Five-time LPGA Tour winner Lilia Vu nearly collected her sixth career LPGA Tour title on Sunday at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass, but the two-time major champion ultimately fell to Hyo Joo Kim in extra holes and finished solo second at Whirlwind Golf Club.

After starting the day with a two-stroke lead over Charley Hull, Vu jockeyed for position at the top of the leaderboard throughout the entirety of the final round with a litany of other players, eventually coming to the last two holes in Chandler, Ariz. at 21-under, needing either one birdie and a par to force a playoff with Kim who had posted at 22-under, or needing two birdies or better to win outright.

On the par-5 17th hole, the 27-year-old’s second shot found the greenside bunker, but she splashed her third shot out to two feet and made the resulting birdie putt to tie Kim at 22-under with one hole remaining. Vu then made a midrange par save on 18 after missing the green long to finish her week with a 4-under 68 to sit at and force a sunset playoff with Kim in the Arizona desert.

The first extra hole saw both players find the fairway and hit the green, but Vu’s approach shot wound up roughly 15 feet from the hole, while Kim knocked her second to six feet to get the upper hand. Vu’s birdie try then came up just a bit short, and she tapped in for par to put some pressure on the Republic of Korea native to hole her birdie putt, which an unfazed Kim ultimately did to win for the first time since the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America back in 2023.

Even though she was a bit disappointed not to have earned her sixth victory after an excellent performance this week at the Ford Championship, Vu was pleased with how well she handled herself both physically and mentally at Whirlwind Golf Club, particularly as she’s been dealing with injuries throughout the past year, ailments that have kept her from playing her best golf at the highest level.

“I'm proud that I stuck to my goal, my weekly goal. The only goal is to be in tune with my body,” Vu said. “I feel like I didn't start off too great in Asia, and this week was kind of a week that I would dedicate everything to being in tune with my body, not having aches and pains, and I got through four rounds of none of that. This is probably the most I've felt like me in the past year and a half.”

Her runner-up showing at the Ford Championship is Vu’s first top-10 result on the LPGA Tour since she tied for second last August at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews and is also her first top 10 of the 2025 season. According to data provided by KPMG Performance Insights, she was a combined 13-under on the par 5s at Whirlwind Golf Club, her lowest score to par on those holes in any one event throughout her LPGA Tour career. She was also second in the field both in birdies with 27 and total putts with 100.

Considering the physical challenges that have plagued her since she withdrew from her title defense at The Chevron Championship in 2024, it’s pretty impressive to see Vu still contending for LPGA Tour titles alongside the world’s top athletes when she’s not at her physical best. And it’s that fact that will bolster Vu’s confidence as she looks ahead to both her next scheduled start at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro in her native California and to the rest of this season on the LPGA Tour.

“That I have what it takes, even with or without distance,” said Vu when asked what she is taking away from her runner-up finish at the Ford Championship. “I feel like that's something that's been lingering like a chip on my shoulder. I feel like I hit it shorter than everyone, and I feel like I start off the tournament handicapped.

“But with the first two days I wasn't really hitting it anywhere, but I was still around in contention, so just knowing that. And then the body started to feel better. Mind started to feel better. I just went out there and had a lot of fun.”

Lilia Vu Finishes Runner-Up After Near-Miss in Playoff at Ford Championship

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