MAINEVILLE, Ohio — It just wasn’t Jeeno Thitikul’s day at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.

The three-time LPGA Tour winner did her best to chase down a hot-handed Lydia Ko on Sunday afternoon in Maineville, Ohio, but a 2-under 70 wasn’t low enough to put any pressure on the now 22-time LPGA Tour winner, and the Thailand native ultimately finished runner-up at TPC River’s Bend.

“I was pretty good on kind of starting, but I have kind of a rough back nine a little bit,” said Thitikul. “But still finishing on a positive, birdie on the last hole of the tournament, which is pretty good today. Pretty happy with all the game right now. Still have a lot to work on, especially the short game has to be worked on as well. We don't really stop improving. Improving is the key for all athletes. Until we retire is the day we stop.”

The solo second is Thitikul’s seventh top-10 finish of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, including the victory she earned at the Dow Championship alongside her playing partner Ruoning Yin. She has two other top-20 results on her resume this year – a solo 12th that came in her first start of the year at The Chevron Championship and a tie for 17th that came last month at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.

Considering she had to battle through injury over the offseason and during the early part of this year, the 21-year-old has been incredibly pleased with the level of golf that she has played in 2024. Of course, the final result at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G was a bit disappointing, but Thitikul, as she often does, is instead choosing to look on the bright side, gleaning plenty of positives from a solid week in the Buckeye State, and is excited for what is still to come over the rest of this season.

“To be honest, at first was so sensitive not being able to play in the beginning of the year,” Thitikul shared. “I had doubts on myself, am I going to be able to play good golf again or not really. Injury causes a lot. What I have seen in the last couple month has been really good for me. It’s more than what I could ask for in the same year, get injured and in contention every week I play is really amazing for me.”

Thitikul also very much enjoyed playing alongside Ko on Sunday at TPC River’s Bend, calling the three-time major champion’s 9-under 63 “insane” when asked if she was impressed by Ko’s final-round performance.

“(Lydia’s) putter was on fire today. She make it everywhere that she have a chance,” said Thitikul. “I respect her as like my older sister, as a legend and also as my role model. It was such a really good experience watching her in my eyes on the same tee box, on the same greens. Just like a VIP seat.”

The three-time LPGA Tour winner’s next scheduled start is the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G that begins on September 27, a tournament she won in 2022 as a rookie. She defeated Danielle Kang in a two-hole playoff at Pinnacle Country Club that year to earn her second Tour title, and Thitikul will be looking to carry the momentum she generated from her runner-up effort in Ohio to Arkansas as she works to contend for a second 2024 victory, this time as an individual.

“I’m very excited to go back to Walmart,” Thitikul said. “I have really good memories there, but we can't expect anything from golf. I just want to stay on my game, do what I doing now. No matter what the result came out, I feel really good. Just be able to play golf is good enough for me right now.”

Jeeno Thitikul Finishes Runner-Up to “Role Model” Lydia Ko in Ohio

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