World number one Lilia Vu targets Paris 2024 Olympics as first priority after breakthrough 2023 in women's golf
American golfer Vu, the world's top-ranked women's player, says she'll prioritise qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics after a successful 2023 season, where she reached the pinnacle of the golfing world.
After becoming the top-ranked female golfer in 2023, Lilia Vu is determined to reach even greater heights in 2024, with the Paris Olympics at the top of her wishlist.
In the past year, the 26-year-old American has won four Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) trophies - including two major titles. Having started 2023 without much recognition, she began 2024 with renewed motivation and a clear goal to represent Team USA at the Paris Games.
"The first [priority] would be to make it to the Olympics and then win a couple more times this year," she told AFP News Agency at the SBC Women's World Championship in Singapore.
"I don't want to be too specific and hold myself to super high standards. I just want them to be attainable, " the Team USA hopeful continued.
Breakthrough 2023, and memory of late grandfather
The American's rise in the past year, winning the 2023 Chevron Championship and the 2023 Women's British Open, is in contrast to her first rookie season as a pro in 2019, when she struggled to meet the demands of the elite circuit and missed out on a place in the LPGA tour the following year.
Vu persevered and worked hard on the second-tier Epson Tour over the next two years, to regain her card and return to the top.
The 26-year-old athlete attributed her comeback to the support of her family, particularly her grandfather Dinh Du, who fled Vietnam after the war in 1975 and passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
"Everything comes from my family," the golfer explained. "I'm a very big family person. They believe in me more than anybody else, and everything I do is for them."
"I remembered seeing him at the hospital before I left for a tournament. He was about to get discharged. Everything was fine, and he just told me to play my best and never give up. He was somebody who didn't talk much. So, every word that he said to me always meant a lot," the young star detailed.
Golf's Fifth Olympic Appearance in Paris
Golf will make its fifth Olympic appearance in Paris 2024.
The discipline appeared at this stage in 1900 and 1904 before returning for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
The Paris 2024 golf competition will be held from 1 to 10 August 2024 at the Golf National. The quota places for golf at Paris 2024 will be determined based on the Olympic Golf Ranking of June 2024.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.