--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Lilia Vu’s At The Top Of Her Game – And Her Finances image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31b14674c32008fa/6a340b6e51be4ce7f770b6f4/lilia-vu-with-her-grandfather.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Lilia Vu’s At The Top Of Her Game – And Her Finances At the beginning of professional golf player Lilia Vu’s career, she was incredibly stressed about money. The looming financial pressure after college, of course, affected her game. “I came out of college as a top-ranked amateur golfer and didn't have any sponsors,” says Vu. Because of that, her parents had to support her initially, and her brother even caddied for her. “\[There was\] too much pressure just thinking about money all the time,” she says. It took a lot of mental gymnastics for Vu to overcome her financial worries, but once she focused on her game, things took a turn. “I was able to rework my mind, ‘Let's have fun, play golf, and do that first.’ The money will come later.” Once she started enjoying the game again, all the pieces seemed to come together. She realized, “Let's not let the money situation stop me from achieving my dream. I'm just going to fall in love with the game of golf again, and then everything will solve itself.” Betting on herself led Vu to a monumental 2023, where she rose to number one in the rankings, won Player of the Year, and claimed four titles, including two majors. It’s something that still hasn’t quite sunk in for her, even though she’s now been able to see her money grow enough to put it into a high-yield savings account. But when she won her first tournament in Thailand, the surreal experience allowed her to finally realize what she had accomplished. “It didn't hit me until we were in the airport. I ended up buying a purse that matched the same shirt that I won on Sunday with. So that was a really big moment for me to just kind of have that freedom to be like, ‘Okay, this is my gift to myself.’ I think I've only worn that purse three times after that. I just want to keep it forever,” Vu says.  Vu believes her resilience is something that’s been passed down from her grandfather. He built a boat for their family, including her mother, who was 13 at the time, to escape from Vietnam. She thought a lot about what he did for their family and absorbed that into her game. As COVID began, she started reading books focusing on self-growth and self-help. Working on herself, she saw her game improve. Much of that is because of the strength of her grandfather, whom Vu looks up to. “He was always this quiet, hard worker who would never complain and just do what he needed to do for his family.” She adds, “There wasn't much that he would say, and I feel like I didn't really fully appreciate him when he was around.” She remembers a time during her rookie years when she was struggling with her golf game and her confidence. Her grandfather was in and out of the hospital dealing with heart issues. She was leaving for a tournament when he was rushed to the emergency room. The last thing he said to Vu was, “Good luck and play well.” By the time she came back, he had passed away. Reflecting on this moment, she understands how it puts everything in perspective: “He's hurting and he's not doing well, but he's wishing me the best in my career when I'm thinking, ‘my life's over.’” Vu’s family has served as a constant source of inspiration, supporting her golf aspirations from the very beginning. “I started playing golf when I was six. My brother and my dad started golf first, and I would just follow them to the golf course and watch my brother hit. I was trying to be funny one day and imitated his golf swing, and then my mom put a golf club in my hand, and here I am playing professional golf.”  While Vu’s golf career path has been up and down, it has led her to understand the risks and rewards of being a professional athlete. She knows how to handle her finances accordingly, and has found a healthy balance between saving and splurging—if she can rationalize the purchase. “Money would kind of control me when I didn't have a lot of it and didn't have the financial freedom to do all the things I wanted to do. But I think about it in a different sense now. Is this going to help me if I want to spend money on a couple of massages? Is that going to help me achieve my goal of winning more golf tournaments? When you think about it this way, I don't really feel too guilty about spending money,” she says. She’s also keeping an eye out for the future—some of the best advice she’s received was to “grow your money.” While her guilty pleasure expense is her cat, she’s ready to be smart about what she’s earned. “Don't let it just sit in the bank; find ways to make your money grow,” she exclaims. “I'm not there yet, but I would love to diversify my portfolio with real estate. That's definitely a work in progress.” Ally Bank's ability to divvy up specific savings buckets within one Ally Bank Savings Account gives users the opportunity to set aside money for different goals, including investing in real estate or setting aside money for beloved pet pals. Hopefully, Vu will continue to see her finances change and flourish as women’s golf becomes more popular, a sport notoriously known for its men-only vibes. She’s seen the slow evolution of the game becoming more inclusive, and partnerships with companies like Ally are an important factor in continuing that growth. As women’s golf gets more television time and expands, Vu is excited to see more young girls get into the game. “I hope that younger girls look up to me in the sense that they see a person that's kind to other people and not just a golfer.” As a role model and successful figure in women’s golf, Vu hopes to inspire young girls to lead with compassion and go after their dreams no matter what. “The possibilities are endless out here.” #### Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account  The bank that’s your ally. Our Spending and Savings Accounts offer tools that work with each other to help you meet your goals faster. Ally Bank, Member FDIC. [Find Out More](https://www.ally.com/go/bank/checking-and-savings-accounts/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/what-drives-lilia-vu-growing-her-game-and-growing-her-money/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/what-drives-lilia-vu-growing-her-game-and-growing-her-money/"},"headline":"Lilia Vu’s At The Top Of Her Game – And Her Finances","datePublished":"2026-07-20T09:47:16.146Z","dateModified":"2026-07-20T09:47:13.064Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/what-drives-lilia-vu-growing-her-game-and-growing-her-money/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/what-drives-lilia-vu-growing-her-game-and-growing-her-money/","name":"Lilia Vu’s At The Top Of Her Game – And Her Finances"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Red Border by TIME x Ally Final Lilia Vu 16:9","description":"Red Border by TIME x Ally Final Lilia Vu 16:9","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sMcveylO/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-09-10T14:22:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sMcveylO.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/what-drives-lilia-vu-growing-her-game-and-growing-her-money/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/what-drives-lilia-vu-growing-her-game-and-growing-her-money/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```