Thai world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul seeks repeat win at LPGA Tour Championship
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Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand at a pre-tournament press conference on Nov 18, 2025, ahead of this week’s season-ending LPGA Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.
PHOTO: AFP
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MIAMI – Defending champion Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand seeks her third title of the season and the richest payday in women’s golf at this week’s season-ending LPGA Tour Championship.
The US$11 million (S$14.3 million) showdown of 60 top players for a US$4 million top prize at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida features the top-ranked golfer, who has a win among six top-10 finishes in her past seven starts.
The 22-year-old won the Americas Open in May and October’s LPGA Shanghai event, but has been a runner-up four times this season, including in a fight for her first Major title at July’s Evian Championship in France.
“I’m super excited,” Jeeno said. “It has still been really like amazing ride this year.
“Definitely ups and downs. Definitely, had a lot of close ones but couldn’t finish it. Cried a lot for sure on second runner-up (Evian).
“But how often you fall, how fast you know how to stand up, so I think that’s a really good life learning experience for me.”
Jeeno, never outside the top 10 at the Tour Championship, is also in the hunt for the season money crown, the Vare Trophy for low season scoring average and the LPGA Player of the Year award.
“I think if that trophy belong to someone else, you need to give that to the person who deserve it,” she said. “So I have nothing to do more than just 100 per cent out there.”
World No. 4 Minjee Lee of Australia leads the season prize money list with US$3,822,388, while Jeeno sits US$244,058 behind.
The 29-year-old, who switched to a broomstick putter at the start of the campaign, won her third career Major at the Women’s PGA Championship in June and her eight top-10 efforts in 2025 included sharing third at Evian.
“I didn’t really have big expectations, so I was just trying to work through my processes and just see where it took me,” she said.
“I’ve had quite a lot of success with it this year and hopefully continue to do that.”
Jeeno leads in scoring average for the season on 68.88 strokes, with world No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States second on 69.58.
Korda has one final chance to take a victory in 2025 after capturing seven titles in 2024.
Jeeno leads in the Player of the Year chase by 16 points over Japan’s third-ranked Miyu Yamashita, who has already clinched the LPGA Rookie of the Year award.
She will play in her first Tour Championship after taking the Women’s British Open and winning again in October in Malaysia.
The 10 top players will receive points, with the winner taking 30.
Yamashita could become only the second player to win LPGA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards in the same season, after American Nancy Lopez in 1978. AFP
