Children 17 and under also will be admitted free with a paid adult.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda, a two-time champion at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, has committed to playing in the upcoming event alongside defending champion Lilia Vu, currently ranked second, and Lydia Ko, the hottest player in the world. Recent champions Ruoning Yin and Hannah Green, who’ve both won multiple events in 2024, round out the top 5 players coming to the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
The LPGA’s penultimate event of the season will take place Nov. 11-17, and the field will vie for a purse of $3.25 million, one of the largest on tour. Eight of the top 10 players in the world have committed to the field. With WNBA star Caitlin Clark playing in the pro-am alongside Sorenstam and Korda, it’s likely to be a blockbuster affair.
(R to L) Annika Sorenstam of Sweden presents the trophy to Lilia Vu of the United States on the 18th green after The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican at Pelican Golf Club on November 12, 2023 in Belleair, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Pelican Golf Club reopened for play last Wednesday, one week after Hurricane Milton left much of the course flooded. The tournament announced on Monday that all military personnel (active, reserve, retired and veterans) and a plus-one will receive complimentary access to the championship, including access to a special exclusive hospitality venue – the Hero Outpost presented by FedData – overlooking the tournament’s signature par-3 12th hole.
Additionally, all first responders and one guest will receive free tickets to the 2024 championship. First responders will have access to an exclusive hospitality venue, the First Responders Outpost presented by Servepro, located on the par-4 16th green.
Children 17 and under also will be admitted free with a paid adult.
This will be the fifth edition of The Annika, which serves as the cutoff for finalizing status for the 2025 season as well as the field for the lucrative CME Group Tour Championship.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Lydia Ko walked over to husband Jun Chung and tenderly put her hand on his cheek by the practice putting green. The couple, still looking like newlyweds, seemed about as relaxed as two people could be with a major championship on the line.
After hitting a few practice putts, Ko walked over to the falconer who’d been onsite all week and chatted about the magnificent creature whose job at the Old Course was to ward off pesky seagulls. Meanwhile, over on the nearby 18th green, 2023 AIG Women’s British Open champion Lilia Vu tried to get up and down for birdie to force a playoff at 7 under.
When Vu’s best efforts failed, Ko broke down in tears on the nearby practice putting green. Two weeks after winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris, playing her way into the LPGA Hall of Fame in the process, the 27-year-old ended a major championship drought that dated to the spring of 2016. Now a three-time major winner, Ko became only the third woman to win a major at the Home of Golf, joining Lorena Ochoa (2007) and Stacy Lewis (2013).
“I don’t think there’s a word in the dictionary that can explain what just happened,” said Ko, who held off a who’s who cast of players, including World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who doubled the par-5 14th and bogeyed the Road Hole to finish two back with former No. 1s Jiyai Shin and Ruoning Yin.
After Ko birdied the 72nd hole to take the clubhouse lead, Ko’s older sister and manager Sura noted everything looked golden in the Auld Grey Toon. Relentless wind wreaked havoc on the field all week, and rain chucked down late Sunday as the group of stars battled down the stretch.
But as Ko wrapped up a two-stroke victory that not an hour before looked destined for a playoff, the sun broke through as one of the game’s most popular players continued a fairy-tale run of the ages.
When asked during the closing ceremony where a victory over the Old Course ranks in her career, Ko said, “That’s kind of like saying ‘Do you like your mother better or your father?’”
The crowd roared.
This was the most unlikely major title for Ko to claim, given that she’d only had two top-10 finishes at the Women’s Open over the course of her career and had only recently learned how to embrace the quirkiness of links golf. There were times this week when Ko found she could do nothing but laugh at the absurdity of shots hit in wind so blustery it was tough to stand.
Ko was still a teenager when she won the ANA Inspiration, now Chevron, eight years ago. It was so long ago, in fact, the only thing she remembers about the day is holding her nose as she jumped into Poppie’s Pond.
Now a 21-time winner on the LPGA, Ko has been brutally honest in recent years about the valleys of her career. Even this week, she recalled a time last year in Portland when, after missing a cut, she couldn’t taste the barbecue she was eating with Sura because there were so many tears. She felt lost.
That’s why when the two sisters embraced in Paris and in St. Andrews, it was so emotional.
“I was emptied out so much in Paris,” said Sura.
Ko’s husband Jun was sad he couldn’t go to Paris and soaked up every second of St. Andrews. He picked up the game during Covid, and his passion for golf rubbed off on Ko, who agreed to tee times on their honeymoon and even caddied for him last year in an amateur tournament. Jun had his own tee times this week, playing Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie Links after spectating duties were over. He even took a tour of the R&A museum.
