Moments After 2023 AIG Women’s Open, 2x Major Champion Lilia Vu Jeopardizes Nelly Korda’s Recent World Crown

The last major of the year reached its climax as women’s golf saw the winner of the 2023 AIG Women’s Open being crowned at the Walton Heath Club in England on Sunday. The champion, Lilia Vu, took home the trophy and a hefty cash prize of $1,350,000 while she saw the rest of her rivals falter in the final round.

The finish by Vu has put her in a coveted spot, with many benefits coming her way. One player who will be affected by her win is none other than Nelly Korda, who failed to grab a spot inside the top 10 in the major, leaving her world crown in peril.

Lilia Vu puts Nelly Korda’s position at risk

Vu registered the second major win in her career as she refused to part ways with the top spot at the Walton Heath Club over the weekend. The 25-year-old scored an impressive 5-under 67 in the final round to take home the title. Earlier this year, she had won her first major at the Chevron Championship, beating Angel Yin in a playoff battle.

With Sunday’s finish, Vu finished at a score of 14-under 274 to beat home favorite Charley Hull and Korda. Ahead of the tournament, Vu was at the No.6 spot in the Rolex World Golf Rankings, while Korda had reclaimed her No. 1 position earlier this year. With the current win under her hat, the former is projected to push past Nelly and cement her place at the top.

In a recent interview after her win, the 25-year-old was informed about her upsurge and was asked how she felt about the same. Caught by surprise, the golfer responded by saying that she just wanted to win golf tournaments and expressed how it was a rough year for her.

“It’s just been a crazy year for me,” the two-time major champion said. Furthermore, she opened up about her struggles after a strong opening to the season, and how she contemplated if she could ever win again. “Just doing pretty well at the beginning of the season and just hit a lull in the middle, just struggling. I thought at the U.S. Open after I played so bad, I didn’t know if I could ever win again.”

Nevertheless, Vu has redeemed herself gloriously to lift the trophy at the last major of the season to boost past Korda.

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Nelly Korda’s rise to the No. 1 spot

Korda’s rise to the World No.1 spot has been glamorous in her own right. She finished in a tie for ninth at the Amundi Evian Championship last month to overtake Jin Young Ko for the top position. The 2020 Summer Olympics gold medalist managed to place herself in the top 10 seven times in 2023 as she took back her No.1 spot.

But in the AIG Women’s Open, Korda could only manage to finish at T11 with a score of 2-under-par, taking home a reward of $147,225. She tied for the spot with four other golfers, which puts her in jeopardy of losing her No.1 title to Vu.

Do you think Nelly Korda will be able to keep her spot as the world’s number-one women’s golfer? Let us know in the comments below.

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