World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul secured her second win of the season with a successful title defense at the Mizuho Americas Open.
The 23-year-old from Thailand went into the final round at Mountain Ridge Country Club with a two-shot lead and she extended this during the early stages with back-to-back birdies at the 2nd and 3rd. However, while Thitikul steadied her round with pars across the remainder of the front nine, China’s Ruoning Yin surged into contention. Starting the day four shots adrift, Yin charged ahead with four straight birdies through holes 5 to 8, slashing Thitikul’s lead to one.
After making the turn, Yin bogeyed the 11th, and Thitikul did the same at the 13th. The 16th proved pivotal when Yin fell further back with a bogey and Thitikul made her third birdie of the round. She added another at the 18th, finishing 13 under and the crown was hers for a second consecutive season.
“It means a lot to me,” said Thitikul afterwards. “I don’t feel great with my performance, with my game, at all. But had a call with my coach earlier on the practice round and then went everything out of my head, which is really helping. … Sometimes you don’t try to fix things to be perfect.”
The victory is her second this season following her home win at the Honda LPGA Thailand, and marks her fourth season with multiple wins since her LPGA Tour debut in 2022. Thitikul now joins world No. 1 Nelly Korda, Hannah Green, and Hyo Joo Kim as the only players with at least two wins this year.
“I think all the players, including me, just really want to get better,” she added. “We’ve got a lot more talented players, new faces, and then everyone could win the tournaments which means the competition level, it’s getting higher.
“I believe everyone is just putting work in on the offseason to see the good result.”
Four shots adrift of Thitkul, Yin finished in second on 9 under. Third was shared between pair Lee and Jenny Bae, alongside Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, all on 8 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G taking place between 14-17 May at Maketewah Country Club, Cincinnati, OH in the U.S.