KUALA LUMPUR: World number two woman golfer Lilia Vu of United States excepts the fact that winning the Maybank Champoionship will be anything but easy.
In fact, she is is braced for a double onslaught in the four-day 2024 Maybank Championship, which tees off ton Thursday (Oct 24).
The American, who will be making her debut at the tournament, is not only worried about the threat posed by a high-quality field but also the challenging layout of the tournament venue - the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC).
But it is the latter that worries her, saying the course demands precision and strategy right from the off.
"There is water a lot around here off the tees. So, (we) kind of have to be diligent and kind of know where the wind is, where you want to place yourself.
"It's also kind of hilly, so you also have to play with different lies on the fairways and different tiers. I think this golf course is going to test the best of your game,” she told a press conference here today.
Reflecting on her performance this season, Vu said she has done well despite her back injury and has vowed to give her best at the Maybank Championship.
"I also had a little bit of a back problem last year but came back from it pretty quickly, so I know that I am resilient. I am looking forward to the future and know that if I just enjoy myself out there anything is possible,” she said.
Lilia is also now well known that on her best day she is among the best golfers in the game with some excellent arrays of shots seen in tournaments.
As reported in the past, Lilia is famous for her steely determination and resilience in her game.
The 26-year-old’s inner steel comes from her late maternal grandfather, Dinh Du, who was from Can Tho, a southern city in the Mekong Delta region.
Following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, he spent years building a boat, which he used to take his family out of the country in 1982.
They were later rescued by a US Navy unit and eventually, he and Vu’s mother, Yvonne, made it to the United States.
“Everything comes from my family,” Vu said on Feb 28 during an interview with The Straits Times, at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
“My grandfather was the most hard-working person. They believe in me the most, and everything I do is for them.”
For much of her career, Vu struggled with the demands of the LPGA Tour. Losing her card during her 2019 rookie season, she spent the next two years working her way back up from the second-tier Epson Tour.
She then had her breakthrough season in 2023 – winning four LPGA tournaments, including two Majors.
She credits her grandfather for her revival.
Before Vu left for the Epson Tour’s Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in March 2020, her granddad was hospitalised. Vu, whose fingernails are usually decorated with koi to remind her of the fishes her grandfather used to rear in his backyard pond, said: “I was at the hospital and he was about to get discharged. Everything was fine.
“He told me to play my best, try hard and never give up.”
Those were the last words she heard from him as he died shortly after. And it has always been her aim to do her best in all the tournaments she play.
“In the past, sometimes I would get really down on myself and frustrated if I didn’t hit a shot I know I could pull off. But now I’ve taught myself to be more patient,” she said during the interview in February.
“It’s really fun to go to the golf course and try to birdie every single hole. That’s literally my goal and if I don’t, I just move on to the next one and try again.”
About her game plan for this week, she added: “This golf course is pretty demanding off the tee. You kind of just have to aim for the front of the green and have a plan after that. And just try my very best to play my kind of game."
