To secure her first win of the season, Jeeno Thitikul had to hold off a stacked leaderboard that included World No. 1 Nelly Korda and a host of other top players.

Thitikul, ranked second in the world, had the 54-hole lead at the Mizuho Americas Open and never looked back as she shot a three-under, bogey-free 69 to put the finishing touches on her first win of the season, great timing with four majors coming over the next 12 weeks.

The 22-year-old Thitikul shot 17 under at Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey. Korda, the defending champion, couldn’t catch Thitikul on Sunday. Korda shot one-over 73 to tie for fifth place, six shots back. Major winner Celine Boutier finished second after shooting 72, four shots back.

Playing in the same pairing, Boutier hit a great approach shot on the par-4 15th and Thitikul was in a bunker left of the green. Thitikul hit a tremendous shot up and over another bunker and her ball landed within a couple feet. She made the putt, ending Boutier’s chances to overtake her.

“It definitely feels good to get the job done here,” Thitikul said. “I know so many talented players were in front of me … I feel like everyone is just doing their part. I’m doing my own part, too. I can’t control them. I just can control myself. I just have to do my job. I think if I win or not, I’m just doing my job, doing my process.”

Thitikul admitted that she didn’t know where she stood—holding a big lead—until her final putt.

She obviously is playing well, and with the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills later this month. She has six top-10 finishes in eight starts this year and tied for 24th at the Chevron Championship, the LPGA’s first major of the season, but she wasn’t happy with her second-round 75 or her putting.

“I definitely feel more confident in my game. I definitely had a lot of things to work on, but I’m happy with my performance right now and how I’m hitting the ball right now,” Thitikul said. “Hopefully, I can keep the momentum going for the majors. But the U.S. Open, it’s really tough conditions every year. Fingers crossed for a kind result.”

Thitikul was doused in champagne and then had pizza for dinner. It’s the Thailand native’s fifth victory of her young career. Her last win came to end the 2024 season at the CME Group Tour Championship, where she collected $4 million.

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“When I was a kid wanting to play on the LPGA Tour, I just told my dad, and my dad just told me, winning on the LPGA Tour once, it’s good enough,” Thitikul said. “I joined the tour in 2022 and then get the first win maybe my fifth start from the beginning of the season, and then to get my first win was just really a dream come true. I had no idea I’m going to be this far for sure.”

There have been 11 different winners on tour this season. Korda—who won seven times last year— is still searching for her first win, though.

Thitikul loved taking the ferry to the course each day, passing the Statue of Liberty, and also the New York cheese and pizza. And Liberty National, where she’s finished in the top 10 in all the three years of the event, clearly suits her.

“Knowing the course well is pretty good but you have to see how your golf is going to be for you,” she said. “I know finishing really good last couple years but don’t know coming to the week that I’m going to win. I practised last week and had a good practice and good feeling. Trying to get all my frustration from not making putts at Chevron to making putts here.”

Aphrodite Deng, who lives in nearby Short Hills, won the AJGA portion of the event. The LPGA is off next week before a new event, the Mexico Riviera Maya Open, followed by the U.S. Women’s Open.

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