Jeeno Thitikul: Everything you need to know about Thailand’s world No. 1 golf star and her career highlights

Jeeno Thitikul first made international headlines in July 2017, when the Thai amateur won the Ladies European Thailand Championship at just 14 years, four months and 19 days old.

Nearly nine years on, Thitikul is no longer simply a golf prodigy. Born Atthaya Thitikul and known universally as Jeeno, she is now the women’s world No. 1, an eight-time LPGA Tour winner, and one of the most complete players in the game.

Still only 23, Thitikul already owns some of the biggest titles and prizes in women’s golf, while the pursuit of a first major continues to shape the next phase of her career.

So, just who is Jeeno Thitikul, Thailand’s golf star and one of the defining players of her generation? Olympics.com takes a closer look.

An early introduction to golf

Thitikul’s journey in the sport began at the age of six, when her father encouraged her to take up an activity and offered her a choice between tennis and golf. Although her family did not come from a golfing background, she was drawn to the sport and soon began developing the game that would later take her onto the international stage.

Her talent became clear at a young age. Still only 14, she introduced herself to a wider audience in 2017 by winning the Ladies European Thailand Championship in Pattaya, becoming one of the youngest winners of a professional golf tournament in history.

From amateur champion to LPGA winner

Thitikul followed her 2017 breakthrough by winning the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Singapore in 2018. Later that year, she also claimed mixed team gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, providing further evidence of how quickly her career was gathering momentum.

Her next major step came in 2021, during her first full season on the Ladies European Tour. Thitikul won the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open and the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, then sealed both the Race to Costa del Sol title and Rookie of the Year honours.

That form earned her LPGA Tour membership for 2022, and she made an immediate impact. In her rookie season, Thitikul won the JTBC Classic and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, recorded 16 top-10 finishes, and was named the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year.

By then, the teenage prodigy label would no longer really fit. Thitikul had already shown she could win as an amateur and adapt quickly to the highest level of competition.

She kept that momentum going in 2025, winning the Mizuho Americas Open, Buick LPGA Shanghai, and the CME Group Tour Championship. She ended the season with 14 top-10 finishes in 20 events and earned both the Player of the Year award and her second Vare Trophy.

By March 2026, she had climbed to women’s world No. 1. Just a month earlier, she won the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club, finishing at 24-under-par to secure her eighth LPGA Tour title and her first LPGA win on home soil.

The milestone still missing

For all of Thitikul’s success, one thing is still missing from her résumé: a major championship.

She has been close several times. Her strongest results in majors include a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Women’s PGA Championship, a tie for fourth at the 2023 Chevron Championship, a tie for sixth at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open, and a runner-up finish at the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship, where she was beaten by Grace Kim in a play-off.

Thitikul is already regarded as one of the most complete players in women’s golf, and her consistency makes her a contender almost every time she tees it up.

And if her career so far is any indication, it seems less a question of if Thitikul will win a major but when.

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