Lilia Vu 2024 Open Championship Final Round

good luck looking to do what Yi did last which is defend this title the pace of those two AR janagan and Charlie Hall Once on fast forward the others on slow motion very true and here's Lilia signing a few autographs before she goes out at those flags they're great you get those in the souvenir shop get them signed up by all the players thank you she's always Keen isn't she to get out there and give a little back to the fans yeah and and the players they get to the course early enough to actually make this part of the process I think you know when you're in one of these last groups it's just going to take you that little bit longer cuz you're going to have a few bite it why wouldn't you L Vu now going through her Paces she's she's one that's not really always spoken about world number two defending champion just quietly up there isn't she uh you know playing pretty well solidly putting well I think she's really going to be in there with a chance [Applause] come Lil Vu Morgan endured a rough patch to begin her inward nine rallied late with three birdies that was a very strong finish got a little bit uh caught out by some of the pot bunkers in the Fairway her goal today is to avoid those put yourself in position on the tea don't have to worry about that here on the first on the te now Lilia Lilia shot is more into the wind right now and she's actually going with look like a seven iron because it's so much wind trying to keep this one down little back stop long on the left it's going to have to catch it oh it carried right through it oh goodness that's going to be a tricky shot downwind downhill out of that squirly lie the opposite from G not rookie season back we go to the first and Lil AV vu this is quite awkward obviously you got the rough to deal with and it's all downhill to the hole going down a big slope right [Applause] now made a lot of clutch putts around that distance yesterday especially starting her round for par day for her let's see how those gusts may have affected Lily a Vu this for par the first that's Lilia just being Lilia isn't it yeah that's a big putt those are the rounds that or the putts that get your rounds started off on the right foot you've kind of struggled it's one of the easiest holes in all right Lilia on the tea after the big par save well I'm with the trouble down the left there a couple of bunkers that you could reach this one's a nice drive down the right side yeah that'll end up okay there's pretty good angle there from the right side to the whole location on the wind and spin Just Whipped it away like it was on a rope let's go to the second milia that was from a little bit of an up slope that's short of a big Ridge there expected that to release a little bit more considering the rough that she was coming out of I think it surprised Lilia a little bit you know it's interesting last year before the final round she was slows things down and players are then feeling like it's unfair because the ball is moving away from the hole or to the hole and and you have all these problems we saw that here in 2015 during the open and I think that was one of the you know it was during that period that they were really looking at changing the rules I'm glad they did for that reason let's go to the second and Lilia with a long one for birdie it is long and it is downhill and it will move to the right and this is the the green really that's starting to get hit by that wind now now that we're past the the Hotel this is quite exposed it's quite good we say that a lot about lilia's pting and it's well deserved it was really solid especially early yesterday she lost a little bit of her speed control through the middle of the round but this just beautiful right here how does that not fall in had to look really good from her angle too Lily Vu came along on the LPG tour after GA had long since left to go back to Asia in 24 but now six back to three L Vu out with the driver trying to be aggressive here Karen there's a couple of bunkers down the right side of this Fairway that really do come into play and would cause a bit of a problem but there is room down the [Music] left just get that one chasing on up towards the green there's so many humps and bumps in the spair ways I think Ross and georgees now Lily Vu and Lily's got a fairly flat lie here just from from the the semi 93 y wind directly across slightly heavy-handed seen that a couple of times already from Lilia but feels great about it now back on the te at the fifth Lilia Vu and after the lengthy weight which isn't good for Lilia when she's had those back problems earlier in the season Karen no it's not and and you do tend to get a little bit cool yeah good shot when you've been waiting but that's not going to be too bad at all pretty good yeah I talked to her about it earlier in the week and she said yeah it's been it's been okay it's not not great when you're having to deal with the cool damp conditions but so far so good Asian time and time again second at the fifth for Lilia Vu and after a really long wait this one going out to the right oh almost got to avoid the really thick stuff it's down in the low area there could have been worse yeah she knew it right away just let the face open through impact loves to hit that little bit of a draw just didn't wasn't able to release the same way maybe caught it just a fraction in the heel as well type of golf especially on a day like today day with these conditions Lilia Vu with her third and this is visually very deceptive she's got over 70 yards to get to this hole but it doesn't look like it's anywhere near that because it's all green that she's got in Long Range here for for Lilia for her bird I mean it is such a wild hold this fifth hole time when this when this flag is all the way at the back of the green going to move this one to the right because of the wind as much as anything else I think it makes it even more difficult when the greens are so slow Karen is going to leave Lilia with a PT for a five from parut for Leu so two pars for the final pairing took him a while to play that H about 40 minutes the time they walked onto the tea and it's it's going to be a game of patience today not only with the elements but is at the sixth and Lilia Vu and ghn tied for the lead Lilia first well the good news is that there was no weight here they could just step up and and hit this one one I'd say is going to be pretty good just over the green flag five pars for Lilia the tea there we've seen a lot of players come close to that bunker this week let's go back to six and the second for Lil a