Jeeno Thitikul Takes Lead in LPGA Mizuho Championship

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — World number two Jeeno Thitikul secured an impressive lead Thursday in the first round of the LPGA Mizuho Americas Championship with a remarkable eight-under par 64. This performance gives her a two-stroke advantage over her competitors.

The 22-year-old Thai golfer credited a week off to regroup after a disappointing tie for 24th at the Chevron Championship, the year’s first major. She used this time to improve her putting skills, leading to her lowest round to open a tournament since the 2022 BMW Ladies Championship.

“I think my putter was working well, better than Chevron week,” Thitikul said. “I’ve been sucking with the putter on the Chevron week, but it’s not just me — the greens were so tough that week.”

Thitikul was pleased with her performance, hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens while needing only 26 putts. “Here, hit it good and also making the putts. Also, got a lucky draw in the morning because it’s not really windy in the morning,” she added.

Following her rough week at the Chevron Championship, Thitikul dedicated herself to practice. “I hit a ton of putts,” she explained. “I feel so good when I see it drop but I feel so bad when I see it miss.” She emphasized the importance of maintaining a consistent emotional response to successes and failures on the green.

Thitikul holds a two-stroke lead over France’s Celine Boutier and South Korea’s Choi Hye-jin, both of whom finished with six-under par 66. Boutier, who teed off on the 10th, turned things around after a bogey on the 15th with five consecutive birdies. “It was really nice to get going and get a few birdies in,” she said.

Choi matched Boutier’s score with six birdies and no bogeys. Ryu Hae-ran, fresh off a win at last week’s Black Desert Championship, was part of a group of ten players at five-under 67, which included Germany’s Esther Henseleit, American Jennifer Kupcho, and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda.

Ryu also noted challenges on the back nine, finding that the wind affected her club selections. “It’s still good,” she said despite not scoring as many birdies as she did earlier in the round. Defending champion Nelly Korda, ranked number one, rounded out the competitors with four-under par 68.