Lilia Vu has another bogey-free day
and leads a pack of LPGA stars in Arizona
[March 29, 2025]
CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Lilia Vu didn't feel her best on the range.
She made up for that on the golf course Friday with an 8-under 64,
giving her a two-shot lead over a group that includes Nelly Korda
and Jeeno Thitikul in a Ford Championship packed with LPGA stars.
Korda and Thitikul, the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the women's world
ranking, were grouped together in the morning and put on quite a
show at Whirlwind Golf Club.
Thitikul had a birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie start and was 6 under
through six holes. She shot 29 on her opening nine, with Korda at
31. Thitikul wound up with a 64, Korda with a 65.
“It was like a great tempo. We kept our rhythm really nicely,” Korda
said. “When everyone is playing nicely, you kind of feed off each
other as well.”
The Ford Championship is the first domestic LPGA event since the
Asia swing (Korda skipped it for the second straight year), and the
field was as strong as it gets this side of a major, with everyone
from the top 10 in the world and 19 out of 20.
Vu, a double major winner in 2023 who struggled with a back injury
last year, was feeling stress on the range and said her caddie
settled her down. He told her to pick a target, and that's about as
simple as Vu made it look.
She goes into the weekend at 14-under 130 without having made a
bogey yet.
“Just focused on the shot in front of me and getting from point A to
point B,” Vu said. “That really kind of helped me. Somehow just
happened to play well. Felt like everything was grooving in the
right spot.”
Charley Hull, who led after the first day with a 63, struggled to
get going as a light wind picked up in otherwise comfortable weather
for Arizona. She was even par through six holes — that meant losing
ground on this day — and rallied for a 69. But she made only one
birdie on the four par 5s and joined Korda, Thitikul and Nanna
Koertz Madsen at 12-under 132.
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Lilia Vu waves on the seventh green during the second round of the
Ford Championship LPGA golf event, Friday, March 28, 2025, in
Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
“I hit some really good chips out there and even some good saves and
played solid. Just looking forward to the weekend now,” Hull said.
The cut was at 4-under 140, good scoring for a course that still
features firm, bouncy greens that can make it difficult to get easy
looks at birdie. Thitikul and Vu relied on plenty of medium-length
birdie putts.
Lydia Ko was one shot above the cut line when the Olympic gold
medalist finished birdie-eagle-birdie to get with five shots of the
lead going into the weekend.
"Just with how firm the course is, I was kind of scratching my head
on the 11th thinking, ‘Why does it feel like I had a poor
ball-striking day?’ I didn’t, but just with how firm the greens are
sometimes it’s really hard to get really close to the pins.
“I've just got to keep my head high and hit one shot at a time,” she
said. I think that's what led to the good finish today."
Brooke Henderson, who opened with a 65 and was two shots out of the
lead, ballooned to a 75 and made the cut on the number.
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