Jeeno Thitikul Ties Korda and Closes on Thailand’s Record

Jeeno Thitikul birdied the last two holes at Hoakalei Country Club on Oct. 4 to win the LOTTE Championship by three shots. The 23-year-old closed with a 4-under 68 for a 21-under 267, her fourth LPGA Tour win of 2026, matching world No. 1 Nelly Korda.

She now owns 11 career LPGA titles, one behind Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, and the $450,000 check made her the sixth player to pass $20 million in official LPGA earnings.

A Water Ball on 16, Then Two Birdies

Thitikul took a three-shot lead into Sunday at 17-under 199 after rounds of 67, 65 and 67, and Hoakalei had barely touched her. The only score worse than par through 54 holes was a bogey on the par-4 7th on Saturday. Playing partner Ina Yoon, a South Korean still looking for a first LPGA title, made back-to-back birdies at the turn and got the lead down to one, then bogeyed the par-4 14th and fell two back again.

The week’s second blemish arrived on the par-4 16th, with the wind up on a Sunday in Ewa Beach. Thitikul drove into the water, made double bogey, and lost the two-shot cushion, tied with Yoon at 19 under. Yoon holed her par putt on 16 to keep that share.

THE LAST THREE HOLES ON SUNDAY

1. No. 16, par 4: Thitikul drives into the water and makes double bogey, falling into a tie with Yoon at 19 under.
2. No. 17, par 4: Thitikul holes a 20-foot birdie. Yoon drives into the water and bogeys. The lead is two again.
3. No. 18, par 5: Thitikul birdies. Yoon pars. The winning total is 21 under, three clear.

She told the room afterward that she had no clean explanation for the swing, only that two holes still gave her a shot.

I know 16 was terrible. It was just like, ‘Gosh, terrible hole to me.’ But I just tell myself that, ‘Hey, it’s two hole left. Everything can happen. You can definitely bounce back whenever you still have the shot in your hand.’

Jeeno Thitikul, after the final round at Hoakalei Country Club

Yoon also shot 68 and finished at 18-under 270. “It was super fun today,” she said. “Jeeno played great.” She has six top-10s this season and still no LPGA win. Miyu Yamashita of Japan, who birdied four times on the back nine, shot 67 and finished third at 17 under. American Auston Kim posted a 67 for 16 under after three straight bogeys on a messy back nine.

The tour account put the trophy shot up within hours of the last putt.

JEENO IS INEVITABLE 👊

She earns her fourth win of the season at the 2026 Lotte Championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/kuHDY97mxE

— LPGA (@LPGA) October 5, 2026

Four Wins and Zero Majors This Year

The raw trophy count now reads the same as Korda’s. The years underneath those fours do not. Korda’s 2026 titles include the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open. Thitikul’s four came at the Honda LPGA Thailand, the Mizuho Americas Open, the Standard Portland Classic and this week in Hawaii. None of those is a major.

That gap is the knock the win total does not cover. She has still never won an LPGA major. Her best major week this season was a tie for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open, where she opened 64 and closed 73 for 2 under. She tied for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, tied for 10th at the Evian Championship, and finished 28th at the U.S. Women’s Open. Korda missed the cut at Evian and still owns two majors before autumn.

THE 2026 WIN LISTS

Hyo Joo Kim and Hannah Green also have two wins. Thitikul’s Honda score was 24-under 264, worth $270,000. Mizuho paid $487,500 for 13-under 275. Portland finished at 22 under in August. The Hawaii week was the one that drew her even on the win board.

One Victory From Ariya Jutanugarn’s Thai Mark

The 11th career title, four years after she turned pro in 2022, puts her with Lexi Thompson and Minjee Lee on the LPGA’s all-time wins list. Win No. 12 would tie Jutanugarn, the two-time major champion who set the Thai mark and has not added to those 12 since 2021. Jutanugarn’s majors are the 2016 Women’s British Open and the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open. She also beat a teenage Atthaya Thitikul, as Jeeno was then listed, at the 2021 Honda LPGA Thailand.

The Jutanugarn sisters carried Thai golf on this tour for most of a decade. Thitikul took the top Thai ranking as a rookie, and she already has her first LPGA title on home soil, the Honda win in February at Siam Country Club. Asked in Hawaii about sitting one victory from Jutanugarn, she pointed past her own total.

“It’s incredible what Thai golfers have brought us, the next generation,” Thitikul said. “Every minute, every hour that we put in now, we put in for or result to be better, but another reason is we put in because we want the next generation to see how we perform and play and they also can get inspired.”

