Home game, home win: Jeeno Thitikul triumphs in Thailand!
Folks, hold onto your hats: World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul has once again shown who's boss on the green, claiming victory at the Honda LPGA Tournament in her Thai homeland! With an incredible 24-under par, she edged out Japan's Chizzy Iwai by just one stroke. The 23-year-old Thai started the final round with a two-stroke lead and subsequently clinched the top prize at the Siam Country Club Old Course, right on the coast of Pattaya.
Jeeno delivered one stellar round after another: Seven birdies in rounds two and three, five in the opening round, and an additional six on Sunday. Truly impressive!
"It simply means the world to me to win here in my home country," Jeeno beamed from the winner's podium. Her mother came to her crying after the round. A goosebump moment! "I then told her: 'I finally won the tournament in front of your eyes. You were here with me,'" Jeeno recounted. "She was just super emotional. And of course, that really swept me away too."
Her only eagle of the tournament? It came on Friday on a par-5 – fittingly on her 23rd birthday! And with that, the lady is now an eight-time LPGA Tour winner. Respect!
Ahead of the final round, Iwai was tied with two other competitors, directly behind South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim, who ultimately secured a solid third place.
Jeeno is, by the way, the third Thai champion of the LPGA Thailand Tournament – before her, Patty Tavatanakit (2024) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2021) had already triumphed here. Ariya also competed this year and shared eighth place at 18-under. She's on a roll!
The event in Pattaya also marked the kick-off for the LPGA's Asia swing, which continues in Singapore starting Thursday and then heads to China from March 5th to 8th.
