FRISCO, Texas — Double bogeys are just a part of the deal when it comes to playing major championship golf, as any athlete who’s had the privilege of competing in one can attest. But it doesn’t matter how you start, it’s all about how you finish, an old adage that Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul proved to be true on Thursday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East.

The 22-year-old Thailand native made four pars on the first four holes of round one in Frisco, Texas before posting a frustrating double bogey on the par-4 5th hole to drop to 2-over. It was an early mistake that could have set the tone for the rest of the five-time LPGA Tour winner’s round, one that could have thrown her off for the rest of day one of the year’s third major championship. But Thitikul isn’t like most athletes.

She steadied herself with a par on six before rattling off three consecutive birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes to get back to 1-under for the day and turn in 36. Thitikul then picked up a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12 to climb to 3-under and ultimately landed one last birdie on the par-3 17th hole to polish off a 4-under 68, a strong start to her fourth appearance in this major tournament and one that gave her an early lead in the Lone Star State.

“I think my putter went really well today,” said Thitikul, who recorded 25 putts on Thursday and whose 68 is her lowest opening-round score in this event. “On the front nine, we had a lot of breeze going and more than the back nine, but like had hole the putt 7, 8, 9, which boost the confidence up making the turn to the back nine.”

And when asked about her comfortability competing at this venue, Thitikul continued, “It really depends on the wind as well. If the wind is changing direction, it can play totally like a different golf course than we have been playing right now. But I think, to be honest, it wasn't that easy to being in like on the red scorecard every day. You had to be on the fairways and on the greens to have a really good chance to make a birdie.”

Thitikul has been one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour over the last 11 months, earning two victories at the CME Group Tour Championship and the Mizuho Americas Open as well as 11 top-10 finishes since August 2024. Ahead of the year’s third major championship, Thitikul was leading the Tour in most strokes gained total per round over the last three seasons, picking up 2.26 strokes on average on her competitors every time she has teed it up in a tournament round on the LPGA Tour, according to KPMG Performance Insights data.

And while the young talent has established herself as one of the organization’s premier athletes, proving time and again that she belongs among the world’s best players, the question has started to arise – when will Thitikul win a major?

So far this season, the 22-year-old hasn’t made a super strong case to indicate that she will be changing that any time soon, finishing T24 at The Chevron Championship and then missing her first cut since last July at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Erin Hills.

However, at least through the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Thitikul has proved that she still has plenty of fight left in her to pursue that major goal as wholeheartedly as ever with just 54 holes in this event and the entirety of both the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open remaining to try and pick up that elusive major title.

She’ll need to continue this upward trajectory over the next three days at PGA Frisco if she wants to contend for her second victory of the 2025 season over the weekend in the toasty Texas heat. But Thitikul is trying to keep her mindset in check and working hard to not get too far ahead of herself, knowing from her experiences over the last few years that success in these difficult events depends greatly on one’s ability to keep a cool head under pressure.

“All the majors that I have, I told myself, really be patient,” Thitikul said. “I definitely know that I’m going to miss a shot and I’m definitely going to go like bogey for sure in a day. But be patient. Don't be moody after that because all the courses, all the majors that we have can really mix up with our mind after missing putts or missing par. I really told myself be patient and focused on the next shot because majors you going to miss anyway. What a way to bounce back it's more important.”

Dallas Resident Jeeno Thitikul Battles to Thursday 68 After Early Double at KPMG Womens PGA Championship

Related Articles