Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul learns to enjoy golf amid pressure of being women’s world No. 1
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand taking questions from the media during a press conference for the HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on Feb 24.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
- World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul recently won her maiden Honda LPGA Thailand title. She now approaches success more relaxed, learning from past pressure during her 2022 top ranking.
- Jeeno, who has eight LPGA titles, is aiming for a maiden Major, learning from her recent victory that perfect shots are not always essential. She arrives in Singapore in hot form.
- The HSBC Women's World Championship's title holder Lydia Ko welcomes the new WTGL, a team-style women's golf league set to launch in 2026.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Things could hardly be going better for Jeeno Thitikul on the golf course.
Just last week, the Thai celebrated her 23rd birthday in style as the world No. 1 won her home LPGA tournament for the first time, extending the rich vein of form that defined her stellar 2025 campaign.
That season saw her named LPGA Tour Player of the Year, top the LPGA Tour Money List for the second consecutive time with US$7.6 million (S$9.6 million) in earnings and win the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average.
Perched atop the world rankings since August 2025, she believes she has grown significantly since the first time she topped the rankings, which lasted just two weeks in 2022.
“At that time, I saw things so seriously. Even if I missed one shot, I felt that was bad,” said Jeeno during a press conference at Sentosa Golf Club on Feb 24, ahead of the Feb 26-March 1 HSBC Women’s World Championship.
“Right now, when I have a bad shot, I think ‘it’s okay, you have another one’, it’s more relaxing now.
“But I just told myself, I really enjoy being where I am right now and I’m not going to be in this position forever – there are going to be more top players coming up, but I want to perform and enjoy this position as best I can.”
But this time, Jeeno, who is just the second Thai to top the world rankings after Ariya Jutanugarn, appears better equipped to handle the accompanying expectations.
In 2022, her rapid rise to the summit of the rankings came during a breakout season where she won two titles and claimed 14 other top-10 finishes, earning her the LPGA Rookie of the Year award.
“At that time, I was so young and I just put a lot of pressure on myself,” said Jeeno, who has yet to win a Major.
“A lot of people already had expectations of me, but obviously I did not have that much experience then.”
Having arrived in Singapore in hot form, Jeeno is looking forward to playing at Sentosa Golf Club, a venue she enjoys, having finished inside the top 10 in all four editions she has contested.
Her best showing came last season, when she finished tied-second with Japan‘s Ayaka Furue, four strokes behind champion Lydia Ko.
Despite the confidence gained from last week’s win, Jeeno is keeping her feet firmly on the ground ahead of the US$3 million (S$3.8 million) tournament.
She said: “It’s a new week, it’s a new journey and it’s new things that you have to focus on.”
While she has racked up eight LPGA titles, a Major trophy has remained elusive even though she came close last season.
She was second at the Evian Championship and tied-fourth in the Women’s PGA Championship in 2025.
But she believes her win in Thailand shows progress.
“To be able to win last week kind of taught me just a lot of things,” she said. “Because, last week, before the tournament day, I was worried and stressed about my iron shots a little bit.
“Then, winning the tournament proved to me that sometimes you don’t need perfect shots...
“So I think for any goals, the Majors, for whatever, that’s always going to be with me – that I may not always be 100 per cent.
“But I have to show up and be able to bounce back and that’s an improvement already.”
(From left) World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, Minjee Lee (4) of Australia, Miyu Yamashita (5) of Japan, Lydia Ko (6) of New Zealand, Kim Hyo-joo (7) of South Korea, Yin Ruoning (8) of China, Lottie Woad (9) of England and Kim Sei-young (10) of South Korea posing with the trophy during a photo-call for the HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on Feb 24.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Defending champion Ko is also happy to be back in Singapore.
The New Zealander, 28, has also enjoyed a promising start to the season, with two top-five finishes in the first two events of the year.
The world No. 6 said: “When you’ve made a lot of good memories, it’s nice to kind of draw back on them, even when you are playing a practice round.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to draw on a lot of the good highlights from last year, and kind of take that and the good momentum from last week into this week.”
World No. 6 Lydia Ko of New Zealand taking questions from the media during a press conference for the HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on Feb 24.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
With the announcement that 2014 US Open winner Michelle Wie West is returning to professional golf after retiring in 2023 to join the WTGL, a new team-style women’s golf league operation in partnership with the LPGA, Ko is excited by the developments.
The three-time Major champion – alongside Jeeno, Charley Hull, Lottie Woad, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson – is part of the roster for the league, which is set to tee off later in 2026.
She said: “Having this kind of diversity in golf is very good. It broadens the demographic that is interested in golf... I’m interested to kind of see where this goes.
“We’re trying to grow the game and give more opportunities to future generations, and I think this is a pathway to that.”
