Jeeno Thitikul Cruises To Fifth LPGA Tour Win At Mizuho Americas Open

A final round of 69 saw Jeeno Thitikul claim a four-shot victory at the Mizuho Americas Open.

The Thai star headed into Sunday at Liberty National with a one-shot advantage over Celine Boutier after rounds of 64, 73 and 65 left her 14-under for the tournament.

Behind them, defending champion Nelly Korda was also firmly in the hunt for her first win of the year after her third successive 68 left her two back of the lead and tied with Andrea Lee. There was a blow for Korda early on, though, as she bogeyed the first hole. In the same group, Lee made par, before Thitikul and Boutier strengthened their positions with birdies at the par-4.

However, for Boutier, that was as good as it got on the front nine, with bogeys on the third and sixth hindering her progress, while Lee also struggled to make inroads.

Korda, on the other hand, began rallying, with three birdies in five holes before her second bogey of the round, at the ninth, set her back. She never really threatened again, with two more bogeys as she finished T5. Elsewhere, Carlota Ciganda gave herself a chance with birdies at the third and eighth, but all the while, the leader remained assured.

Even though she didn’t reach the heights of earlier in the week, with her eight birdies in a blemish-free first round a particular highlight, she remained consistent throughout. Further birdies at the ninth and 17^th meant she headed to the 18^th with the luxury of a four-shot advantage over Boutier.

That left victory a near formality, and she completed the job with the minimum of fuss with her 15^th par of the day. That gave her a second win of the year after February’s Saudi Ladies International on the LET. Meanwhile, she now has five victories on the LPGA Tour.

Overall, Thitikul, who is still just 22, has 17 professional wins worldwide, although she has yet to win a Major, with T25 at the Chevron Championship her most recent effort. However, with the US Women’s Open coming at the end of the month, she admitted the win has given her confidence ahead of the tests to come.

“Definitely yes,” she said. “I'm proud of what I have done out there. After the Chevron, I mean, Chevron really got me like - well, I have to be improving myself to put on a major test because all the majors have good and tough conditioned tests for us.”

Thitikul also revealed patience had been the key to her closing out victory, saying: “I really accomplished that for sure, especially the final round, especially the back nine I've really been patient. I know that a lot of putts that didn't drop on the front nine, but I'm trying to do my best, and I knew that I'm doing a good job. I was just trying to tell myself like ‘oh, be patient, it's coming, it's coming.’ That's pretty much what I told myself today.”