American Lilia Fu wins the women’s championship in second place in 2023

WALTON-ON-THE-HILL, England — American golfer Lilia Vu won the AIG Women’s Open to claim her second major title in 2023, banishing any potential drama from the final round by shooting a 5-under 67 to win by 6 strokes. Sunday.

The 25-year-old, who also won a chevron tournament in April, became the first player to win two majors in the same year since Jin Young-koo in 2019, and the first American since Julie Inkster in 1999.

An American has won three of the five women’s majors this year – Alison Corpuz won the US Women’s Open title in Pebble Beach – and that hasn’t happened since 2014.

Vu started the final round tied for the lead with Charley Hull, with 11 players within 5 shots of them. After 10 holes, Fu led by five as all her rivals faltered and the American stayed out of trouble at Walton Heath.

Hulk ducked from an eagle-side green bunker at par-5 11 to narrow the lead to 3 shots, but Vu Birdied No. 12 and was never threatened down the stretch, finishing with a birdie at No. 18 before dousing in champagne.

Fu finished at 14-under-par for the championship.

Hull, fueled with passion on a course near where she grew up, shot a 73 and finished second for the second time in the past three majors.

The win completed an amazing breakout season for Vu, who claimed her three LPGA Tour titles in 2023 – two of them majors. On Monday, she will be the world number one for the first time.

Since winning the Chevron playoff, she has missed the cut in four of her six stroke play events, the highest being a tie for 35th. Her problem, she said, was dealing with a change in expectations as a major but she handled the pressure admirably on the day Sunday.

Her only bogey came in No. 15 when she drove into Heather – the biggest hazard at this track southwest of London – for the only time on the Tour and then found a bunker with her third shot.

Hull could not keep pressing, bogey-pressing the 15th and 17th – the latter after a protester walked onto the green and opened a can full of purple spray. There was no interruption in play as the pretender was escorted away.

What promised to be an exciting final round, given the state of the leaderboards at the end of Saturday’s play, turned into a procession.

Top-ranked Nelly Korda started five off the leaderboards, bogeyed the second hole, and ended up shooting a 74 to finish 12 strokes back.

Linn Grant, the highly rated Swede, faded with No. 76 and was tied with Korda for eleventh.

Former two-time winner Jiayi Shen shot 70 and was alone in third place, one stroke behind Hull.