World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul catches glimpse of her rise

From any perspective, Jeeno Thitikul’s rise is impressive.

The 22-year-old grew up in Ratchaburi, Thailand, a small town not far from Bangkok and without a golf course. Thitikul studied the competition in the driving range, which triggered her rise. She won her first professional tournament at the age of 14. She won her first LPGA Championship in 2022. Later that year, she became the second largest player in the world for the second year in history. Last month, Thitikul regained her position as the world No. 1, surpassing Nelly Korda, who won the title after 71 weeks.

Thitikul’s talent has always been obvious. There are no weaknesses in her game. Although she hasn’t kicked the ball and won her first major title, she will undoubtedly end up shining at the biggest stage. Because while Thitikul doesn’t have a perfect swing and a pure love for competition in technology, there are deeper reasons for her success, but she keeps showing it as she rises. This was again shown at the FM Championships in Boston earlier this week.

“Like I said before, I think I’m the same person,” Titikur said when asked about returning to the world No. 1. “It’s just a number – golf, rankings, statistics, they just built it.

“I don’t think I’m good. I don’t think I’m good.”

that’s right. Five-time champion and world number one Jeeno Thitikul doesn’t think she is “that good”. It is this humility, the kind born from learning the game from the driving range, keeping Thitikul rooted and hoping to dig it out of the dirt. She likes competition and competes. She wants to win and win. But her driver is a pure love for the game and a desire to make her family live a better life. She believed she had achieved success.

There is no doubt that Thitikul knew she was very talented. But she was surprised by everything about golf.

When asked about her success, Thitikul said, “Survived here.” “I’m like, there are a lot of players who are talented, and then I just – I swear, when I was young, I just wanted to win games, and there was only one game on the LPGA that was enough for me.

“But to hear where I am now, I don’t know how I got it.”

Perhaps this is the key to her rise and expectation to continue to rise.

For Jeeno Thitikul, every step of her game shines with the fun she has had in the game. Very grateful for her distance, but her humility leads to a ruthless work ethic to keep impossible dreams and a rare view that, at least for now, seems to free her from the usual pressure when the best talent in the world is unhappy when needed.

“Every major, I just want to lay off employees,” Thitikul said before KPMG women’s PGA, when asked if she felt pressure to win professionally. “It’s really great to win, and I can say that winning professionals will be like everyone else. For me, everything I have now, I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved. It would be great if I could get it, but if I don’t, I have nothing to regret.”

Thitikul’s journey has her armed to the top of the game with humility and perspective and stayed there. But she also currently has young innocent gifts that allow her to face these things without burdens. She is only 22 years old. Everything is in front of Jeeno Thitikul. She doesn’t have to worry about running out of time or not maximizing her gift.

She may never feel it. Perhaps what makes Jeeno Thitikul outstanding is that her talent and everything that comes with her golf journey has filled her soul. Don’t worry about not being able to meet expectations when you’ve exceeded everything you think is possible.

Jeeno Thitikul is “so good”, whether she is willing to admit it or not. But even if she doesn’t have an ideal destination, she can’t see the fact that her talent has shown what might have allowed her to continue climbing.

After all, she has gone further than she dreamed.