Lilia Vu surges to victory at LPGA’s The Annika, back to No. 1 in world

MIAMI: Lilia Vu grabbed her fourth LPGA title of the year on Sunday, firing a four-under par 66 to win The Annika by three strokes and return to the top of the world rankings.

Vu had five birdies and one bogey at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, more than enough to overhaul overnight leader Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark.

Pedersen’s bid for a first US LPGA title stalled, the Dane finishing with two bogeys and a closing double-bogey that left her tied for fifth.

With the season-ending Tour Championship coming up next week, Vu has joined France’s Celine Boutier as the only players with at least four wins this season.

The 26-year-old Californian notched her first career win in Thailand before adding major titles at the Chevron Championship and the Women’s Open.

Despite those successes, which will see her replace China’s Yin Ruoning atop the rankings and which have her neck and neck with Boutier in the race for Player of the Year, Vu said winning didn’t seem to be getting any easier.

“It doesn’t,” she said. “I think each win of mine has had its own battle and I think today (it) was, again, myself. The wheels were kind of falling off a little bit on the back nine, early on the back nine.”

She took heart from her caddie, who told her “we can make a putt from anywhere,” and after her lone bogey of the day at the 12th added birdies at the 15th and 16th that proved decisive.

Vu said the biggest lesson of her breakthrough season had been “to not give up.”

“I know I tend to be really hard on myself,” she said. “As long as I set myself kind of easy, just to be in contention on the weekend, then it kind of just somehow happens.”

Vu had played her way into contention with a 62 on Saturday and Pedersen, who