Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul captured the LPGA Lotte Championship on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 68 at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, for a 21-under 267 total and a three-stroke victory over South Korea's Ina Yoon. It is Thitikul's fourth LPGA Tour win of the season and the 11th of her career.
Drama on the closing holes
The win was anything but routine. According to the Associated Press, Thitikul drove into the water on the par-4 16th for a double bogey that wiped out her lead. She responded by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th and then birdied the 18th to seal the title, with Yoon finishing second at 18-under 270 and Japan's Miyu Yamashita third at 17-under.
Season of dominance
The victory moves Thitikul level with top-ranked Nelly Korda for the most tour wins this season, and within one win of Ariya Jutanugarn as the winningest Thai player in LPGA history. Golfweek reports she earned the $450,000 first-place prize from a $3 million purse, becoming the sixth LPGA player to surpass $20 million in career earnings.
At just 23, Thitikul is building a season that is starting to look like one of the finest in recent LPGA history — and with the tour's biggest events still ahead, the record books may need rewriting before the year is out.
Sources: ESPN / Associated Press, Golfweek
Drama on the closing holes
The win was anything but routine. According to the Associated Press, Thitikul drove into the water on the par-4 16th for a double bogey that wiped out her lead. She responded by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th and then birdied the 18th to seal the title, with Yoon finishing second at 18-under 270 and Japan's Miyu Yamashita third at 17-under.
Season of dominance
The victory moves Thitikul level with top-ranked Nelly Korda for the most tour wins this season, and within one win of Ariya Jutanugarn as the winningest Thai player in LPGA history. Golfweek reports she earned the $450,000 first-place prize from a $3 million purse, becoming the sixth LPGA player to surpass $20 million in career earnings.
At just 23, Thitikul is building a season that is starting to look like one of the finest in recent LPGA history — and with the tour's biggest events still ahead, the record books may need rewriting before the year is out.
Sources: ESPN / Associated Press, Golfweek
