Photos: An inside look at Lilia Vu’s Champions Dinner at Chevron, featuring renowned chef Thomas Keller

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Lilia Vu didn’t see the menu for the Champions Dinner at the Chevron Champioship until she sat down Monday evening. There was supposed to be a group phone call about it when Vu was playing in China, but a bad flareup with her back disrupted the plan, and she ended up conversing with renowned chef Thomas Keller via group chat.

“I told Chef Keller, hey, really love steak, made it my personality trait,” said Vu, who won her first major championship title last year at The Club at Carlton Woods.

“Then I also said that I’m Vietnamese, and I kind of want to do some Vietnamese flavors. You can do whatever you want. I know he’s so GOAT’ed, so like, just let him do whatever he wants.”

Needless to say, Vu was impressed when she saw that Keller, owner of The French Laundry and once named the Best Chef in America, had made Bò Kho, a dish her mom makes that’s her absolute favorite. Every single course, she said, was a home run.

The dinner began with a white asparagus panna cotta, followed by sweet pea agnolotti and Bò Kho, which the menu notes as “All Day Braised Snake River Farms American Wagyu Brisket.”

“For that Vietnamese dish he brought out,” she said, “I looked at my whole table, everything was clear. Everyone ate every single piece off that plate. Yeah, it was amazing.”

Jennifer Kupcho, the 2022 champion, had one request from Keller last year: macaroni and cheese.

Kupcho was one of several players who arrived to the dinner via private helicopter.

“Kupcho tried to convince me,” said Vu, “but I was like, no, you go do it. Send me a video after.”

Past champions in the field also received a Bentley courtesy car for the week. Past champions who weren’t part of the field were chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce.

Every player in the field received a free Avis rental car.

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— The Chevron Championship (@Chevron_Golf) April 16, 2024

There was a lot of angst when this event moved from beloved Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, to Texas. Even past champion Stacy Lewis, whose childhood home isn’t too far from the course, had mixed feelings.

But on a day when the championship’s purse moved to $7.9 million, up $4.8 million from when Chevron assumed title sponsorship in 2022, Lewis had nothing but praise.

“They’re pushing the envelope with this tournament, and I like it,” she said. “They want to make it special for us, and last night was certainly a testament to that.”

World No. 1 Nelly Korda enters this week’s Chevron on a streak of four victories, including the last three scheduled events. She’s the undisputed favorite, and her trek toward rarified air takes a lot of eyeballs away from Vu, who prefers it that way.

Vu followed her breakout victory here in Texas with three more titles, including a second major at the AIG Women’s British Open. She ended the 2023 campaign as LPGA Player of the Year.

So far, her 2024 campaign hasn’t gone to plan.

“It’s been a rough couple months battling with my injury,” said Vu, who withdrew from back-to-back events in Asia this spring. “It’s been a little scary. I’ve definitely cried a lot on the range sometimes because my back just couldn’t hold up.”

Vu said she’s 95 percent there now physically and is focused on trying to enjoy herself. She’s under the belief that her body aches because she’s been internally angry inside, frustrated with her performance when she has been able to play. Vu has only one top 10 showing so far this season.

It helps that the California native likes the vibe here in Houston, calling it calming. Almost like home in a way.

“Even my parents were talking about it last night,” said Vu. “Could be a place to consider to move.”

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Here’s an inside look at the Champions Dinner at the Chevron Championship: