Lilia Vu is now ranked World No.1 player in Women’s Rankings
American Lilia Vu put on a final round clinic to win the Women’s British Open at Walton Heath on Sunday. Vu started the day in a tie with England’s Charley Hull at 9- under. A birdie on the second hole gave her the lead on her own, a lead that she would not relinquish the rest of the way. Vu closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at -14 under while Hull finished second at 8-under after a final round 73. Two-time Women’s British Open champion Jiyai Shin finished third at 7-under.
Here are IGW’s three takeaways from the event:
Lilia Vu overcomes recent history to win her second major
The magical moment Lilia Vu birdied 18 to win the @AIGWomensOpen by SIX shots.
: @NBC & @peacock | @AIGWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/yD7wQoNPVF
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 13, 2023
Vu is the first American in the 21st century to win two majors in the same year. The last time an American did that was Julie Inkster in 1999. Vu is also just the second person to win more than one major over the last five-plus years. Going into the Women’s Open, 21 of the last 22 majors had been won by different players. Minjee Lee was the only player to have won a second major in that span. Vu has now joined her.
On top of that, the last three Women’s Opens were won by players ranked outside the top-50, and the last five were won by players ranked outside the top-35. Vu put an end to that streak as well. She was ranked No. 6 heading into the week and is projected to rise to World No. 1 for the first time with this win. That’s a pretty nice bonus to go along with two majors.
For good measure, she locked up the Rolex Annika Major Award as well. The award was established in 2014 and recognises the player who has the most outstanding Major Championship record that year. She’s also the leading contender for LPGA player of the year
Vu had not won an LPGA event prior to this year. Now she is a two-time major champion and has reached No. 1 in the world. Breakout years don’t come much better than that.
Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok break new ground for Indian golf
Diksha Dagar registered a T-21st finish after making her first ever cut in a major
Ashok and Dagar both made the cut in the Women’s Open, the first time that two Indian professionals have played on the weekend in a men’s or women’s major. That’s a big deal for Indian golf in general, and Indian women’s golf in particular. When players compete on the weekends in the big championships, the game gets more exposure, which in turn provides inspiration for the next generation of golfers.
Aditi Ashok had Olly Brett on the bag for the week. Olly has previously worked with Lydia Ko
Ashok was actually inside the top-10 after opening with rounds of 72 and 69. She struggled in windy conditions over the weekend though, shooting 75 on both days to finish in a tie for 40 th at 3-over (291)
The bigger story is Dagar. She trailed Ashok by four shots going into the weekend, but turned it around on Saturday and Sunday with rounds of 72 and 71 to finish in a tie for 21 st at even par (288). This was also Diksha’s first cut in a major.
According to Colonel Dagar, Diksha’s father and caddy, they used the yardage books to pick better landing spots on the greens because in other majors, Diksha often hit her approaches on the wrong side of the flag which led to three putts / bogeys.
Dagar’s performance moved her up from seventh to fifth in the LET Race to Costa Del Sol Rankings which gives her direct entry into the year end US LPGA Qualifying Tournament’s final stage.
Meanwhile Ashok remains in third place in the Race to Costa Del sol. She is also 27th in the LPGA’s Race to CME Globe Season, one spot behind two-time major winner Minjee Lee and two behind phenom Roze Zhang.
More disappointment for Nelly Korda
.@NellyKorda out of the sand…not a problem
Tune into @USANetwork to catch the first round action! pic.twitter.com/RhkqQ3sBcW
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 10, 2023
Korda was on the charge in the third round. She had four birdies in her first eighth holes and though she missed two short birdie putts on the 9 th and 10 th , an eagle on the 11 th put her in second place at 6-under. Just when it looked like the World No. 1 had lifted herself into the mix for the title, she stumbled. Three bogeys over her last six holes against one birdie undid a lot of her good work. Her putter was the main culprit, as she three-putted twice.
Her struggles with the putter continued on Sunday when she made just one birdie and closed with a 2-over 74 to finish in a tie for 11 th . When Lilia Vu lifted the trophy, it dropped Korda to No. 2 in the world rankings.
It’s been a strange season for Korda. She’s been ranked No. 1 on two different occasions this year but has not won on the LPGA tour. She does have seven top-10 finishes, suggesting her game is in good shape, but for some reason she hasn’t been able to get over the finish line. The closest she came was in the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March, where she finished second, two shots behind Jin Young Ko.
Maybe its just a matter of time before Korda sorts it all out but it was clear from her body language that this was another disappointing week for her.
Credits:-
Photo – Planet Sports