The selection of Jeeno Thitikul brings joy and promise to women’s golf

Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul with her CME Group trophy and jacket recently in Naples, Florida. Image courtesy of LPGA.

By Chuah Choo Chiang

As a six-year-old, Atthaya ‘Jeeno’ Thitikul faced the biggest decision of her young life: choosing tennis or golf as her sport of choice.

For the sake of golf, she chose the right one.

Sixteen years later, the Thai has emerged as an LPGA Tour superstar, cementing her burgeoning status by recently successfully defending her crown at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

The effervescent world No. 1 picked up $4 million in ‘shopping money’ and rewrote the history books thanks to her trademark calm demeanor, unwavering spirit and workmanlike approach.

She also provided plenty of reasons for the LPGA hierarchy to realize that there is a pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow that reaches the Far East.

It’s quite frightening to think that Jeeno is only 22, and with the world under her belt and a first major title in sight, there is a lot to expect from this mega-talent.

LPGA Tour commissioner Craig Kessler must direct his PR managers to leverage its growing popularity, as well as Japanese stars Miyu Yamashita, twin sisters Chisato and Akie Iwai, Korea’s Sei Young Kim and China’s Yin Ruoning, who are key cogs in the tour’s global ambitions.

Level main

Jeeno, who hails from Ratchanburi, speaks with such maturity that her advice to other aspiring golfers is to chart their own path, rather than emulate her rise to the top.

“Every person has their own path. I hear some amateur golfers say they want to be like Atthaya, but they don’t have to. No one can be exactly the same as anyone else.”

“And if we set ourselves such an impossible goal, we will never enjoy the game,” she said.

Finding joy in what she does, both inside and outside the ropes, is crucial to what drives Jeeno. Follow her social media channels and fans will see a genuine, fun-loving Thai who is simply good at golf.

Her growing list of admirers also includes Thai rising Fifa star Laopakdee, winner of the men’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in Dubai last month.

Twenty years old and a junior at Arizona State University, FIFA has aptly pointed out what makes Jeeno so different from the rest.

“You know, it’s just remarkable to see how she dominates and how she controls herself, how she responds to the good shot and the bad shot,” said the first Thai winner in the AAC, who has earned invitations to the Masters and next year’s Open.

“Jeeno is always smiling and she always laughs at the bad shot. She has always been the person who has inspired me the most. Even though she is super talented, she is an extremely hard worker.

Unique personality

“She has a unique personality that very few people have, and she always radiates positive energy. She played a big role in how I want to be on the course.”

Unlike many greats in history, Jeeno did not inherit any sporting genes from her family. However, her father was instrumental in introducing her to the sport after he let her watch tennis and golf videos, and she chose the latter because it involved less running.

“My family doesn’t play golf. When I was younger, six years old, my father told me to play sports and he offered tennis or golf, and I watched golf on TV and I liked it,” said Jeeno, the second Thai after Ariya Jutanugarn to become world number one. 1.

Her rise as an amateur was astonishing. At the age of 14, she won the Thailand Championship on the Ladies European Tour, becoming the youngest golfer in history to win a professional title at the time.

The following year she won the same event again, and with other significant victories including the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship, she topped the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking twice to signal her growing promise.

High praise

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, once a child prodigy herself and now an LPGA Hall of Famer, praised the Thai star, who can be seen in the recent Time100 Nextin tribute to the world’s most influential rising stars.

Ko wrote: “Most professional golfers are very good at one thing. For some it’s their long game or iron shot, for others it’s putting or chipping.

“But for Jeeno Thitikul, it’s everything. I see how hard she works. It feels like only a matter of time before she wins a major title.”

“As a teenage phenom turned top golfer, Jeeno is incredibly impressive all around. She motivates me to become a better player, and I feel fortunate to be able to play alongside her.”

The Tour Championship win earned Jeeno her third LPGA win of the year, seventh of her career, the Rolex Player of the Year award for the second time, and most importantly, the Vare Trophy after recording the season’s lowest scoring average of 68.681.

That was better than Annika Sorenstam’s long-standing average of 68.696 from 2002. In total, she had a whopping 14 top-10s in 20 starts this season and earned $7.6 million in prize winnings.

Nelly Korda, who was replaced as number one in the world by Jeeno. 1 in August, marveling at its rival’s dominance in 2025.

Great talent

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing. Great talent, great player. It’s also fun to see her craft up close. I mean, it’s a bit crazy, right?

“To finally beat a record set so far in 2002… For it to take until 2025, I mean, it’s crazy. That just tells you that the greats don’t come around that often,” said the American, who has 15 LPGA Tour victories to his name.

For Jeeno, she just wants to be herself.

“Whatever you’ve had in your career doesn’t define who you are, nor who I am as Jeeno,” she said.

“My life will still be the same, I think. I have to hit the ball the same way. I still have to putt and chip. All the wins I have are going away, like anyone can take it away from me.”

“I guess I’ve just been the same person as you guys. I have to work. I have things to do. I’ve had some happy moments; I’ve had some sad moments. It’s just a summary of describing a life.”

(The writer previously led PR and marketing efforts for the PGA Tour and Asian Tour for over two decades and now runs his own PR consultancy in Malaysia.

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