NAPLES, Fla. – There are few things Lilia Vu will allow herself to think about during a round of golf. Golf topics, where she participates in points races, ranking of awards, are strictly prohibited during her discussions with caddy Cole Pensanti.
But Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”? Well, it’s fair game.
“All for it,” Vu said with a laugh when asked what she thought of Swift’s budding romance with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“The fewer thoughts, the better,” is Vu’s preferred approach to a round, but the world number one admitted to having a busy mind on Thursday at the CME Group Tour Championship, where she earned a 2 Under-par 70 to sit seven shots late. She was uncomfortable that she hadn’t seen the top nine this week before the first round. And, she said, a 5 p.m. hair appointment scheduled before the Rolex LPGA Awards, where she was recognized as a first-time winner and winner of the Annika Award for best major record this year, blew up his start until the final.
“That’s all I was thinking about. Yeah, that’s about it. I was like, am I going to make it? I didn’t make it,” Vu said of his hair appointment. “I just did my own hair before the Rolex dinner.”
Without distraction on Friday, Vu bounced back with a near-flawless round of 66 in which she didn’t miss a fairway or green and gave up just one bogey to move into the top 10 heading into the weekend. end. Vu said that all morning she had Swift’s song “Clean” running through her head. It’s her favorite Swift song and it became a topic of conversation during her Friday tour, along with the latest series she watched, season 10 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
“Today I was more focused. I think I had a lot on my mind yesterday with so much going on. I think I was just trying to make my way into the top nine yesterday,” Vu said of the difference in his round on Friday. “Today I felt more comfortable on the course. I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities. The ball striking was really good on the back nine.
As Sunday’s finish draws closer, it will be a challenge for Vu to continue to keep at bay everything that is at stake for her this weekend. She’s looking for Player of the Year, title money and a $2 million winner’s check. But with more episodes of “Curb” to laugh about, Swift songs to gush about, and, of course, analysis of Swift’s relationship with Kelce to complain about, there will be plenty of non-Curb topics. golf to keep Vu’s mind at ease.
