Underlining her status as world No.1, Jeeno delighted her faithful followers by capturing her eighth LPGA Tour title, banking a cheque for US$270,000 (B8.3 million) and becoming the third Thai to have her name etched on the coveted trophy, following Ariya Jutanugarn in 2021 and Patty Tavatanakit in 2024, reports the Bangkok Post.
Holding her nerve in the face of Iwai’s spirited charge, Jeeno posted a closing four-under-par 68. Her 72-hole total of 24-under 264 was one stroke ahead of Iwai, who swooped with two eagles in a bogey-free 66, exerting extreme pressure on Jeeno.
But it was Jeeno who prevailed, prompting an outpouring of joy at the Pattaya venue as she was drenched in water by her fellow-Thai players before being hugged by her mother.
Jeeno said: “For me, winning in my home country means a lot... more than a major feeling. I would rate it like A+++. My mom came up to me when I finished 18 and she cried a lot, and I told her: ‘I finally won the tournament in front of you’. She was really emotional – and that made me emotional, too.”
Victory for Jeeno, who celebrated her 23rd birthday on Friday, was the perfect denouement, too, for tournament sponsors, officials and, most of all, the thousands of members of the Jeeno Thitikul Fan Group who strode the fairways cheering her on throughout the week.
It was Jeeno’s third win in her last five LPGA Tour starts and will cement her position atop the Women’s Rolex Ranking. Following bogey-free rounds of 67 and 63, Jeeno swept to the top of the leaderboard with a 66 on Saturday. Despite Iwai’s best efforts, the Thai would not be displaced from the summit.
From the moment Iwai holed out for her second eagle of the day at the 10th to join Jeeno at 23-under it was a two-horse race with a four-stroke gap back to their nearest pursuers.
In what turned into an absorbing, match play-style contest on the back nine, the duo exchanged blows. Although the Japanese, playing in the penultimate flight directly in front of the Thai favourite, never managed to get in front, she was level with Jeeno for most of the way with both players spurning opportunities to move clear.
Ultimately, it was Jeeno who landed the decisive blow, holing a 10-footer for a birdie-three at the 17th to regain sole possession of top spot. There was a touch of good fortune with her second shot which appeared to be overhit. But her ball, seemingly defying gravity, stopped momentarily on a bank at the back of the green before gently rolling down the slope to set up a tournament-winning opportunity that she converted.
Over the four days, Jeeno had one eagle (at the seventh on day two), and 25 birdies against just three bogeys, two of which came in the final round, at the fourth and 13th, on both occasions failing to get up-and-down from greenside bunkers after miscalculated approach shots.
Kim Hyo-Joo, two shots off the pace in second place overnight, finished third on 266 with fellow-Korean Lee So-Mi, the half-way leader, a further shot back in fourth.
The round of the day came from Nanna Koerstz Madsen, who once more showed her liking for the Old Course layout. Winner here in 2022, the Dane finished in a blaze of glory with eagles at the 15th and 18th propelling her to an eight-under 28 on the back nine. With a 63 she soared into a share of fifth place with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko on 268.
England’s Lottie Woad carded a 64 and ended joint 15th on 273, while Korean Kim A-Lim and Thai Ariya Jutanugarn both signed for 65s to secure top-10 finishes.