Laser-like Lilia

Lilia Vu believes approach play was the key to her resurgence on day two of the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.

The reigning Champion found 16 greens on Friday – only 14 players in the clubhouse fared better – leading to three birdies and a host of crucial par saves which moved her into a share of second place after 36 holes.

Vu was on her usual red-hot form on the greens – needing just 59 putts over the first two days – and she can now look forward to another weekend where she will be in contention for the final major of the year.

She said: “I think I'm happiest with how I've been putting it to the hole. I think I'm giving myself a lot of chances for birdie, and that's what you need out here.

“That's the toughest part, just trying to play with the wind, not against it, and I've been trying to do that.

“You have to have the discipline out here. You're aiming 40 yards off the fairway, you're aiming at camera towers, you're aiming at bunkers that are so far away. But that's just your aiming point. It's just a matter of being disciplined and pulling off that shot and trusting in the moment that the wind is going to take it.”

Vu is one third of a blockbuster group at the top of the leaderboard, with all three playing together for the opening two days, putting on an exhibition of links golf.

The American is tied for second with last year’s runner-up Charley Hull [below], and they are both three strokes behind playing partner and world number one Nelly Korda.

Each of them spoke after the first round about how the quality of the other two had spurred them on.

Korda has set the standard on the LPGA Tour for most of the year, compiling six victories – including the Chevron Championship – while Vu knows how to get over the line in the UK, having tasted glory at Walton Heath 12 months ago.

Hull, too, has a history of competing for majors, having finished second in the Chevron Championship (2016) and the US Women’s Open (2023) before her run in Surrey last year.

Vu appreciates the difficulty of defending a major at the home of golf, but is trying to focus on the job at hand.

She said: “In [the] dining [room] they've been … replaying last year's coverage, and it … seems surreal to me that I actually did that because I just thought it was so tough.

“I haven't been able to think about it much. It's tough out here. You're kind of locked into a shot in front of you.

“It's such an honour to play here, just to be in the presence of St Andrews. I'm very grateful to be defending here and I'm not thinking about it too much.

“I'm kind of thinking about it in the sense of ‘it's a new week; how can I play the best that I can?’”

A first-round 67 presented Hull with a slender overnight lead, only for two bogeys early on Friday to derail her nascent title bid.

The 28-year-old recovered admirably, birdieing three of the final five holes to finish level for the day.

“I actually I thought I hit it just as good as yesterday,” she said, “I just missed … three or four four-foot putts, but that was early on in my round.

“I didn't feel like I putted quite as good, I felt like I struggled with the pace today. I thought the greens were a little bit slower.

“But then once I got over that, I just fell back into my stroke and it felt fine.

“[I am] only three shots behind. That's nothing going into the weekend especially on this golf course. I left a lot of putts out there. I think Nelly had 30 putts and I had 36 putts. So that's six putts that I've lost to her on the greens.

“I think Lilia is one to watch, as well, because when it gets windy she kind of just sticks in there. She's a good scrambler.

“You've just got to kind of grind it out … because you can have a 100-foot putt and it's a good two-putt. Sometimes it's hard to hit it close out there because there's so many mounds.”