Team USA's Lilia Vu has said that an Olympic gold medal would "hypothetically" rank higher than a Major in her eyes due to the honor of representing more than just herself.
The two-time Major champion is making her Olympic debut at Paris 2024 and will be hoping to continue the Americans' success in the event, following on from Nelly Korda's victory in Tokyo last time.
As she attempts to follow in the World No.1's footsteps, Vu expressed an opinion which goes against the general thought in pro golf - that Olympic golf is possibly the most prestigious award a player can win.
Asked for her thoughts on the subject, Vu said: "That's a good one I haven't thought about. Hypothetical. To me, it would rank a little higher than a major, I think in the sense that you're playing for your country and it's more than just golf. It's the Olympics, which is the best athletes all over the world. So a little higher for me."
Vu will line up for Team USA alongside Korda and Rose Zhang at Le Golf National. Although it is her first Olympics, the 26-year-old has already represented Team USA five times throughout her amateur and pro career - including at last year's Solheim Cup.
Eyes on the prize. 🥇#Paris2024 | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/N1nEF17ptWAugust 6, 2024
A fiercely patriotic golfer, Vu admitted the emotions she experiences every time red, white, and blue clothes are on her back are intense.
Vu said: "I'm always so proud to wear red, white and blue. There's nothing that tops representing the United States for me and I get really emotional thinking about it too much. So I try not to think too much about that. I take a lot of pride and I can't wait to go out there and play."
For Paris 2024, both the men and women will only play individual stroke play tournaments, despite several calls from high-profile players like Vu and Jon Rahm to include some kind of mixed team event from LA 2028 onwards.
Rahm said: "...in the future, I would also like to see some team aspect in the Olympics, as well. I mean, we are here representing Spain. So I would love to actually, as a partner or somehow, whether as a combined sport or us playing together, to be able to represent Spain.
"That would be extremely nice to share the stage with another player, to do something different, to maybe what we do every other day, right."
Lilia Vu (left) and Rose Zhang at their pre-Olympic press conference before Paris 2024
And, in her own pre-Olympics press conference, Vu echoed the Spaniard's view.
She said: "I think it would be really cool to do that. I played with Joel [Dahmen] last year [at the Grant Thornton Invitational] and was able to pick his brain.
"They play the same sport but a different way. It's cool to see his perspective. And I think we were also watching Xander warm up on Sunday which is really cool. He's so pure. It's super cool. I would love to add a mixed event to this."
