 1 in the world when the new rankings are released Monday. John Walton/PA via AP
WALTON-ON-THE-HILL, England — Lilia Vu was already smiling when her long, snaking birdie putt dropped into the cup on the 18th green, confirming her as the Women’s British Open champion and a two-time major winner.
The 25-year-old Californian has had plenty to smile about this year.
A first LPGA Tour win. Two major championships. An imminent ranking of No. 1 in the world.
How that’s for a breakthrough season?
“It sounds almost unreal,” Vu said.
With accurate driving and relentless reliability on the greens, Vu took any potential drama out of the final round of the year’s last major by staying largely out of trouble at Walton Heath and shooting 5-under 67 for a six-stroke victory on Sunday.
She began the day tied for the lead with popular home hope Charley Hull, and with 11 players within five shots. By the time she got to the 11th hole, Vu led by five after seeing all of her rivals falter, including top-ranked Nelly Korda.
Hull, roared on by the locals on a course located just 30 minutes from where she grew up, holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle at the par-5 11th to trim the lead to three shots.
Vu responded with an approach to 3 feet for birdie at No. 12 and was never threatened down the stretch.
She walked down No. 18 leading by five shots and, after rolling in a sixth birdie of her round, she was drenched in champagne by fellow players.
Vu won an LPGA event in Thailand in February, then the Chevron Championship in a playoff two months later. Since then, she has missed the cut in four of her six stroke-play events, saying she struggled to deal with a change in expectations as a major champion.
“How I felt afterward,” she said, “honestly I was thinking those two wins were a fluke.”
Now, she is the first female player to win two majors in the same year since Jin Young Ko in 2019, and the first American woman since Juli Inkster in 1999.
From being outside the top 100 midway through 2022 – her first year back on the LPGA Tour – she will become the fourth American to top the women’s ranking since it was introduced in 2006.
Three of the five women’s majors this year have been won by Americans – Allisen Corpuz won the Women’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach – for the first time since 2014.
Vu finished at 14-under 274, a great score on a heathland course southwest of London that provided a tough test for the world’s best, mainly because of the thick heather running beside the fairways.
She had five bogeys all week. The only one Sunday came at the par-5 No. 15 when she drove into the heather for the only time in the round and then found a bunker with her third shot.
“It just comes down to not thinking about winning, just playing one shot at a time,” Vu said. “This golf course forces you to do that. It really tests you. That was my only goal, to drive the ball well and give myself chances for birdie.”
Hull couldn’t deliver a first major title in front of fans who backed her passionately. She shot 73 and was runner-up for the second time in the last three majors.
“She played unbelievable, really,” Hull said of Vu.
Hull couldn’t keep the pressure on after the eagle at No. 11, buckling with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17 – the latter after a protester walked onto the green and opened a canister filled with purple spray. There was no disruption to play as the protester was escorted away.
“It’s just annoying because this is my fourth second-place finish of the year and second second-place finish in a major,” Hull said. “But I really feel like next year will be my time for me.”
What promised to be an exciting final round, given the state of the leaderboard at the end of play Saturday, turned into a procession.
Korda, who will lose her No. 1 ranking to Vu, shot 74 to finish 12 strokes back.
Linn Grant, the highly rated Swede, faded with a 76 and was tied with Korda in 11th place.
Former two-time winner Jiyai Shin shot 70 and was alone in third place, one stroke behind Hull.
PGA: Lucas Glover made three big putts just to stay in the game and then beat Patrick Cantlay on the first extra playoff hole to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, for his second straight victory.
And so the amazing run continues for the 43-year-old Glover, who two weeks ago was No. 112 in the FedEx Cup standings and preparing for an early end to his season. Now he is assured of playing in the FedEx Cup playoff finale at East Lake and perhaps will be under consideration for the Ryder Cup.
Glover made a 20-foot par putt, a 30-foot bogey putt and a 12-foot par putt over the final six holes to close with a 1-under 69 and force a playoff with Cantlay, who surged into contention with a 64 at the TPC Southwind.
The playoff effectively ended with one shot. Cantlay hit 3-wood that was about a foot from being perfect. Instead, it just missed the fairway, hopping down the bank and into the water. Glover found the fairway and two-putted for par. Cantlay took a penalty drop, and his 20-foot par putt just slid by the right edge.
Glover is only the third player in his 40s to win back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour over the last 25 years, joining Kenny Perry (2003) and Vijay Singh, who did it three times, most recently in the FedEx Cup playoffs in 2008.
Glover moved up to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup standings after starting this week at No. 49 and has made just short of $5 million in the last two weeks.
Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole for a 65 and tied for third with Tommy Fleetwood (68), who had a birdie chance on the 18th to join the playoff.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Stephen Ames opened and closed with eagles in a runaway victory in the Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie, Washington, earning his fourth PGA Tour Champions win of the season.
Ames shot a 9-under 63 at Snoqualmie Ridge for a seven-stroke victory over defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez (69).
K.J. Choi (65) and Steven Alker (71) tied for third at 10 under.
LIV: Phil Mickelson’s bid for his first LIV Golf title ended early and spectacularly with a quintuple-bogey 8 on the par-3 seventh hole at Trump National, and Cam Smith shot a 3-under 68 for a seven-shot victory at LIV Golf-Bedminster in New Jersey.
Smith finished at 12-under 201. Anirban Lahiri closed with a 70 to take second place.
Mickelson wound up 11 shots back in 10th after a 75.
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