Vu a very smart play she's just playing some really smart solid golf good execution and putting herself in really good position I thought it was interesting yesterday she talked about how she felt started to feel really anxious on the golf course after Lil had to take the lead outright at the sixth got a little bit of uphill in this part the wind's off the right so actually this is quite a comfortable put for Lilia i' expect her to give this a good roll just an aggressive style putter you don't often see her leave a putt short Karen no that's just so much uphill at the very end remember discussions there between Li andad uh primarily because I mean you you need a shot of about 230 yard carry uh to clear the first lot of rough and trouble that's down there and then you've got to be careful about running through into shell bunker but it's hard to not hit driver here you got to really try and pick the correct line it does bring it into play If you hit driver Morgan we saw catch out Jenny Shin this is this left of the bunker yeah it's very very narrow there but that's going to be perfect now he still has a chance for back as we go to the seventh and a much shorter second for Lilia V she going to get GH in to Mark her ball she is G's ball is right on lilia's line lilia's got a little bit of an UPS slope really downwind again so she's going to have to use all that and another one there Tom that just has a hard time stopping it on the front of the seventh or the back excuse me of this just this is about as strong as you'll find uh the wind on this golf course I think on this green camera it it is I mean this this this point out here is is really exposed you can see Lily had to back off there because it is really tough right now there's just no shelter Lydia overread this pot of fraction [Applause] age of 34 and her fellow Korean ghn up by one here at 36 Lilia going to try and get the wind to move it left yeah so many players just not playing enough of the end the wind here coming up short this one just had a little bit too much turn on it any slight movement draw with the wind the way that it is going to be accentuated course ghn in there I think inside 10 ft Lil AV Vu is going to go first and from here she's got just a little Mound that she's got to go up and over which makes it just a little bit more Awkward it's just really you know keeping your head in the in the game right now trying to keep focused on each individual shot and trying to survive and hit quality shots as best you can just Bing straight into the wind and hard to even tell yourself to hit it firmly enough my goodness and that putter that brand new putter she put in her bag on Wednesday on fire deu second it's going to work it way a little ways away from the hle so two birdie puts to come trouble over to the ninth where lill Vu has this for birdie same story here as ga's part back into the wind but we've seen Lilia do incredibly well this week is is Judge the speed on her Parts said she wasn't 100% comfortable with her game coming into the week but certainly found something I always found that I played the best when I wasn't quite set when there your expectations are a little bit lower and usually for some reason in some weird Perfection or disas F lovely shot the defending Champion Lil Vu second at the 10th she's hanging tough today it is a really difficult day to play can see the wind whipping it's been rain falling throughout the day as well these leaders is going to be staying out of those Fairway bunkers long birdie putt at the 10th for Lily of V it's got to go up over a slope and it's going to come back downhill towards the hole just about now but into the wind my goodness Morgan this wind is really doing a number on these parts right now so Lilia number two in the world a 26-year-old American from Southern California won last year at Walton Heath much different conditions a much different Golf Course a heathland golf course in the London area and she didn't know a lot about Gan personally this season back at 11 Yeah Lil Vu dropped a shot at 10 she didn't make the par part so finds herself back on five under three behind almost look like she was trying to hit a fade right there which is not her typical shot holding that off through impact the top four have been number one in the world at some point go back to 11 food for birdie not as bad a break on his part as Shin had but still had some of that left turning it and this whole Locas Tom hasn't really changed much over the course of the whole of this week yeah I think it was just seven Paces difference they put it in the same spot every day Lopez Ramirez who dropped four shots in her last five holes today finished at three over Vu now for par and this actually is quite a tricky part I mean wind is on her back and uh very Gusty right now difficulty controlling that putter face as it goes through the ball oh costly two Bogies in a row August group on the front page Lilia at 12 little bit more aggressive here from Lilia and that's a good spot right there needs to really bounce back two three putts on the last two h right there Vu at the 12th and that was from 124 just been informed that this group is now on the clock trying to make up some time it's tough enough and now Lilia has dropped four shots behind her fellow American Nelly Corda how about this one Karen at the 12th this is not easy she's got to go up a really steep slope and it's going to have some break to the right on it as well ah she needs to stop the bleeding right here oh it's stopped in its [Applause] tracks Lily a Vu a tough customer player of the year last year she did what Nelly is trying to do one the first and last majors of the year and this was a bonus dare I say she desperately needed this one right here get her right back in the mix been a disappointing two holes the Potter her best club in her bag two three putts in a row but not there fantastic remember how volatile this can be especially in these conditions Nelly hit one out of Bounds at the 16th yesterday mate double still playing for the simol as we go back to 13 Vu off the tea going with the driver she got CAU out by one of the cofin bunkers yesterday took a hard kick left I think it's going to be okay yeah quite a lot of divits down there they got a lot of play here over 45,000 rounds you can come and play you can enter the ballot the ballot uh closes for well how important will this be for Lilia Vu come the end of the day first birdie of the round it's stopped that run of two Bogies and gets Lilia Vu back on track to potentially successfully defend here it's a bit slippery that you got to be