New York (AFP) – World number two Jeeno Thitikul fired a three-under par 69 to hold off China’s Yin Ruoning and win her second consecutive LPGA Mizuho Americas Open title by four strokes on Sunday. The 23-year-old from Thailand made four birdies and a bogey to finish 72 holes on 13-under 275 at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
“It means the world. It means a lot to me,” Jeeno said. “I called my coach earlier in a practice round and everything went out of my head, which really helped.” Long-time Jeeno coach Kris Assawapimonporn’s advice was to not push so hard and let go of her worries. “Give the credit to him,” she said. “Sometimes you don’t try to fix things to be perfect. It helped me a lot to stay in my bubble, focus on what I can do. What I have to think about is my rhythm, what I can control.”
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Jeeno will try to capture her first major title at the US Women’s Open next month at Riviera. “It’s always my dream, not goal but dream, to win a major,” Jeeno said. “I don’t want to put anything on my shoulders right now. I’ll just play golf. Whether I win a major or not, I think I’ve done enough.”
Jeeno captured her ninth career LPGA title and second of the year after taking the LPGA Thailand title in February. That made her the fourth multi-time LPGA winner this season after top-ranked American Nelly Korda, South Korean Kim Hyo-joo and Australian Hannah Green.
Jeeno’s friend Yin, 23, fired a 69 to finish second on 279, one stroke ahead of Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Americans Alison Lee and Jenny Bae, who matched her low round of the year with a 66. Yin, also a runner-up at the Chevron Championship in her prior start, reached all 18 greens in regulation but missed a chance for her sixth LPGA crown and first since the 2024 Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.
“You need to leave yourself an uphill pull on these greens and I didn’t do that on the back nine,” Yin said. “My game is quite on spot. I just need to make less three putts.”
Jeeno seized command with birdies on the second and third holes while France’s Celine Boutier, second by two when the day began, made bogeys on three of the first six holes to fall back. Yin made a charge with a birdie at the second and four birdies in a row ending at the par-five eighth, but stumbled with a bogey at 11. Jeeno made bogey at the par-five 13th after a poor chip, shrinking her lead to one stroke, but Yin made bogey at the par-three 16th. Jeeno sank an eight-foot birdie putt at 16 and closed out the triumph with a long birdie putt at the 18th hole.
© 2024 AFP
