Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul with her CME Group trophy and jacket in Naples, Florida, recently. Image courtesy LPGA.
By Chuah Choo Chiang
As a six-year-old, Atthaya “Jeeno” Thitikul faced the biggest decision of her young life – pick either tennis or golf as the sport of her choice.
For golf’s sake, she chose the right one.
Sixteen years on, the Thai has morphed into an LPGA Tour superstar, reinforcing her burgeoning stature by successfully defending her crown at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship recently.
The bubbly world no. 1 picked up $4 million as “shopping” money, rewrote the history books courtesy of her trademark quiet poise, unwavering spirit and workmanlike approach.
She also provided enough reasons for the LPGA hierarchy to realise there is a pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow which reaches the Far East.
It is quite frightening to think that Jeeno is still only 22, and with the world her oyster and a maiden major title next in her sight, there is much to expect from this mega-talent.
LPGA Tour commissioner Craig Kessler must be directing his PR executives to leverage her burgeoning 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 important cogs to the tour’s global ambitions.
Level head
Hailing from Ratchanburi, Jeeno speaks with such maturity that her advice to other aspiring golfers is for them to chart their own pathways, rather than emulate her climb to the top.
“Every person has their own path. I hear some amateur golfers say they want to be like Atthaya, but that isn’t necessary. Nobody can be exactly like someone else.
“And if we set ourselves such an impossible goal, we will never enjoy the game,” she said.
Finding joy in what she does, whether inside the ropes or outside of it, is paramount to what makes Jeeno tick. Follow her social media channels and fans will see a genuine, fun-loving Thai who is just good at golf.
Her growing list of admirers includes fellow Thai rising star Fifa Laopakdee, winner of the men’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in Dubai last month.
Fifa, who is 20 and a junior at Arizona State University, pointed out quite aptly what makes Jeeno so different from the rest.
“You know, watching her dominating and how she controls herself, how she reacts to the good shot, the bad shot is just remarkable,” said the first Thai winner at the AAC, who has earned invitations to next year’s Masters and the Open.
“Jeeno always smiles 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 huge role in how I want to be on the course.”
Unlike many greats in history, Jeeno did not inherit sporting genes from her family. Her father, though, was instrumental in introducing her to the sport after letting her watch videos of tennis and golf, and she picked the latter as it involved less running.
“My family does not play golf. When I was younger, aged six, my father told me to play sport and he offered tennis or golf, and I watched golf on TV and I liked it,” said Jeeno, who is the second Thai after Ariya Jutanugarn to become world no. 1.
Her rise as an amateur was stunning. At 14, she won the Thailand Championship on the Ladies European Tour, becoming the youngest golfer in history then to lift a professional title.
She won the same event again in the following year, and with other significant victories including the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship, topped the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking on two separate occasions to signal her growing promise.
High praise
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, once a teenage prodigy herself and now an LPGA Hall of Famer, hailed the Thai star, who is amongst those featured in the recent Time100 Next, in a tribute to the world’s most influential rising stars.
Wrote Ko: “Most professional golfers are really 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 until she wins a major title.
“As a teen phenom turned top-ranked golfer, Jeeno is incredibly impressive all around. She motivates me to be a better player, and I feel lucky to be able to play alongside her.”
The Tour Championship victory saw Jeeno lift her third LPGA win of the year, seventh of her career, the Rolex Player of the Year award for the second time, and more importantly the Vare Trophy after recording the season’s lowest scoring average of 68.681.
That beat Annika Sorenstam’s long-standing 2002 scoring average of 68.696. In total, she accumulated an impressive 14 top-10s in 20 starts this season and earned $7.6 million in prize winnings.
Nelly Korda, who was displaced by Jeeno as world no. 1 in August, marvelled at her rival’s dominance in 2025.
Great talent
“Yeah, it’s quite amazing. Great talent, great player. It’s fun to see her craft kind of up close as well. I mean, it’s kind of crazy, right?
“To finally beat a record so far back in 2002 … For it to take until 2025, I mean, it’s crazy. That just tells you that the greats don’t come along too often,” said the American, who holds 15 LPGA Tour victories.
For Jeeno, all she wants is to be herself.
“Whatever you had in your career doesn’t define who you are and doesn’t define who I am as Jeeno, too,” she said.
“My life will still be the same, I guess. I need to hit the ball the same. I need to putt and chip still. All the wins that I have are going, like anyone can take it from me.
“I think I have just been the same human being as you guys. I have to work. I have things to do. I had some happy moments; I had some sad moments. It’s just a sum of describing a life.”
(The writer formerly led the PR and marketing efforts for the PGA Tour and Asian Tour for over 20 years and now runs his own PR consulting firm in Malaysia..
Also read: Mahreen wins it at Wishtown as Vani tops Hero rankings race
Related
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.