There’s a natural order to things. We must crawl before we walk and walk before we run. And it is in following those steps, with the focus on first achieving the small goals before taking on the bigger ones, that is essential to establishing a foundation for future success.

Just ask Atthaya Thitikul.

In 2021, Thitikul nearly won the Honda LPGA Thailand. As an 18-year-old. Instead, she finished runner-up to her countrywoman, Ariya Jutanugarn. Had the teen won, she would have earned membership on the LPGA Tour and fulfilled a lifelong dream.

But after hosting the trophy on Sunday at the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol, for her first win on the LPGA Tour, the young Thai saw the natural order of things. That victory in Thailand just wasn’t meant to be. Instead, she spent a year earning her stripes with multiple victories on the Ladies European Tour and, one year later, earned membership on the LPGA Tour through Q-Series.

“I kind of look back and think about it like this: If I won it, I couldn't be on the LET to get all the experience with all the challenging weather, challenging golf courses on the European Tour, and I couldn't have the experience to be here (competing) against all the best player in the world if I won at that point,” Thitikul said. Such wise words for a now 19-year-old.

Sunday, the teen became one of the youngest winners in the history of the LPGA Tour when she earned her maiden victory at the JTBC Classic. While rookies aren’t likely to win in their first season, let alone in their fifth start, that’s exactly what Thitikul achieved with her playoff victory over Nanna Koerstz Madsen. Thitikul came from six strokes back with a final round 64 for the low round of the week to force a playoff with Koerstz Madsen. The teen won on the second playoff hole.

“I wanted to win as well but didn't expect that (it was) going to come (this) fast,” Thitikul said after her victory in Carlsbad. “It's just crazy in my mind right now. I cannot believe that I became an LPGA winner.”

But it wasn't the first time the teen had won a professional golf tournament. In fact, she’s been beating pros since she was a 14-year-old amateur. In 2017, Thitikul became the youngest person, male or female, to win a professional golf tournament when she captured the Ladies European Thailand Championship.

The rising star’s victory on Sunday is a reminder that while these phenoms seem to have somehow gotten out in front of their skis, that assessment couldn't be further from the truth. The rookies of today aren’t the rookies of yesteryear. They are tried and true competitors, many of whom, like Thitikul, are already winners around the world before they ever advance to the LPGA Tour. They’ve learned to beat the best in the world at each level of the game.

This week, the young Thai will make the short two-hour drive to Palm Springs for the Chevron Championship. It’s the first major championship of the year, and one that, like Thitikul, once seemed ahead of its time.

The Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle, as the major was originally known, was the first event on the LPGA Tour to offer a $100,000 purse. And the star power that Dinah Shore, the Championship’s first tournament host, brought to the event helped to attract new sponsors that pushed not just the major, but the entire LPGA Tour to new heights. It wasn’t long before tournament purses began to soar. And the Tour was off and running.

But as the Tour continued to grow, following in the footsteps of the Chevron Championship, the major eventually became eclipsed by the surging purses and unprecedented growth of other tournaments. In 2021, Chevron stepped forward as presenting sponsor to breathe new life into the season’s first major championship. The purse was increased from $3.1 to $5 million, once again putting the major at the forefront of the women’s game.

But there would be another change, too.

After more than 50 years, the Chevron Championship will be played for the final time at Mission Hills Country Club. In 2023, the major championship will find a new home in the Houston area, closer to Chevron’s headquarters. Albeit bittersweet, the farewell to Mission Hills is the next, necessary step for the major championship to move forward and to continue to maintain its position at the forefront of the women’s game.

Thursday, the LPGA’s newest winner, Atthaya Thitikul, will join the best women in the game when she begins her bid, along with the rest of the field, to become the final player to leap into Poppie’s Pond.

As is the natural order of things, Thitikul learned to crawl before she could walk and walk before, she could run. Now, we’ll see if she can leap.

Ahead Of Her Time No More: Atthaya Thitikul Heads to the Chevron Championship An LPGA Tour Winner

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