By Carey Van Lue

Lilia Vu Wins Rolex ANNIKA Major Award

The two-time 2023 major champion becomes second American to win honor  

SURREY, England, August 13, 2023 – Following the conclusion of the AIG Women’s Open, Lilia Vu has officially clinched the 2023 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award (RAMA), which recognizes the player who has the most outstanding record in all five major championships during the LPGA Tour season. She is the second American to win the award since its inception in 2014, joining Michelle Wie West, who won the inaugural award.

Vu won both the 2023 Chevron Championship and the AIG Women’s Open, becoming the first player since Jin Young Ko (2019) to win two major championships in a single season and the first American to do so since Juli Inkster in 1999. Vu became a first-time major champion at The Chevron Championship, beating out Angel Yin in a playoff after sinking a long birdie putt on the first playoff hole. She secured her AIG Women’s Open win after holding a 54-hole co-lead with Englishwoman Charley Hull and finishing six strokes better than the runner-up Hull after shooting a 5-under 67 on Championship Sunday.

Before the final round, Vu said of winning the award, “That would be huge. I mean, I had a rough go at the U.S. Open, KPMG. That would mean a lot if that were to happen.” After clinching the award on Sunday, she added, “I never even imagined that I would win that honor and to be here today with that is so amazing.”

Before her victories at The Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open, Vu became a Rolex First-Time Winner in her first start of the season at the Honda LPGA Thailand. In other major championships this season, Vu earned a tie for 42nd at the Amundi Evian Championship and missed the cut in both the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open.

The 25-year-old is the ninth different winner of the award since it was established in 2014. She joins Wie West (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), Jin Young Ko (2019), Patty Tavatanakit (2021) and Minjee Lee (2022) as winners of the honor, which will be presented to Vu at the Rolex LPGA Awards during the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November. The award was not given out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Points for Rolex ANNIKA Major Award are awarded at all five major championships to competitors who finished among the top 10 and ties. To earn the award, a player must have also won at least one of the five majors. Vu (The Chevron Championship), Ruoning Yin (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship), Celine Boutier (Amundi Evian Championship) and Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open) were the other players to qualify this season.

Heading into the year’s final major championship, the AIG Women’s Open, there were 13 players who had a chance at earning the award, including Corpuz, Boutier, Vu, Yin, Yuka Saso, Nasa Hataoka, A Lim Kim, Megan Khang, Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, Jiyai Shin, Angel Yin and Nelly Korda.

COURTESY LPGA TOUR COMMUNICATIONS