BELLEAIR, Fla. — Lilia Vu seized momentum early with three birdies and closed with a 4-under 66 to win The Annika on Sunday for her fourth victory of 2023, allowing the American to regain the No. 1 ranking in the race for LPGA player of the year.
Vu started the final round at Pelican Golf Club 3 shots behind Emily Kristine Pedersen, opened with three birdies in six holes and then pulled away with crisp approach shots that set up back-to-back birdies to pull away.
Vu came into the tournament a mere three points behind another four-time winner, Celine Boutier, in the race for the points-based LPGA player of the year. Boutier missed the cut this weekend. Vu is now 27 points ahead going into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
Boutier’s only chance is to win next week and have Vu finish eighth or worse.
It was a devastating end for Pedersen, the Dane who went from trying to capture her first LPGA Tour title to seeing her season finish abruptly.
It was bad enough that Pedersen failed to make a birdie. She still was well positioned to move from No. 80 into the top 60 in the Race to the CME Globe to advance to the season finale down the Florida coast in Naples. But on her final hole, Pedersen hit into the water and made double bogey. That gave her a…
