By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) – World number one Lilia Vu said she hopes the other majors will follow the lead of the U.S. Women’s Open, which on Thursday announced it would increase its prize money to $12 million.
The record payout is driven by a multi-year multi-million dollar investment by Ally Financial in the tournament. The all-digital bank also signed the American twice major champion to a sponsorship deal.
“This is huge for us,” Vu told Reuters.
“It’s opening eyes and growing the game of golf.”
Corporate investment in the women’s game has been growing steadily with KPMG extending its deal with the PGA Championship and AIG doing the same for the British Open last year.
The four men’s majors all pay out similar amounts.
“I think this investment will send the message down to the other (Women’s) majors,” Vu said of the U.S. Women’s Open, which will be held May 31-June 2 at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Vu is coming off a breakthrough season where she won the Chevron Championship for her maiden major title and rose to the top of the rankings after her triumph at the British Open four months later.
“It was just a great year for me,” said the 26-year-old Vu, who was named LPGA Player of the Year.
“I came into the season with no expectations after being really hard on myself the year before.
“I changed my mindset during the offseason. I knew that I was going to eventually win and just to trust it would happen.”
Despite coming into the 2024 season with a target on her back as players compete for trophies and a spot at the Paris Olympics, she plans to take the same approach that served her so well last year.
“I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. I don’t need any unnecessary added pressure,” Vu said.
“I try to take it one tournament at a time. Every tournament that I show up at, I try to win that tournament and if not, just move on and try again the week after.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Ed Osmond)
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