Jeeno Thitikul, demonstrated her category as the number one in women’s golf, signing an impressive card of 63 strokes, nine under par, at the CME Group Tour Championship. The Thai golfer is set to obtain another prize of 4 million dollars and the recognition as the LPGA player of the year. Nelly Korda, who was displaced by Thitikul in the world ranking at the beginning of this year, achieved a 64 that placed her at the top of the classification, although she finally finished five strokes behind the leader, with the hope of achieving her first victory of the year. Thitikul set the pace from the start, with a streak of four consecutive birdies and six in a stretch of eight holes. Her performance was such that Sei Young Kim, who was playing alongside her, strived to keep up with her pace, achieving six birdies in the last nine holes for a total of 66 strokes. The current champion, Thitikul, accumulated a total of 14 under par, 130 strokes. “Better than yesterday, without a doubt. I have no complaints, no bogeys and nine birdies. I gladly accept it,” commented Thitikul. Somi Lee, who started the tournament with a round of 64 strokes, had a bogey on the first hole and failed to keep up the pace. With two birdies in the last five holes, she saved a 70 that left her four strokes behind the leader, as did Nasa Hataoka (67). The day was dominated by Thitikul, who was supported by Kim, her playing partner, on a warm day with favorable conditions on the greens, which facilitated good results.
Both golfers achieved birdies on all holes, except for two, in the last 11 they played. Thitikul leads the ranking for the LPGA Player of the Year award. The only one who could surpass her is Miyuu Yamashita, champion of the Women’s British Open, who signed a round of 69 strokes and is nine strokes away. Thitikul and Yamashita are the only players with multiple victories this year. Korda, despite his impressive seven-title season in 2024, has yet to achieve a victory this year, although he showed improvement in his game. Thitikul started her birdie run with two 10-foot putts on the eighth and ninth holes. Then, she placed her approach shot inches from the cup on the 10th hole and on the 11th, the most difficult hole at Tiburon, left the ball 5 feet from the hole. The only miss was the green on the 18th hole, but it was close to achieving a birdie from 18 feet, which ultimately didn’t sink. Seven players are five strokes behind Thitikul, including Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee. The winner will take home a prize of $4 million, the highest in women’s golf. Thitikul shot a total of 22 under par last year, winning by a single stroke. In the previous tournament, Amy Yang set a record with 27 under par, 261 strokes. Therefore, Thitikul is aware of the need to maintain her good performance.“In nine holes, Jeeno is five strokes ahead. I tried to make a lot of birdies, especially in the last nine holes. She is amazing, she turned every hole into a birdie opportunity. She is a great player. I make a birdie and she makes a birdie”, Kim said.
Sei Young Kim
“As I always say, the winners here usually have a result of 20 under par or more, which is a very low score. We need to keep making more and more birdies,” said Thitikul.
Jeeno Thitikul
