Circling Raven Championship notes: Vu has clinched spot on LPGA Tour as tourney starts today

From Symetra Tour media relations 

Two weeks ago, Lilia Vu claimed her third win of 2021, which brought her season earnings to $140,607.

With only five events left this year on the Symetra Tour and after a good deal of number crunching, it’s official: Vu has clinched a spot in the top-10 on the Symetra Tour money list.

There’s no way she can fall out. The California native will graduate onto the LPGA Tour as a 2022 Member.

“We did it. I don’t know what to say. I came a long way from the past two years. From almost quitting golf to being here,” Vu said. “I honestly don’t know how it happened so fast.”

After her second win, at the Twin Bridges Championship, Vu shared a story that resonated with everyone who has struggled in their careers, in or out of golf.

When she was a 2019 rookie on the LPGA Tour, filled with confidence and promise, she made one cut all year, the LOTTE Championship, where the $3,830 check barely covered the cost of her week in Hawaii.

Dejected and beaten by a game that can be unrelenting, Vu thought about putting the clubs away and going to law school, a dream most parents would welcome.

But Vu’s mother, Yvonne Du, was not like most parents. In the kindest way possible, Yvonne told Lilia, “No honey, you are good enough. You need to pull yourself out of this.”

There’s nothing more motivating than your mom telling you to cowboy up and fight your way out of your funk.

“My mom has been there for me the whole time, even when I thought about quitting golf,” Vu said. “She has encouraged me to do my best and always thought I belonged on the LPGA Tour. I am excited for next year.”

Vu found her first win at the Garden City Charity Classic and has not missed a cut all year. Her last five starts have been: T4, T3, Win, T2, Win. Last week, she donned an LPGA hoodie and was photographed with a bottle of champagne as she celebrated.

But despite having already locked up her spot on the LPGA for next year, Vu is not resting. She’s out at the Circling Raven Championship hoping to ride the momentum as long as it lasts. As an added bonus, she loves the golf course.

“I think it’s really pretty and actually exceeded my expectations,” Vu said. “The front nine is definitely different than the back nine. It’s way more open and links style, while the front is tree lined. But I really like the back nine so far.”

Vu is scheduled to tee off today at 12:38 p.m. from hole No. 10. In her threesome is Sophie Hausmann, the former University of Idaho star.

ENEROTH ALSO COMPETING ON SPONSOR EXEMPTION

Each tournament has the opportunity to invite competitors who may have not otherwise had a chance for the experience of a Symetra Tour event.

At the Circling Raven Championship, in addition to 17-year-old Allyn Song Stephens of Houston, who won the Notah Begay III Championship, the other sponsor exemption went to former Mead High standout Amy Eneroth.

Already having competed years ago on the Cactus and Symetra Tours, Eneroth will return to competitive golf and represent Kalispel Golf and Country Club (formerly the Spokane Country Club).

“I grew so much from high school to college and college to playing professionally," Eneroth said. "When you have to do your own schedule, you have to talk to people, stay in host housing etc. I learned a lot about myself and about the world really (when I was on the Symetra Tour) even though we only traveled inside the US. I met girls from all over the world. I think that was the coolest part. In high school I was kind of an introvert, I somewhat still am, but every step of the way I have grown and come out of my shell and become more social with people I don’t know. I think I have become more of a people person and learned to go with the flow without panicking and the Symetra Tour was a big part of that.”

The Washington State alumna will be teeing off No. 10 today at 8:33 a.m.

TODAY'S TEE TIMES

Group 1 (Tee 1) — Leslie Cloots, Becca Huffer, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, 7 a.m. Group 2 (Tee 10) — Janet Mao, Jessica Welch, Michelle Piyapattra, 7:05 a.m. Group 3 (Tee 1) — Valerie Tanguay, Natalie Sheary, Mia Landegren, 7:11 a.m. Group 4 (Tee 10) — Riley Rennell, Laura Gonzalez Escallon, Carley Cox, 7:16 a.m.

Group 5 (Tee 1) — Nannette Hill, Stephanie Na, Lisa Petterson, 7:22 a.m.

Group 6 (Tee 10) — TJ Kliebphipat, Amanda Hollandsworth, August Kim, 7:27 a.m.

Group 7 (Tee 1) — Laura Restrepo, Elvin Ardvisson, Kum-Kang Park, 7:33 a.m.

