Jeeno Thitikul made a powerful statement of her own at the Mizuho Americas Open, claiming her second LPGA title of the season with a commanding four-stroke victory. While Nelly Korda looked ready to dominate the year, Thitikul's clubs had other plans—she fired a stunning final round to secure her ninth career LPGA win at the challenging Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
This victory marks Thitikul's second consecutive win at the Mizuho, though on a different course than last year. She now joins elite company as the fourth player this season to win twice, alongside Hyo Kim, Hannah Green, and Korda. Her first win came on home soil in February at the Honda LPGA Thailand, making this back-to-back triumph even sweeter.
Interestingly, Thitikul wasn't the only one defending a title this week. Junior player Aphrodite Deng also won the AJGA event for the second straight year while playing in the final group with Thitikul—a special moment for both competitors.
After her win in Thailand, Thitikul noticed her iron play felt off and reached out to her longtime swing coach for help. His advice was surprisingly simple: try less. "I just give credit to him that sometimes you don't try to fix things to be perfect," Thitikul shared after draining a long birdie putt on the difficult 18th hole to seal the victory.
The win came against good friend Ruoning Yin, who finished as runner-up. In a hilarious post-round interview on CBS, Yin joked that Thitikul gave her "sh**" last year for not being there when she won. This time, Yin was front and center—with champagne in hand. "I think this week will be my fifth runner-up in 19 months, so I don't know, I think it's coming," said Yin, who impressively hit all 18 greens on Sunday.
The two stars teamed up to win the Dow Championship two years ago, but this week found themselves battling against each other in a thrilling showdown. Thitikul began the final round with a two-stroke lead over Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, who struggled off the tee and quickly fell out of contention. Thitikul opened up a five-stroke lead early at 12 under, with four players tied at 7 under. But then Yin caught fire, carding four consecutive birdies on holes 5 through 8 to make it a real contest—before Thitikul's composure and clutch putting sealed the deal.