Lilia Vu says she is ‘falling back into’ imposter syndrome, refers to PGA Tour star’s bout with it

Lilia Vu has had a decent start in the first round of the women's golf event at the 2024 Olympics. Vu scored 2-under 70 in the first 18 holes at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France on Wednesday, August 7.

Vu started well with four birdies in the first seven holes before she faltered with a bogey on par-5 9th on the front nine. On the back nine, she scored a birdie on the 15th against two bogeys on the 16th and 18th.

In the post-round press conference, Vu expressed satisfaction with her performance despite a messy warm-up where she wasn't feeling good about her game. Talking about the warm-up and experiencing imposter syndrome, she said (via ASAP Sports):

"I just wasn't feeling good. I was just getting to like imposter syndrome a little bit. I was like, how am I here right now? But it's okay. I'm going to try my best and hopefully can get better."

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern when a person doubts his skills and constantly fears being exposed as a fraud. Vu has had a stellar record, she has won five times on the PGA Tour since last year. She recently won the Meijer LPGA Classic. Vu said that she had experienced imposter syndrome earlier as well. She further said:

"And I feel like I had to defeat one last year right before The Open, just like U.S. Women's Open wasn't good, and then I was going through a rough patch and then was able to win The Open, and that's what like kind of changed everything."

Lilia Vu likened her experience with PGA Tour player Joel Dahmen. Dahmen who has had six professional wins in his career has talked about how he often feels out of place among the sports's best.

In Episode 4 of the Netflix docuseries Full Swing, Dahmen said (via PGA Tour):

"All the best players, they’re way better than I am, and I’ll never be a top-10 player in the world and I’ll never win majors."

While people around him constantly remind him of how good he is, Dahmen has frequent feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. Lilia Vu remains optimistic about overcoming this phase and said (via ASAP Sports):

"But I'll find my way out. I always do."

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A look at Lilia Vu's performance in 2024

Lilia Vu has had a great 2024 season. In 11 starts, she has had one win and seven top-26 finishes this year. She is currently positioned 10th in the Race to CME Globe rankings.

Lilia Vu won the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic in the playoffs with a birdie on the third extra hole against Grace Kim and Lexi Thompson. She also finished T2 at KPMG Women's PGA Championship where she lost by three shots to Amy Yang.

Vu's other notable finishes include a T7 at Honda LPGA Thailand, a T12 at the CPKC Women's Open, and an 18th finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Let's take a look at Lilia Vu's performance in the 2024 season:

• Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions: 18 (71-71-74-71, 287, -1)
• LPGA Drive On Championship: T55 (74-67-73-75, 289, +5)
• Honda LPGA Thailand: T7 (73-67-67-65, 272, -16)
• HSBC Women's World Championship: Withdrawn (69-74-68-28, 211, -5)
• Blue Bay LPGA: Withdrawn (72, E)
• FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship: T37 (73-70-68-73, 284, E)
• Ford Championship pres. by KCC: T21 (64-73-67-70, 274, -14)
• Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give: 1-x (69-70-68-65, 272, -16)
• KPMG Women's PGA Championship: T2 (75-70-68-71, 284, -4)
• The Amundi Evian Championship: T26 (71-71-69-68, 279, -5)
• CPKC Women's Open: T12 (71-70-69-73, 283, -5)