‘Put Too Much Pressure on Making Money’: Lilia Vu Reveals Her Vulnerable Past Before the 2 Major Triumphs

Lilia Vu is arguably one of the top-tier golfers emerging from the USA. The 26-year-old has truly leveled up her game in the 2022-23 season, securing multiple trophies. However, the road to glory has not been easy for the American golfer. And she recently opened up about her struggles about the same.

While she secured her spot as the LPGA Player of the Year in 2023, it was not all smooth sailing for her. The American golfer struggled with financial and mental troubles before she earned a substantial amount of money in the last season. She recently revealed to her fans how much the hardships affected her gameplay.

Lilia Vu on how performance anxiety got to her

In the latest episode of Son of a Butch with Claude Harmon, the 26-year-old sat down to discuss her journey, the difference between competing on the collegiate level and the LPGA Tour, bouncing back after losing her card in 2019 and why she needs to have fun first to play well. Lilia Vu revealed she had an easygoing journey in her amateur golf and college experience, but it was not the same when she turned pro.

The 2023 Player of the Year revealed that during her college days, her parents used to book her flight tickets and take care of other tournament-related things. During her UCLA days, her coach, Carrie Forsyth, and assistant coach Alicia Um also helped her a lot. Things went south after she became a pro, as the pressure of competing for money got to her.

She said, “I felt so much pressure out there even though I had achieved my dream of being on the LPGA. It felt like every single shot was life or death. I put too much pressure on making money and trying to just come out the gate hot, but it just didn’t happen that way.”

She also revealed that she collapsed in the first year of her being a professional golfer. The 26-year-old shared that she made just one cut the entire year, and hence lost her Tour card in 2019. As a result, she went back to the Epson Tour and had some time to reflect as to why she was able to be more successful during her amateur days.

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However, the American golfer believes these hard times molded her into the person she is now. The struggles she faced in 2019 set her on a path of self-realization and discovering more about her.

The American golfer shares what it takes to be a perfect athlete

The 26-year-old shared that her struggles made her capable of facing what was coming next. After going to the Epson Tour for two years, Vu was forced to find her way back. Talking about that time, the LPGAT star said, “I had to just kind of re-emulate what I had in college, just constantly having fun, having a good team around me to handle all that stuff.”

The golfer spoke about how she wanted to find the right people and the right team on the LPGA Tour. When she started to do that slowly, things started to fall into place. By finding the right people to be around her, she managed to secure multiple LPGA Tour Events and Major Championship wins. Furthermore, Lilia Vu even bagged the Player of the Year award last year. However, she still believes she has a lot more to learn and grow.

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