Heading into this year’s Solheim Cup, there was so much anticipation regarding how Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu would perform as the USA looked to win the trophy for the first time in 2017.
Of course, Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu are the top two players in the world, so it was going to be difficult for Europe to compete in Virginia if the pair found their best form. Korda certainly did show why she is number one, winning all three of her matches over the first two days.
Vu however, endured a much tougher week. The 26-year-old won alongside rookie Sarah Schmelzel on Friday morning before losing both of her matches on Saturday. And as her singles match with Albane Valenzuela reached the 17th tee, she found herself two down with two to play.
With Europe fighting back after starting the day 10-6 down, it became apparent that every half point was going to be absolutely vital. So when Vu hit an amazing approach into the final green, it presented the two-time major champion with the chance to hole the winning putt.
Lilia Vu reveals what she told her caddie on 16 before going on to hole the winning putt at the Solheim Cup
At any other time of the week, Vu’s putt would have probably been conceded after Valenzuela missed her birdie chance. However, the stakes were so high, it was no surprise that Vu was forced to knock it in – and she did exactly that.
It is the moment players dream of, but Vu revealed on Sky Sports (broadcast on 15/9) that she had been so disappointed with herself just a couple of holes earlier.
“I can’t even put it into words, I felt like I didn’t do my part this week and I wanted to get something done. I said to my caddie on 16 I felt like I haven’t done anything for this team,” she said.
“16 comes and I’m in the back bunker and I feel like, ‘oh no, I have to make up and down’, and she’s been making one-putts on almost every single green, so I thought she was going to birdie that hole too. She didn’t and then I ended up making up and down from the bunker, and then, just somehow birdied 17 and got it done on 18 to get half a point.”
Spot in Solheim folklore secured
Vu’s record in the Solheim Cup does not come close to doing justice to her quality as a player, after she lost three of her four matches in Spain one year ago. She did however, secure a point on Sunday at Finca Cortesin which threatened to be crucial in a match which ended in a tie.
But you would imagine that she will be in the Netherlands in two years, part of the USA side looking to win the Solheim Cup on European soil for the first time since 2015.
And whatever happens in her career, Vu will always have a place in Solheim Cup folklore for being the one to hole the winning putt in 2024.
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