"This is not your normal golf tournament" - Lilia Vu faces tough challenge to defend her title at the 2024 AIG Women's Open

Lilia Vu is currently competing in the 2024 AIG Women's Open at the historic St. Andrews in Scotland. The American golfer is the defending champion as she won the event in 2023 at Walton Heath Old Course in England by six strokes.

Going into the final round this year, Vu is a stroke behind the leader, Jiyai Shin. Despite having the experience of winning the tournament last year, she told Golf Digest that she is not taking it easy.

"You just have to be consistently on. This is not your normal golf tournament."

Vu is a two-time Major championship winner and has registered five LPGA Tour victories in her career so far. She is heading in the right direction this week to win her third Major event, but it will not be a straightforward journey.

World No.1 Nelly Korda is right behind Vu at -5 while Jenny Shin and Lydia Ko are at -4. So, Vu has to play the best possible golf on the final day to defend her AIG Women's Open trophy.

The windy conditions at St. Andrews this week have made it challenging for golfers to score, and even an iota of misjudgment is not tolerable this week. Going into the final round, only 19 golfers are below par.

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Prize money purse for the 2024 AIG Women's Open

The total prize money purse for the 2024 AIG Women's Open is a historic $9.5 million. The total purse is up by around $500,000 compared to last year, and the winner will take home $1.425 million.

All golfers who missed the cut will also receive $4,500 in unofficial money for qualifying for the 2024 AIG Women's Open.

AIG Women's Open - Day Four - Source: Getty

Here's the complete breakdown of the total prize money purse of the 2024 AIG Women's Open:

• Win: $1,425,000
• 2: $939,026
• 3: $680,078
• 4: $525,171
• 5: $421,910
• 6: $344,457
• 7: $287,660
• 8: $251,519
• 9: $225,701
• 10: $205,045
• 11: $189,550
• 12: $176,641
• 13: $165,281
• 14: $154,958
• 15: $145,662
• 16: $137,401
• 17: $130,177
• 18: $123,979
• 19: $118,818
• 20: $114,682
• 21: $110,557
• 22: $106,422
• 23: $102,297
• 24: $98,161
• 25: $94,549
• 26: $90,937
• 27: $87,315
• 28: $83,703
• 29: $80,091
• 30: $76,992
• 31: $73,893
• 32: $70,794
• 33: $67,695
• 34: $64,596
• 35: $62,020
• 36: $59,435
• 37: $56,859
• 38: $54,273
• 39: $51,687
• 40: $49,625
• 41: $47,562
• 42: $45,499
• 43: $43,427
• 44: $41,364
• 45: $39,815
• 46: $38,265
• 47: $36,716
• 48: $35,166
• 49: $33,617
• 50: $32,067
• 51: $31,041
• 52: $30,005
• 53: $28,968
• 54: $27,942
• 55: $26,906
• 56: $25,869
• 57: $24,843
• 58: $23,807
• 59: $22,781
• 60: $21,744
• 61: $21,231
• 62: $20,708
• 63: $20,195
• 64: $19,682
• 65: $19,158
• 66: $18,645
• 67: $18,132
• 68: $17,609
• 69: $17,096
• 70: $16,583
• 71: $12,221
• 72: $11,932
• 73: $11,644
• 74: $11,356
• 75: $11,068
• 76: $10,779
• 77: $10,491
• 78: $10,203