The Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play on Sunday ended in the sixth career win for tour veteran Eun-Hee Ji, who easily defeated Ayaka Furue of Japan, 3–and–2 at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas—qualifying for the final spot in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles.
“I don’t feel old,”said 36-year-old Ji, who is ranked No. 83 in the world. Furue is No. 10 and was the highest seeded of the four finalists.
“My feet almost not moving last couple holes and my back starting to hurt,” admitted Ji after seven total matches, and four over the weekend. “Really tired now.”
The victory catapults Ji to No. 20 in this year’s Race to the CME Globe title—it was her first win since the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions that kicked off the 2019 season.
Ji’s last solo major victory came at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open at Saucon Valley; she said she relished the opportunity to compete in another major competition.
“I’m so excited to win the tournament,” said the 36th-seeded Match-Play winner Ji. “Then going to next week.”
Starting the round-robin, Ji defeated Pajaree Anannarukarn on Wednesday, and then 4th-seeded local Danielle Kang. But she was nearly eliminated on Day 3, when she was down two holes to Kelly Tan of Malaysia, after Tan won hole No. 16.
Ji would catch up on the final two holes and advance to the round of 16, where she would defeat fellow South Korean player Hye-Jin Choi 2–and–1.
Ji dominated Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom in the quarterfinals, needing only 12 holes in a 7–and–6 victory on Saturday, and then bested L.A. native and 48th-seeded Andrea Lee in the semis Sunday morning.
Ji began her LPGA career in 2007 and finished with two top tens in her first four events played, including runner-up at the Hana Bank-Kolon Championship. She finished fifth that year at the 2007 Women’s British Open in her first major appearance.
Consolation Match: Lilia Vu Defeats Andrea Lee
Lilia Vu dominated Lee 3–and–2 in the third-place match. It’s the Orange County native and former UCLA star’s best finish on the LPGA tour.
“Exhausted. That’s all I can say,” Vu said. “It’s tiring. My back is barely hanging in there. Going to have to do something before the next week.”
Vu took an early 2–up lead with a birdie on holes No. 2, and a par on No. 3. Lee recovered on the fourth hole with a birdie and a par on the fifth to tie the match.
Vu would win three of the next seven holes, and Lee rallied on the 14th. Vu would win the next two holes to close out the match and finish in third for the tournament.
“Exhausted,” said Vu who was the sole winner of all five matches before the semi-finals. “My back is barely hanging in there. I had a really good week this week, so I wasn’t going to downplay all my victories just because of that [semifinal] loss. Ayaka played really well and she deserved it. I’m proud of myself this week.”
The consolation victory is Vu’s third top-10 finish this year; she finished T8 at the JTBC Classic at Aviara in Carlsbad, and T10 at last month’s DIO Implant LA Open at Wilshire Country Club—Vu’s hometown of Fountain Valley is between those two tournaments. Both Vu and Lee are winless on tour.
Vu now looks ahead to next week’s U.S. Women’s Open, where she will be carrying positive momentum and confidence to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
“I’m just excited to continue on and play better golf,” said the 24-year-old Vu. “I think that I’m in a good place right now with my mental game and my golf game, and I’m just going to take the same energy over to the U.S. Open.”
Vu had successful amateur career to include winning the most career titles for UCLA with eight; was awarded 2016 Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year, and in 2018 she was named WCCA Player of the Year, and Pac-12 Conference Golfer of the Year.
Vu also led the U.S. national Team winning the 2018 Curtis Cup, and was ranked No. 1 for 31 weeks in the World Amateur Golf Rankings from 2018–2019.
Finishing T27 at the inaugural 2019 LPGA Q-Series, Vu earned her LPGA card but nearly quit playing after making just one cut in nine tournaments her rookie year.
In 2021, she led the Symmetry Tour with three titles to regain tour status, and she currently ranks 93rd in the world and 31st in the CME Globe.
“Going to work on my weaknesses but also not neglect my strengths. I think that’s what I’ve been doing for a while. And just keep having fun. Honestly, I play my best golf when I’m having fun,” added Vu after defeating her fellow Southern California native Lee.
Lee grew up in Hermosa Beach winning 50 junior titles in four years, and at 15 years old made the cut at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst.
Lee holds the school record at Stanford with nine individual titles from 2016–2019, and she was WGCA Freshman of the Year in 2017
On top the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, Lee also represented the United States at the Junior Ryder Cup, Junior Solheim Cup, and the Curtis Cup.
She also won silver at the 2015 Pan American Games individually and in the mixed team competition, as well as team gold at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei—and she won the 2019 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked amateur to end the year.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” said Lee. “I had a really tough year last year and had very conditional status coming into this year, and thankfully had some good finishes at PV [Palos Verde] and Hawaii.”
“I’m really proud of myself the way I’ve been fighting I think my game is in a really good spot,” added Lee. “The win on on the Epson tour really helped my confidence a lot, and it’s really special for me.”