When Ko had an early tee time this week, Jun, who works for a tech start-up company in San Francisco, was up at 4 a.m., stretching alongside her. With a late tee time Sunday, Jun said they slept in and then watched some Kiwi golf influencers they like on YouTube to kill time.
“What I admire a lot about her is her grit,” said Jun. “I’ve never seen such a strict routine.
“I work in tech, and I see CEOs a lot of times… the grit she has doesn’t compare to anything I’ve ever seen.”
Coming down the stretch in driving rain and wind, Ko showed that Hall of Fame grit when she hit a stunning 3-wood into the Road Hole that set up a par-birdie finish that couldn’t be beat.
The last time the LPGA was in St. Andrews, a bespectacled Ko won the Smyth Salver for low amateur honors as Lewis claimed the title. So much life has transpired since that moment. So much growth.
This will likely be the last time Ko competes at the Home of Golf, and it’s appropriate to wonder how many more major starts are on the horizon for one of the best to ever play the game.
With a 5:50 a.m. flight on tap for Monday morning, Ko hadn’t planned much in the way of celebrations. They’d talked about having Thai food Sunday evening, but she worried the restaurant might have closed.
“Most of the time, I eat a burger after Sunday’s round,” she noted, “so there’s a high chance I’m going to do that.”
It was a disappointing day for America’s best as Team USA was shut out of the podium in Paris. With the top two players in the world on the three-player U.S. squad – plus Rose Zhang! – odds were high that someone would clinch a medal.
Alas, it wasn’t to be.
Zhang, who began the day two back of the lead, played in the final group alongside Lydia Ko and Morgane Meatraux but struggled to a closing 74 that included a double-bogey on the ninth, a par 5. Zhang led the Americans with a T-8 finish.
“Takes a lot of resilience to get the job done or to even be in contention,” said Zhang of her Olympic debut. “Really proud of how hard I fought, and I think there’s just a lot more coming and pretty excited for what I can work on and what I can improve on.”
Aug 10, 2024; Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France; Rose Zhang (USA) on no. 2 in the final round of women’s individual stroke play during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Le Golf National. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports
Korda made two bogeys and a double over the last five holes to card a 75. The 2021 gold medalist plummeted to a share of a 22nd.
“I think recently what’s been happening to me is I make a mistake and then I make another mistake on top of it,” said Korda.
“Needing to control that bit of it where I don’t compile all the mistakes, which that’s what I’ve been kind of doing recently.”
World No. 2 Lilia Vu had it going early in the week but took a nosedive as the week wore on. The two-time major winner closed with a 74 to finish tied for 36th.
From the highest of highs to some trying times, Vu has continued to battle.
To say that Lilia Vu’s last 18 months have made for a wild ride is an understatement.
From the highest of highs (her first LPGA victory in Thailand, two major wins at the Chevron and AIG Women’s Open) to some trying times (back injuries forcing her to the sidelines for months, including her Chevron defense as well as the U.S. Women’s Open), Vu has continued to battle.
Her victory via a playoff at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June and subsequent second-place finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship have pushed Vu back into rarified air as she has mathematically clinched a spot on the 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup team.
This marks the second time she will represent her country in the biennial competition. She posted a 1-3-0 record at Finca Cortesin, Spain, in 2022 as the Europeans kept the cup by virtue of a 14-14 draw. Vu joins Nelly Korda as the first two automatic qualifiers for the U.S. side.
Stacy Lewis, who will again captain the Americans, wasn’t surprised that the UCLA product made the squad.
“Coming off last year, when Lilia had an unbelievable year, it was just a matter of time for her to make the team,” Lewis said. “This year, not getting started the way she would have liked and having to deal with her injury definitely set her back for a bit. It’s been very exciting to see how she’s played the last two starts, coming out of the injury with her win and really just picking up where she left off.
“She’s a tremendous player, from ball striking to putting with a true all-around game. We’re excited to have her back for her second Solheim Cup, with an opportunity to step up and become a leader on this team.”
U.S. vice captain Morgan Pressel celebrates another American point with Cheyenne Knight and Lilia Vu during the afternoon four-ball matches on Day One of the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)
During her time off due to injury, Vu didn’t change anything technical about her swing, but she has grown more conscious about the way she sits, stands, lies down and breathes, calling it lower-belly breathing.
