Jeeno Thitikul Dominates the CME Group Tour Championship with a Spectacular Round
In a display of play worthy of the world’s number one, Jeeno Thitikul leads the CME Group Tour Championship with an impressive performance. The Thai golfer achieved an exceptional round on Friday, accumulating nine birdies for a total of 63 strokes, giving her a three-stroke lead in the competition. Thitikul, who is seeking to secure another $4 million prize and the LPGA Player of the Year title, demonstrated her skill on the course. Nelly Korda, who was displaced by Thitikul in the world ranking earlier this year, was five strokes behind the leader, but still in the fight for the victory. The defending champion, Thitikul, finished the day with a total of 14 under par, 130 strokes. “Better than yesterday, of course,” Thitikul declared with a smile. “I have no complaints, no bogeys and nine birdies. I’ll take it.” The competition was fierce, with Sei Young Kim trying to keep up with Thitikul and adding six birdies in the last nine holes for a total of 66 strokes. Both players combined their efforts to achieve birdies on all but two holes in the last 11 they played.Somi Lee, who started the final event of the LPGA season with a score of 64, struggled and finished with a 70, finishing four strokes behind the leader, along with Nasa Hataoka (67). However, the day was dominated by Thitikul, who is at the top of the standings for the LPGA Player of the Year award. The only player who could snatch the prize is Japan’s Miyuu Yamashita, champion of the Women’s British Open, who recorded 69 strokes and is nine strokes away. Thitikul and Yamashita are the only players with multiple victories this year. Nelly Korda, who has yet to achieve a victory this year after a season of seven titles in 2024, had a slow start at the Tour Championship. However, in the second round, she made several birdie putts from a distance of 10 to 15 feet, which positioned her as one of the contenders. Seven players are five strokes behind Thitikul with 36 holes to play, including Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee. The winner will take home a prize of $4 million, the highest in the history of women’s golf. Thitikul, aware of the need to maintain her birdie pace, knows that the key to victory is to maintain a high performance. “As I always say, all the winners here, the score is over 20, which is very low,” commented Thitikul. “We need to do more and more.”Nine holes, Jeeno has a five-stroke lead. I try to make a lot of birdies, especially in the last nine. So yes, I got the fire back in the last nine. It’s incredible. She turned every hole into a birdie opportunity. She’s a great player. I make birdie and she makes birdie.
Sei Young Kim
