Golf: Five things to know about the Twin Bridges Championship

Lilia Vu, who won at Pinehaven in 2021, earned medalist honors at the 2023 Chevron Championship earlier this season, one of the tour’s major tournaments. She now has more than $2 million in career earnings after claiming her second LPGA title of the season and a first-place prize of $765,000 at Chevron. 

Five-year pro Bailey Tardy, who finished tied for fourth in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach last weekend, demonstrates the resiliency it takes to make it to the next level. 

As an LPGA rookie, Tardy failed to make the cut at the Twin Bridges Championship in 2022. But on the final day of competition, she caddied for her friend Daniela Iacobelli. 

Her near misses to make the tour year after year are well-chronicled. Pete Dougherty of the Times Union wrote in a 2021 feature: A former Curtis Cup player and All-American at Georgia, she played all 10 tournaments on the COVID-shortened 2020 Symetra Tour and missed earning her LPGA card by just $343.

That stat was repeated over and over on national television last weekend during the coverage at Pebble Beach. 

Her biggest paycheck on the Epson tour was $30,000 for winning the 2021 Copper Rock Championship. She finally earned her 2023 LPGA card by finishing inside the top 20 at LPGA Q-School — a tough multi-phase end of the year tournament where Epson players who didn’t earn their card and college golfers vie for spots on the LPGA tour.

So far this year, up until Sunday, she made just over $37,000 as a rookie on the LPGA. 

But Pebble Beach marked what could be a career turning point for Tardy. She led the tournament over the first 36 holes, posting rounds of 69 and 68 and her weekend of 75 and 73 on Sunday secured her a tie for fourth place and a $482,136 payday. 

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