“I know my patterns,” she said. “I don’t want to get so technical with it because it’s just going to bore everybody. I escape on my right hip, and so trying to breathe through that hip more. Little stuff like that.”
Vu said her team has been trying to get her to make small adjustments for some time now, but because she was playing so well last year, she was hesitant to do so. This, she said, was the perfect time to get to work.
Before hitting any shots, Vu goes through an activation warmup. Going through that routine and being conscious of how her body feels, she said, is more valuable right now than seeing the ball-flight she wants or the ideal distance.
It’s still a daily process.
“Just because I’ve been kind of living in that compensation for a while, so it adds up,” she said. “Then one day, I’m tight and my body is angry, and it blows up.
“So it’s peeling the layers of the onion and getting more stable overall to help me swing with no pain.”
Perhaps tomorrow, in her 75th major championship start, her turn will come at last.
SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Amy Yang doesn’t have a hat sponsor or a bag sponsor. She’s at a fortunate point in her life where freedom means more than money. There was a time when a corporate sponsor dictated how many events she’d play or how she spent her free time.
Not anymore.
Now there’s a stitched-on smiley face on her bucket hat where a logo used to be, and these days there’s plenty for the 34-year-old to smile about as she leads the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship by two strokes. Chasing that elusive major title is the reason she still competes.
“I grew up watching so many great players in the past,” said Yang, “and I saw them winning all the major championships.
“I dreamed about playing out here because of them. I work hard for this.”
For a long time, Yang was considered among the best players on tour without a major, but as the tour got younger and the victories dried up, she was no longer on the short list, despite a hefty number of top-10 finishes.
It’s different now though for Yang. Last November, in her 16th year on tour, she won for the first time on U.S. soil at the CME Group Tour Championship, birdieing the last two holes to take home a $2 million paycheck. It was her fifth career LPGA title and first victory in four years, made sweeter by the fact that she feared tennis elbow – from too much rock climbing, of all things – would cut her career short.
Now she’s out amongst Sahalee’s towering cedars and firs with her longtime caddie, Jan Meierling, trading jokes and snacks. Yang loads up on protein bars and bananas slathered in peanut butter. Meierling brings the beef jerky and dried sausages.
“She’s by far the most genuine person you can expect,” said Meierling of his boss, who is always quick to offer a smile.
“There’s not a bad bone in her body at all,” he said, “as long as you keep her fed. If the sugar level drops, watch out.”
Amy Yang of South Korea looks over a putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 22, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
This marks the third time that Yang has held the lead going into the final round of a major but the first in nine years. She has 21 career top-10 finishes in the majors and a dozen top fives.
After three rounds of testing golf in what’s otherwise a most peaceful setting, Yang leads the way at 7 under, with Kentucky’s Lauren Hartlage and Miyu Yamashita of Japan two strokes back.
Those lurking three back include major champions Jin Young Ko, Lilia Vu, Lexi Thompson, Hinako Shibuno and Washington native Caroline Inglis.
Yang leads the field in scrambling, Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, SG: Around the Green and bogeys or worse, with only three.
Vu, who just came off a sensational playoff victory over Thompson and Grace Kim at the Meijer LPGA Classic, carded the day’s low round, 4-under 68. After taking several months off to heal a back injury, the two-time major winner won in her first start.
“I think it kind of shows how resilient I am,” said Vu, who opened with a 75 at the KPMG and has steadily improved each day.
For Thompson, Sunday could be one of her last chances to win a major championship as she plans to step away from a full-time schedule at the end of this season. The 29-year-old American’s lone major title came a decade ago at the 2014 ANA Inspiration. She put herself in this position time again, with runner-up finishes in four different majors as well as third-place finishes in four different majors.
“I am just going to play within myself,” said Thompson, “that’s all I can do.
“Yeah, might be my last one; might not. Who knows. It’s just day by day. Just going to go out there, embrace the fans, love the walk and see where it goes.”
While Yang won last year’s CME, Hartlage has yet to qualify for one. The 26-year-old’s best finish on the LPGA was a share of sixth at the 2023 Lotte Championship. Though she’s never finished in the top 100 in earnings or the CME Race to the Globe standings, she’s been trending after top-25 finishes in her last two starts.
“I have been back to Q-School the last few years, so haven’t been playing my best, and it’s easy to think that you don’t belong or you’re not able to win a tournament,” said Hartlage, “but I just have people on my team helping me and leading me along the way and keeping my confidence up which has been really, really nice to have.”
Lilia Vu of the United States hits a tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 22, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
One of those people is Hartlage’s mom, Kim, who called Saturday the most relaxed she’s been in 20 years of watching her daughter play.
