Jeeno Thitikul Shines at the CME Group Tour Championship
Thai golfer Jeeno Thitikul delivered a masterful performance on Friday, with an impeccable round that positions her as the leader in the CME Group Tour Championship. With an impressive 9 under par, Thitikul completed the day with a 63, gaining a three-stroke lead and moving closer to a $4 million prize and recognition as LPGA Player of the Year. Thitikul, who replaced Nelly Korda at the top of the world ranking this year, demonstrated her skill on the field. Korda, for her part, achieved a 64, placing herself in a prominent position in the leaderboard. However, she is five strokes behind the leader, hoping to get her first victory of the year. Thitikul’s performance was notable, with a streak of four consecutive birdies and six birdies in a span of eight holes. The defending champion finished with a total of 14 under par and 130 strokes.Somi Lee, who started the tournament with a 64, stumbled with a bogey on the first hole and couldn’t keep up the pace. Despite two birdies in the last five holes, she finished with a 70, four strokes behind the leader, as did Nasa Hataoka (67). Sei Young Kim, who played alongside Thitikul, also showed a good performance, achieving six birdies in the last nine holes and closing with a 66. Both golfers combined birdies in all holes except two in the last 11. Thitikul leads the standings for the LPGA Player of the Year award. The only player who could surpass her is Miyuu Yamashita, who shot a 69 and is nine strokes behind the leader. Korda, who has yet to achieve a victory this year, had a slow start in the tournament. However, she improved her game in the second round, which positioned her as a competitor. Korda attributed her improvement to a brief practice session on the green. Thitikul’s birdie streak began with two ten-foot putts on holes eight and nine. Then, she placed her ball close to the hole on hole 10 and her approach to five feet on hole 11.“Better than yesterday, for sure,” Thitikul declared with a smile. “I have no complaints, no bogeys and nine birdies. I’ll take it.”
Jeeno Thitikul
Seven players are within five strokes of Thitikul with 36 holes to play, including Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee. The winner will take home the most lucrative prize in women’s golf, worth 4 million dollars.
Thitikul finished with a total of 22 under par last year and won by a single stroke. The previous year’s winner, Amy Yang, set a record with 27 under par and 261 strokes. Thitikul is aware that she needs to maintain her pace of birdies to secure the victory.“As I always say, the winners here have a score of more than 20 under par, which is very low,” commented Thitikul. “We need to make more and more birdies.”
Jeeno Thitikul
