Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul secured victory at her home tournament with a one stroke win over Japan’s Chizzy Iwai at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
The World No. 1 was cheered on over the weekend by a spirited home crowd and in sweltering conditions at Chon Buri’s Siam Country Club. She started the final round off strong with an opening birdie to extend her overnight lead to three. Despite a bogey at the 4th, Thitikul rolled in three consecutive birdies from holes 6 to 8, then another as she looked to pull away by the 10th. Iwai put up a strong challenge as she carded a bogeyless final round and produced two superb eagles at the 7th and 10th which briefly brought her level at the top of the leaderboard. But she made no further birdies for the rest of the round as Thitikul birdied the 17th before closing with a par to card a 4-under 68 and seal the win with a 24 under total.
The victory marks her first on home soil and her eighth LPGA Tour title overall.
“I would rate it A triple-plus,” said the Thai star. “I know it’s not as big as the majors, but winning in my home country means so much to me — sometimes even more than a major.”
Not only does Thitikul become the third winner of the tournament from Thailand, following Ariya Jutanugarn (2021) and Patty Tavatanakit (2024), but her victory was made even more special with her mother watching from the crowd to see her win for the first time.
“My mom came up to me after I finished 18 and she cried a lot,” the 23-year-old said. “I told her, ‘I finally won in front of you’. She was emotional, and that made me emotional too.”
Iwai closed with a final round 66 to finish in second on 23 under. A shot adrift, Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim finished third, while her fellow compatriot and first round leader Somi Lee finished fourth on 21 under. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko tied with Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen for fifth on 20 under, the latter of whom carded the day’s lowest round of 63.
Defending champion Angel Yin of the U.S. failed to challenge towards the top of the leaderboard finishing in a tie for 48th on 5 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is HSBC Women’s World Championship taking place between 26 February – 1 March at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.