“Today was just very surreal,” said Kim, who played collegiate golf at Western Kentucky and coached Lauren’s high school team.
Kim credits the work Lauren has put in with swing coach Grant Waite, a former PGA Tour winner, with taking her game to the next level. Hartlage posted a bogey-free 69 on Saturday and birdied five of her last seven holes on Friday late in the evening.
She’s eager to take on what’s next.
Lauren Hartlage and her mother Kim have a special bond when it comes to golf. (courtesy photo)
“I’m super excited,” said Hartlage. “Never been in this position before, and this is something that I dreamed about growing up as a kid, so it’s really awesome to be in this position and just kind of see how it goes and learn from every day, every round.”
Hartlage was born in 1998, about six months before Se Ri Pak won the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run and inspired a nation. Yang was one of those little girls watching in South Korea.
Perhaps tomorrow, in her 75th major championship start, her turn will come at last.
Vu’s extra time off seems to have paid off handsomely.
Lilia Vu took some extra time returning from a lingering back injury, skipping a second major championship, and it seems to have paid off handsomely.
The former No. 1 started the day eight shots back and survived a three-hole playoff at the Meijer LPGA Classic against former champion Lexi Thompson and overnight leader Grace Kim to win in her first start since late March.
“I think this is the most meaningful win,” said Vu, “because there was a time two months ago where I was just crying on the range not being sure if I would every play a tournament again without pain.”
Thompson, who announced that she’s stepping away from a full-time competitive schedule at the end of this season, was vying to win on the LPGA for the first time in five years during what’s become a farewell tour.
Vu posted a closing 65, the day’s best round, to take the clubhouse lead at 16 under. As a number of players struggled down the stretch, Thompson nearly pitched in for eagle on par-5 18th to win it outright. Instead, she finished knotted with Vu after a final-round 68.
“It was looking good the whole way,” said Thompson of the pitch. “Honestly I probably would’ve putted it if that sprinkler wasn’t in my way, but I guess I’m kind of happy I didn’t putt it because I don’t think I would’ve putted it that close.”
LEXI what?! 🤯
She's got less than inch for a tap-in to tie the lead after a near eagle chip-in on 18! pic.twitter.com/tyTVjBPjCp
Kim, who suffered a tough loss earlier this year at the JM Eagle LA Championship after enjoying a big lead, saw her five-stroke advantage in Michigan disappear in four holes. Still, the Aussie battled to keep in it and make it a three-way playoff at Blythefield Country Club, where fans were out in droves.
The trio went back to the 18th twice, making one clutch birdie putt after another. For the third playoff hole, the group went to the par-5 fourth.
It was there that Vu separated herself, getting up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker to claim her first title in 2024. The former UCLA standout won four times last season, including two majors, but has been riddled with injury this season, unable to to defend at the Chevron Championship.
“I think the breaking point, tipping point was Chevron,” said Vu. “Not being able to compete there really killed me. I feel like I thought I was taking the steps in the right direction, but I’m glad that I was able to take a couple months off and reevaluate my body, let it recover, do what I needed to do to get back out here again.
“And we did the right thing and took two months off. I think it hurt me not to play competitive golf because I literally live for competitive golf, but we did the right thing and that’s why I’m here today.”
Thompson called her 29 on the front nine Saturday one of the best stretches she’s had on the golf course. The 29-year-old shot 65 in the third round and came into Sunday five shots back. With a new caddie on the bag and a return to a conventional putting grip, Thompson looked lighter inside the ropes as she drained over 100 feet of putts in the third round.
On Sunday, she made a number of clutch putts late in the day.
“It was an amazing day out there,” said Thompson. “You know, the golf is one thing, but just to be able to play in front of all amazing fans, especially coming down the stretch and on the playoff holes.
“I don’t think I’ve heard cheers like that unless it’s like Solheim Cup, which is just an amazing feeling. I got chills every time.”
Kim said she tried to channel the extra nerves into good energy as much as she could. The 23-year-old is already looking to ahead.
“I think going the three playoff holes with the Player of the Year last year, two major champions and obviously Lexi just being an icon for women’s golf says a lot about my game I guess,” said Kim.
“Obviously didn’t get it done. Yeah, it sucks, but I think I can see myself I guess in the future as well. Just how much I’ve grown as well. It’s only my second year out, and to be in this position it’s, as you can tell, overwhelming.”
“I kind of had to reevaluate my game and how my body moves,” Vu said.
