ST ANDREWS, Scotland — The omens did not bode well for Lilia Vu at the start of this week. No reigning Women’s Open champion had retained their title since Yani Tseng in 2011, no American female had successfully defended a LPGA major title since Juli Inkster at the PGA Championship in 2000 and, if in any doubt as to the scale of the task, no incumbent of the Open throne had made the cut since Georgia Hall in 2019.
Vu has already re-written the final statistic but the way she battled back in the final hour of a testing round on Saturday suggests she has more changes to the Open script up her sleeve. She’ll begin Sunday’s final round one shot back of two-time champion Jiyai Shin, and a shot ahead of Nelly Korda. Jenny Shin and Lydia Ko round out the top five.
After missing a par putt at No. 9 at the Old Course, Vu went into the turn three shots behind Korda, who had recovered from two bogeys on the opening two holes and re-established an air of unflappability.
It is tempting to look at Vu’s body language in these moments and see an athlete exuding doubt rather than self-assurance, despite being a fellow two-time major champion and neighbour to the world number one Korda in the rankings.
Although she entered the pro tour in 2019 carrying the prestige of being the top…
