Jeeno Thitikul Shrugs Off Late Double Bogey to Win LOTTE Championship in Hawaii
Thailand's world No. 2 birdies the last two holes for her fourth LPGA Tour title of 2026, matching Nelly Korda
2 min read
File photo: Jeeno (Atthaya) Thitikul at Le Golf National during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in August 2024. Photo: TPaine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
EWA BEACH, Hawaii — Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand overcame a late double bogey to win the LOTTE Championship at Hoakalei Country Club on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-stroke victory and her fourth LPGA Tour title of the season, the Associated Press reported.
The world No. 2 finished at 21-under 267, three shots ahead of playing partner Ina Yoon of South Korea, who also shot 68. Japan's Miyu Yamashita was third at 17 under after a 67.
A two-shot swing on 17
Thitikul drove into the water and made double bogey on the par-4 16th, wiping out her two-shot lead on a windy afternoon, AP said. The momentum swung straight back on the 17th, the hardest hole on the course, where Yoon found the water and made bogey while Thitikul holed a long birdie putt, Golf Digest reported. She then birdied the par-5 18th.
"I don't know how I did that, but obviously, it's kind of really like good battle with Ina," Thitikul said, according to AP. "She played incredible on the front nine."
"I know 16 was terrible," she added. "But I just tell myself that, 'Hey, it's two hole left. Everything can happen.'"
Chasing Korda and Jutanugarn
The victory was the 23-year-old's 11th on the LPGA Tour and drew her level with top-ranked Nelly Korda for most wins this season, AP said. She is now one win short of Ariya Jutanugarn's 12, the most by a player from Thailand.
According to Golf Digest, the $450,000 winner's check moved Thitikul past Karrie Webb into fourth on the LPGA's career money list at $20,210,011, behind Korda, Lydia Ko and Annika Sorenstam. Her earlier wins this year came in Thailand in February, at the Mizuho Americas Open in May and at the Portland Classic in August.
"It's incredible for Thailand," Thitikul said, according to Golf Digest.
Yoon, who is still looking for her first LPGA Tour win, has six top-10 finishes this year. "It was super fun today," she said. "Jeeno played great."
The tour now heads to Asia for four events, starting with the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Oct. 15-18, where Thitikul is the defending champion.
Sources: Associated Press (via Sportsnet); Golf Digest