careful so is trying to hold on to a lead here at the Open Lil Vu second at 13 this is a pretty well struck shot really hard to get it all the way back to that flag that's deep in this green today well she's found the green that massive green 38,000 Square ft eat that green measures imagine having to come out and hand mow that open this is Lilia Vu for birdie with the long follow through like we've seen from her many times a little bit of work left to save her par Vu this a big putt right here Tom to keep her in it to keep her just close enough starting to get pretty darn close to that Clubhouse keep grinding away come the first American to successfully linkx golf good throw at her well it's uh throwing everything at Nelly right now she'll have a long par attempt meanwhile back on the te Lil Vu after another clutch par save and the second hardest is the 17th let's go to number 14 and Lil AV Vu just one back second shot trying to keep something down here into the winds there's that hell bunker last year stration got to refocus here still tied for the lead what a leaderboard Lily AVU trying to tie that lead as well her third at 14 and just an absolute Beauty this is where her comeback began yesterday she birie three of her last five holes including chance on the 18th could we have a four-way tie at the top Lily a Vu for birdie yes all four number one ranked players Ronnie Yin also a former number one this is what St Andrews has done in both this is the t-shot at the 15th and it's Lilia Vu tied for the lead she knows what it's like to win this Championship but she doesn't know what it's like to win it at the home of golf she'd love to find out it's okay there are no bunkers over there unless you go way to the left bunkers come in about three 310 yard off the te the bunkers they call robs intricacies that you find on the old course where the ball pitches Vu second as the rain really comes down like Cole said might be really good that's chased up there nicely well it's been a we at 14 15 and Lilia Vu now to break out of the tie that's got good speed is another one from Lilia Vu she's held so many putts from long range and that was close to dropping little easier Morgan because she was putting down the breeze caught a lot of the hole try and get under the umbrella we had a few squalls that came through in the practice days that were pretty heavy with the rain coming down and then players that went out earlier on getting dark as well Lily AV Vu one of the three tied at six under for the lead oh oh and there it's out of bounds right and she's not going to mess with that but still showing up in majors and playing at a high level now Lil AV Vu no turn and [Applause] short don't think she was thrilled with that if she'd made that butt Lil AV Vu at 16 has this for birdie to TI Co well she'll have a couple of more [Applause] chances Lil Vu on the T at the 17th Target line is a little left of where they want to go that one should be pretty good on the edge of the Fairway just going to drift into that first cut but it's okay but needs to take that she we saw some of the form that did get her those six victories early this season F second at the [Applause] 17th maybe come out hot don't want to go long right here oh it got the perfect hop into the bank they were worried that that was just going to go over the green and she's going to have a PT for birdie needs to play the last two holes in one under you would think a par at 17 and then a birdie at the last to try and do something very special here she could still win this Championship outright without a playoff birdie this whole Birdie the last more than what are you thinking you thinking try and make it or settle it there for a four and make Birdie on 18 I would expect this to give it a chance she is one of the best Putters in the world we've seen her already make a couple lengthy putts today and I think back to her Victory here last year in this championship and how beautifully she potted down the stretch just really clutch she's got the game face on completely focused here start the ball on your line just absolutely locked in and in the moment and it's certainly not going to be a guaranteed two part you can see from that angle how far short that was clutch and it keeps her hopes alive she knows she can make Birdie on the 18th who needs to birdie 18 to force a playoff and what a putt that was at the previous hole to to give her this opportunity you got the wind off the right you know Lilia can to move the ball out there but I'd almost rather be a little bit farther back having a fuller shot into this flag but this one's going to get a good hop I think oh it hit the road that got a massive hop that could go all the way down by the green and that's actually going to leave a bit of That Awkward distance that Karen talked about the 30 to 40 yard range ly is not far away she'll have a great view of it de under the ball's referee you have a SC mark on the ball but it doesn't look like a [Applause] broke okay that's fine [Applause] just making sure there was this scuff mark from the from the road should It Go in she wins she makes birdie we have an extra hole at least going to have to rely on her putter again a similar putt to the one that she did make and root to her victory at the Chevron Championship downhill left to right Lydia in June married the end of 2022 after she had won Player of the Year Lilia won it last year the last two players of the Year battling it out here one more look didn't quite have as much spin on it as she would have liked and and I'm not quite sure whether that was a lucky or an unlucky break to end up hitting the road there all the way down at that awkward yardage trying to stay loose she's just a few steps away watching she gave Cole a lot of credit her caddy yesterday for pulling her out of some frustration after Double bogey on 13 ended in a strong finish i' imagine he had some words for her today through couple Bogies in the middle of the round you may never have another moment in your life like this one a putt to force a playoff at the old course Lil [Applause] Vu the old course Lena Ooa in 2007 Stacy Lewis in 2013 and Lydia Co in 2024 that's just a function isn't it of knowing what had slipped past already yeah just I'm surprised she left that first putt short truly it's not really lilia's character she's quite an aggressive player so for her to leave that putt short just a sign of nerves so it's a two two shot win for Lydia Co and four current or former number ones tied for second all major Champions all greats of this current LPGA era but in this Clash of the Titans it's Lydia Co