Lilia Vu is more focused on her breathing this week than her ball-flight. The world No. 2 returns to action at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, Michigan, her first start since a recurring back injury forced her to withdraw prior to the start of the Chevron Championship in April.
Vu, 26, won four times last year, including two majors, but has been hampered most of 2024 by injury. Wednesday’s pro-am at the Meijer will be her first 18-hole round since taking a near two-month break from the tour.
“Definitely been a process,” said Vu during a pre-tournament press conference. “I kind of had to reevaluate my game and how my body moves. I think that was the most important thing, and it was kind of the best time to kind of work on my stability and compensation. Worked really hard over the past couple weeks getting that ready.”
This marks the 10th edition of the Meijer, which features a $3-million purse and five past champions in the field, including world No. 1 Nelly Korda, two-time winner Brooke Henderson, Leona Maguire, Jennifer Kupcho and Lexi Thompson.
“I think this course requires a different mentality than just about every single week on tour, which is really fun,” said Henderson of Blythefield Country Club.
“You’re chasing birdies right from the start, especially on Sunday. If you want to move up the leaderboard or keep your position, then you know that you have to go low.”
Brooke Henderson of Canada holds the winner’s trophy after winning the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club on June 16, 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Vu hasn’t seen much of Blythefield, playing the tournament once, two years ago, when she tied for 12th.
During her time off, Vu didn’t change anything technical about her swing, but she has grown more conscious about the way she sits, stands, lies down and breathes, calling it lower-belly breathing.
“I know my patterns,” she said. “I don’t want to get so technical with it because it’s just going to bore everybody. I escape on my right hip, and so trying to breathe through that hip more. Little stuff like that.”
Vu said her team has been trying to get her to make small adjustments for some time now, but because she was playing so well last year, she was hesitant to do so. This, she said, was the perfect time to get to work.
Before hitting any shots, Vu goes through an activation warmup. Going through that routine and being conscious of how her body feels, she said, is more valuable right now than seeing the ball-flight she wants or the ideal distance.
It’s still a daily process.
“Just because I’ve been kind of living in that compensation for a while, so it adds up,” she said. “Then one day, I’m tight and my body is angry, and it blows up.
“So it’s peeling the layers of the onion and getting more stable overall to help me swing with no pain.”
The two-time major winner has been struggling with an ailing back this season.
World No. 2 Lilia Vu’s name has dropped from the field list for the 79th U.S. Women’s Open, held May 30 to June 2. The two-time major winner has been struggling with an ailing back this season. She last competed on tour in late March at the Ford Championship, where she tied for 21st.
Vu was replaced in the field at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club by Yealimi Noh, who shot 69-73 at Rainier Golf and Country Club in Seattle, Washington. Noh was the second alternate from the Rainier site.
Ssu Chia Cheng was the first alternate at Rainier but was placed in the field on May 18 during the qualifying window after USGA officials determined that a fourth qualifying spot should be added to that site based on strength of field, according to a USGA official.
Once the qualifying window concluded, the Rainier site was placed high on the re-allotment list based on strength of field. That’s how Noh got in.
Yealimi Noh of the United States plays her shot from the second tee during the Final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club on October 01, 2023 in Rogers, Arkansas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Vu, 26, withdrew from the Chevron Championship in April, where she was defending her title, before the start of the first round after a painful warmup session. The former UCLA standout won four times on the LPGA last season and spent 28 weeks atop the Rolex Rankings.
The U.S. Women’s Open field of 156 players will be finalized on Monday after the release of the Rolex Rankings. At that time, the USGA will release which qualifying sites are up first and second in the case of additional withdrawals from fully exempt players.
There’s additional interest in alternate spots this year after transgender golfer Hailey Davidson came within one spot of qualifying for Lancaster. Davidson posted rounds of 70-73 in the 36-hole qualifier at Bradenton (Florida) Country Club, where only two players advanced. Davidson won a playoff – draining a 25-foot birdie putt – to earn the first alternate position from that site.
Should one of the two amateurs who qualified from Bradenton withdraw – Amelie Zalsman of St. Petersburg, Florida, or Pimpisa Sisutham of Thailand – Davidson would get into the field.
Otherwise, she’s quite far down the overall re-allotment list to have a chance (the list used to replace fully exempt players), posting on her Instagram story that she’s 18th.
Lilia Vu’s title defense of the Chevron Championship was over before it began.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Lilia Vu’s title defense of the Chevron Championship was over before it began. The world No. 2 had a nagging back injury flare up during warm-ups at the Club at Carlton Woods and withdrew from the event before her 1:10 p.m. CDT tee time, according to an LPGA official. Vu is expected to release a statement later in the afternoon.
