Jeeno Thitikul has been the definition of consistency over her last five starts on the LPGA Tour, and the three-time winner – so far – in 2026 is back in some familiar territory after the opening round of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei.

Thitikul, who has already won The Standard Portland Classic, Mizuho Americas Open and Honda LPGA Thailand this season, shot a 5-under 67 to open her week at Hoakalei Country Club. She was just two shots back of A Lim Kim, who led after the morning wave with a 7-under 65.

Thitikul had a clean card Thursday, with three birdies on her first nine – she started on the back nine – before adding two more after making the turn, with back-to-back circles on her scorecard on Nos. 18 and 1.

Thitikul hit 11 of 14 fairways and missed just two greens in regulation.

"I've been trying to, like I said, be aggressive as possible and then kind of like, 'let it go' out there on the course," Thitikul said.

Thitikul said she knows that sometimes you're going to hit a good shot and sometimes you're going to hit a bad shot, but she's been a lot more committed to her alignment and being happy with her approaches – as long as they start on line.

She said, off the tee, the fairways were feeling awfully big – especially given how wet it was. The first round in Hawaii saw a short weather delay with a deluge of rain blowing through quickly.

"I think if you can go like, really aggressive to the pin it should be (the plan). I feel like with the rain kind of, you know, dropping down, the (greens got slower) and not really firm. I think if you can be able to be aggressive as possible (you should be)," Thitikul said.

Thitikul, who sits second in the Rolex Rankings and fourth in the Race to CME Globe, said her game came around a tidy corner through the end of the summer. With the Solheim Cup installed on the schedule, Thitikul hasn't played since the FM Championship but showed no signs of rust Thursday in Hawaii.

"I think I do have a better game than (how) I started (this season). I feel like a lot has been going well the last couple of months," Thitikul said earlier this week. "You know, golf you always have room for improvement, and it's never been perfect every time. Every second of golf never ever been perfect anyway.

"It was great to have a break after Boston. Have a month off before here, which is nice. I kind of like really doing like a work-life balance. Like not really hitting balls the first couple weeks."

Thitikul said with a smile that while it was nice to be away, as an athlete you get "addicted" to golf.

"When I had like a week off, I was like, 'I feel guilty and bad that I'm not like practicing.' Which is not good, because like you need to break, you know, sometime. Like mentally, physically break from it," she said.

Thitikul had a trip to Austria with her coach and his wife and her friends. Fun was had before she began putting in work again as she prepared to compete.

Thitikul has been a statistical darling so far this season, sitting fifth in strokes gained: total, second in greens in regulation and first in ball striking. One more victory would tie her with Nelly Korda for the most so far in 2026.

There are still three rounds left in Hawaii, but it's no surprise to see Thitikul near the top of the leaderboard, again, on the LPGA Tour.

Jeeno Thitikul Back in the Mix After Round One in Hawaii

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