By: Max Bechtoldt
In a crowded weekend of great golf, the LPGA Tour might have produced the best finish of the week, while the Epson Tour went to a playoff and the LET had a first time winner. Read more about the weekend in women’s golf below:
LILIA VU IS BACK
Coming into the final round of the Meijer LPGA Classic, a runaway victory was absolutely possible. Grace Kim of Australia was sitting five strokes clear of the field after fantastic performances on Friday and Saturday. That lead vanished quickly by hole four though with a rough start, bogeying holes one and two. She did maintain well enough though to join a playoff with two LPGA Tour megastars. Lexi Thompson, who recently announced her retirement, shot -4 for the day, and almost won outright in regulation with a brilliant eagle chip that was hanging on the edge of the cup. And Lilia Vu, the world No. 2 who was playing in her first event since March because of a back injury that has been impacting her all season. Vu was eight behind Kim at the start of the day, but a brilliant, bogey-free -7 round got her into the extra holes. All three players birdied the par 5 18 twice, before switching over to the par 5 4th hole. Vu, carrying a bit of a distance disadvantage wasn’t phased after hitting her third shot into the greenside bunker. She hit a beautiful shot leaving one of the best putters on the LPGA Tour with a pretty simple tap in birdie to secure her fifth career win. It couldn’t have come at a better time either, with her making her 2024 major championship debut next week.
AMY TAYLOR WINS FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
23-year-old Amy Taylor of England, ranked No. 477 in the world, won her first career event on the LET, defeating Maria Hernandez by one stroke at the Italian Open. Taylor, a former Texas Tech golfer, shot a -3 69 in her final round, despite some struggles on the back nine. While she thrived on the front, making birdies on 3, 4, 7 and 8, her flawless golf ran out with bogeys on 11 and 13. She recovered though, making a couple of birdies coming in to secure the win. This wasn’t just Taylor’s first career victory, it was also her first time in the top 20 on the LET.
SAVANNAH VILAUBI SHOWS IMPACT OF WINNING ON THE EPSON TOUR
Savannah Vilaubi, a 30-year-old who has played on the LPGA Tour in the past, has not had a season to remember for the most part on the Epson Tour. Prior to this week, Vilaubi’s best result was a T34, and she missed four out of eight previous cuts. None of that mattered Sunday though, as Vilaubi outlasted 18-year-old Yahui Zhang in a playoff to win the Otter Creek Championship. The win moved Vilaubi from No. 103 in the Race for the Card standings, to a comfortable No. 15. If the Epson Tour season were to end today, Vilaubi would be making her way to the LPGA Tour in 2025. She’s now in strong position to try and retain her position for the rest of the Epson Tour season.