Earlier this season, Vu withdrew from two events during the Asian swing. The former UCLA standout said during a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday at the Chevron that she was 95 percent recovered.
Apparently things turned for the worse quickly.
“It’s been a rough couple months battling with my injury,” Vu said on Tuesday. “It’s been a little scary. I’ve definitely cried a lot on the range sometimes because my back just couldn’t hold up.”
In a statement posted on social media, Vu stated “I have been dealing with a back injury for a while now. Some days are better than others, and today was unfortunately not a good day. During my normal warm-up routine, I had severe discomfort in my back and I felt that I could not compete up to my standards and made the decision to withdraw from the tournament before my tee time.”
Vu won four times on the LPGA last season, including two major championships, and was the tour’s Player of the Year.
She was asked earlier in the week what she thought about during the time she spent in the scoring area last year at The Club of Carlton Woods, waiting to see about a playoff.
“I think it was cold, and I was a little worried about my back,” she recalled. “It was actually really clutch last year. My physio was actually out of here on her way to Dallas, and I think after 30 minutes on her drive there she turned around and came back and had enough time to help me on the range and get ready for the playoff.”
What a night: A private helicopter, a world-renowned chef, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and Bò Kho.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Lilia Vu didn’t see the menu for the Champions Dinner at the Chevron Championship until she sat down Monday evening. There was supposed to be a group phone call about it when Vu was playing in China, but a bad flareup with her back disrupted the plan, and she ended up conversing with renowned chef Thomas Keller via group chat.
“I told Chef Keller, hey, really love steak, made it my personality trait,” said Vu, who won her first major championship title last year at The Club at Carlton Woods.
“Then I also said that I’m Vietnamese, and I kind of want to do some Vietnamese flavors. You can do whatever you want. I know he’s so GOAT’ed, so like, just let him do whatever he wants.”
Needless to say, Vu was impressed when she saw that Keller, owner of The French Laundry and once named the Best Chef in America, had made Bò Kho, a dish her mom makes that’s her absolute favorite. Every single course, she said, was a home run.
The dinner began with a white asparagus panna cotta, followed by sweet pea agnolotti and Bò Kho, which the menu notes as “All Day Braised Snake River Farms American Wagyu Brisket.”
“For that Vietnamese dish he brought out,” she said, “I looked at my whole table, everything was clear. Everyone ate every single piece off that plate. Yeah, it was amazing.”
Jennifer Kupcho, the 2022 champion, had one request from Keller last year: macaroni and cheese.
Kupcho was one of several players who arrived to the dinner via private helicopter.
“Kupcho tried to convince me,” said Vu, “but I was like, no, you go do it. Send me a video after.”
Past champions in the field also received a Bentley courtesy car for the week. Past champions who weren’t part of the field were chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce.
Every player in the field received a free Avis rental car.
— The Chevron Championship (@Chevron_Golf) April 16, 2024
There was a lot of angst when this event moved from beloved Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, to Texas. Even past champion Stacy Lewis, whose childhood home isn’t too far from the course, had mixed feelings.
But on a day when the championship’s purse moved to $7.9 million, up $4.8 million from when Chevron assumed title sponsorship in 2022, Lewis had nothing but praise.
“They’re pushing the envelope with this tournament, and I like it,” she said. “They want to make it special for us, and last night was certainly a testament to that.”
World No. 1 Nelly Korda enters this week’s Chevron on a streak of four victories, including the last three scheduled events. She’s the undisputed favorite, and her trek toward rarified air takes a lot of eyeballs away from Vu, who prefers it that way.
Vu followed her breakout victory here in Texas with three more titles, including a second major at the AIG Women’s British Open. She ended the 2023 campaign as LPGA Player of the Year.
So far, her 2024 campaign hasn’t gone to plan.
“It’s been a rough couple months battling with my injury,” said Vu, who withdrew from back-to-back events in Asia this spring. “It’s been a little scary. I’ve definitely cried a lot on the range sometimes because my back just couldn’t hold up.”
Vu said she’s 95 percent there now physically and is focused on trying to enjoy herself. She’s under the belief that her body aches because she’s been internally angry inside, frustrated with her performance when she has been able to play. Vu has only one top 10 showing so far this season.
It helps that the California native likes the vibe here in Houston, calling it calming. Almost like home in a way.
“Even my parents were talking about it last night,” said Vu. “Could be a place to consider to move.”