Group 8 (Tee 10) — Sophia Schubert, Rachel Rohanna, Julie Aime, 7:38 a.m. Group 9 (Tee 1) — Clariss Guce, Brittany Marchand, Frida Kinhult, 7:44 a.m. Group 10 (Tee 10) — Allie White, Yaeeun Hong, Linnea Johnson, 7:49 a.m.

Group 11 (Tee 1) — Fatima Fernandez Cano, Karen Chung, Sierra L. Brooks, 7:55 a.m.

Group 12 (Tee 10) — Min A Yoon, Peiyn Chien, Laetitia Beck, 8 a.m. Group 13 (Tee 1) — Demi Runas, Casey Danielson, Haylee Rae Harford, 8:0 a.m.

Group 14 (Tee 10) — Marta Sanz Barrio, Lucy Li, Maddie McCrary, 8:11 a.m.

Group 15 (Tee 1) — Cheyenne Woods, Sarah Hoffman, Cindy Ha, 8:17 a.m.

Group 16 (Tee 10) — Selena Constabile, Samantha Troyanovich, Julienne Soo, 8:22 a.m.

Group 17 (Tee 1) — Jaclyn Lee, Allie Knight, Veronica Feibert, 8:17 a.m.

Group 18 (Tee 10) — Amy Eneroth, Gabby Lemieux, Kim Kaufman, 8:33 a.m. Group 19 (Tee 1) — Kira Rihijarvi, Haley Moore, Min Seo Kwak, 8:39 a.m.

Group 20 (Tee 10) — Kristin Coleman, Samantha Richdale, Sierra Sims, 8:44 a.m.

Group 21 (Tee 1) — Amy Lee, Lori Beth Adams, Brittany Fan, 8:50 a.m.

Group 22 (Tee 10) — Britney Yaka, Cara Gorlei, Ji Eun Baik, 8:55 a.m.

Group 23 (Tee 1) — Moa Foke, Delfina Acosta, Kathleen Scavo, noon Group 24 (Tee 10) — Katharine Patrick, Alejandra Llaneza, Lindsey McCurdy, 12:05 p.m.

Group 25 (Tee 1) — Louise Ridderstrom, Shasta Averhardt, Emilee Hoffman, 12:11 p.m.

Group 26 (Tee 10) — Louise Stahle, Lakareber Abe, Anna Appert Lund, 12:16 p.m.

Group 27 (Tee 1) — Catherine O’Donnell, Alazne Unizar Zapata, Natalie Srinivasan, 12:22 p.m.

Group 28 (Tee 10) — Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras, Maria Parra, Milagros Chaves, 12:27 p.m.

Group 29 (Tee 1) — Meghan MacLaren, Daniela Iacobelli, Hexi Yuan, 12:33 p.m.

Group 30 (Tee 10) — Lilla Vu, Sophie Hausmann, Gigi Stoll, 12:38 p.m.

Group 31 (Tee 1) — Amanda Doherty, Isi Gabsa, Celine Borge, 12:44 p.m.

Group 32 (Tee 10) — Prima Tammarakas, Dewi Weber, Allison Emrey, 12:49 p.m.

Group 33 (Tee 1) — Morgane Metraux, Savannah Vilaubi, Bailey Tardy, 12:55 p.m.

Group 34 (Tee 10) — Samantha Wagner, Fernanda Lira, Lauren Coughlin, 1 p.m.

Group 35 (Tee 1) — Laura Warn, Emma Broze, Robyn Choi, 1:06 p.m.

Group 36 (Tee 10) — Min-G Kim, Kendra Dalton, Beth Wu, 1:11 p.m.

Group 37 (Tee 1) — Sarah White, Olivia Benzin, Katie Yoo, 1:17 p.m.

Group 38 (Tee 10) — Liz Nagel, Macy Hubbard, Bianca Pagdanganan, 1:22 p.m.

Group 39 (Tee 1) — Vicky Hurst, Elizabeth Schultz, Janie Jackson, 1:28 p.m.

Group 40 (Tee 10) — Dorsey Addicks, Alivia Reynolds, Ally Song Stephens, 1:33 p.m.

Group 41 (Tee 1) — Soo Jin Lee, Emliy Penttila, Anna Redding, 1:39 p.m.

Group 42 (Tee 10) — Anita Uwadia, Nishtha Madan, Karolina Vickova, 1:44 p.m.

Group 43 (Tee 1) — Roberta Liti, Jessy Tang, Nicole Autrique, 1:50 p.m.

Group 44 (Tee 10) — Kelly Whaley, Jean Reynolds, Julianne De Puerto Alvarez, 1:55 p.m.