Pajaree Anannarukarn, another Thai in the field, tied for 13th at 12 under. Chanettee Wannasaen and Pornanong Phatlum missed the top 60. The national baton is no longer a two-sister story.

A $450,000 Check and the $20 Million Club

The winner’s share from a $3 million purse was $450,000, and it pushed her through the $20 million career line at 23. She is the sixth LPGA player to get there. China’s Michelle Zhang, bogey-free on the back nine, posted a career-best share of fifth with Sweden’s Maja Stark at 15-under 273.

LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP TOP SIX

Those cards are the 21-under 267 on the official board, on a 6,530-yard, par-72 layout. Polly Mack, who had shared the 36-hole lead with Thitikul at 12 under with no bogeys through two rounds, closed 73 and tied for 10th. Lilia Vu, six back after 54 holes, shot 79 and tumbled to 5 under.

Nelly Korda Still Leads the Award Races

Matching Korda on wins does not move the awards she is actually chasing. Thitikul entered Hawaii at No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings, at 10.67 average points to Korda’s 13.29 on the Sept. 28 list, and a regular-season win does not flip that order by itself. Korda has skipped the spring and fall Asia swings and is playing a thinner LPGA calendar.

THE STANDINGS AFTER HAWAII

• Race to CME Globe: Thitikul is second in the Race to CME Globe with 2,830.375 points, up two places. Korda still leads at 3.7K.
• Rolex Player of the Year: Korda 239, Haeran Ryu 164, Thitikul 152, Yamashita 126.
• Vare Trophy scoring: Korda 69.38, Ryu 69.54, Yamashita 69.64, Thitikul 69.71.
• Annika Major Award: Korda 140 points (2 majors), Ryu 130. Yoon sits fourth with 38.

Ryu’s two wins are both majors, which is why she still sits between Korda and Thitikul on Player of the Year points after a week Ryu did not win. Korda is also short of the round count she needs for the Vare Trophy, the same problem that blocked her from the scoring award in 2021. The win board is now a tie. The points boards are not.

She Defends in Shanghai After a Week at Home

Thitikul said she will spend a week in Thailand, then go to China to defend the Buick LPGA Shanghai title, one of three LPGA events she won in 2025. Shanghai is Oct. 15-18, purse $3.2 million, at Sheshan Golf Club. It is the first of four straight official starts on the continent before the tour returns to Florida.

THE ASIA SWING AFTER HAWAII

• Buick LPGA Shanghai: Oct. 15-18, Sheshan Golf Club, $3.2 million, Thitikul defending.
• BMW Ladies Championship: Oct. 22-25, Pine Beach Golf Links in South Korea, $2.35 million.
• Maybank Championship: Oct. 29-Nov. 1, Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, $3 million.
• TOTO Japan Classic: Nov. 5-8, Taiheiyo Club Minori Course, $2.1 million.

The Annika at Pelican Golf Club, Nov. 12-15 in Belleair, Florida, is the first U.S. date after that run. Korda has not been playing these Asia weeks. If the win race is going to break before the CME Group Tour Championship, it is more likely to break on Thitikul’s side of the calendar than on Korda’s.

She leaves Hawaii with the trophy, a lei on the 18th green, and a Thai record that is now one Sunday away. The majors, and the Player of the Year board, are still a different list.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many LPGA Titles Does Jeeno Thitikul Have?

She has 11 LPGA Tour wins in 101 starts, with 65 top-10 finishes, after turning pro in 2022. That total ties her with Lexi Thompson and Minjee Lee for 49th on the tour’s all-time wins list, and a 12th title would pull her even with Ariya Jutanugarn.

Who Is the Winningest Thai Player on the LPGA Tour?

Ariya Jutanugarn holds the mark at 12 LPGA titles, including two majors, the 2016 Women’s British Open and the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open. Her most recent LPGA win came in 2021, when she beat Thitikul at Honda LPGA Thailand and later won the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational with her sister Moriya.

When Does the 2026 Buick LPGA Shanghai Start?

The event runs Oct. 15-18 at Sheshan Golf Club with a $3.2 million purse. Thitikul won the 2025 edition at 24 under, taking $330,000 after a playoff against Minami Katsu that ended with a birdie on the extra hole at No. 10.

What Is the LOTTE Championship Purse and Yardage?

The 2026 purse was $3 million at Hoakalei Country Club, a par-72 course measuring 6,530 yards in Ewa Beach, Oahu. The tournament, which began in 2012, was the LPGA’s last scheduled start on U.S. soil until mid-November.