Atthaya Thitikul

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Atthaya Thitikul
อาฒยา ฐิติกุล
Jeenophoenix.jpg
Thitikul in 2018
Personal information
NicknameJeen / Jeeno
Born (2003-02-20) 20 February 2003 (age 18)
Ratchaburi, Thailand
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Sporting nationality Thailand
ResidenceRatchaburi, Thailand
Career
Turned professional2020
Current tour(s)Ladies European Tour (joined 2020)
LPGA Tour (joined 2022)
Professional wins10
Number of wins by tour
Ladies European Tour4
Other6
Best results in LPGA major championships
ANA InspirationT30: 2018
Women's PGA C'shipDNP
U.S. Women's OpenDNP
Women's British OpenT29: 2019
Evian Championship5th: 2021
Achievements and awards
Ladies European Tour
Player of the Year		2021
Ladies European Tour
Order of Merit		2021
Ladies European Tour
Rookie of the Year		2021
Thai LPGA Tour Order of Merit2020
Medal record
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Buenos Aires Mixed team
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Individual
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Philippines Women's team

Atthaya Thitikul (Thai: อาฒยา ฐิติกุล, RTGS: Atthaya Thitikun, pronounced [ʔàːt.tʰā.jāː tʰì(ʔ).tì(ʔ).kūn]; born 20 February 2003) is a Thai professional golfer. She has become the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf tournament aged 14 years, 4 months and 19 days after winning the Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur on 9 July 2017.[1] She was the number one ranked women's amateur golfer in the world for a total of 12 weeks, rising to the top on two occasions, the first time on 26 June 2019.

By age 18 in 2021, Thitikul had four wins on the professional Ladies European Tour.

Early life[]

Thitikul was born on 20 February 2003 in Ban Pong, Ratchaburi to Montree Thitikul and Siriwan.[2][3] She first started playing golf at the age of 6 years old.[1] She graduated from Sarasas Witaed Nakhonpathom School, a high school in Nakhon Pathom.[4][5] She is popularly known by her nickname "Jeen", or "Jeeno".[6][7]

Amateur career[]

2017[]

On 23 February, 3 days after her 14th birthday, Thitikul made her first appearance at the Honda LPGA Thailand on the LPGA Tour, where she finished 37th out of the 66 competitors.[8][9] She had earned her place in the field when she finished runner-up in the Thailand Amateur Open the previous August when she was just 13 years and 6 months old. After competing in the LPGA event, she won the Taiwan Amateur Open in June.[10]

Her emergence onto the international golf scene came with her victory at Ladies European Thailand Championship on the Ladies European Tour as an amateur on 9 July.[1][11] This win made her became the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event at age 14 years, 4 months and 19 days old. The previous record belonged to Canadian Brooke Henderson who won the 2012 Canadian Women's Tour aged 14 years, 9 months, and 3 days. Her amateur status meant that she could not claim the first prize of 45,000 euros for winning but it gave her the entries into both the Women's British Open and the Evian Championship in France.[12][13] She missed the cut at the British Open by a shot but made the cut at the Evian Championship, playing the final two rounds and finishing in 64th place.[14]

Thitikul also competed at the Junior Dutch Open in July. In the final round, she carded a course-record 8-under-par round to win the tournament by eight clear shots.[15] In August, she won an individual gold medal and was part of the Thailand team that won another gold in the team event at the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.[16][17]

2018[]

In February, Thitikul competed in the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Singapore, just as she turned 15. She was part of a four-way tie in the final round but went onto to win the title.[18] Her victory earned her a place in the HSBC Women's Champions on the same course, plus entries into the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills, California and for a place in the British Open, for a second year running.

At the HSBC event, she was the joint youngest starter of the championship at 15 years and 9 months, the exact same age at which Singapore's Amanda Tan competed in 2014. She carded a bogey-free final round of six-under par 66 to finish tied for eighth.[19][20] At the ANA Inspiration in March, she finished in a tie for 30th place and earned low amateur honours.[21][22]

In August, she was the only amateur to make the cut at the Woman's British Open and won the Smyth Salver, low amateur award.[23] On 15 September, she broke the course record at World Junior Girls Championship on Camelot Golf and Country Club in Ottawa, with a score of 12-under-par 60, in the final round to win a title by 2 strokes.[24]

Thitikul (third from right) in the victory ceremony at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics

At the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Thitikul teamed with to win the mixed team gold medal for Thailand.[25]

2019[]

On 24 June, Thitikul won the Ladies European Thailand Championship for the second time in three years. She finished with a five-under-par 67 to win by five shots from Esther Henseleit.[26][27] Following her win, Thitikul was ranked 1st in the world on the women's World Amateur Golf Ranking on 26 June and then again from October 2019 until January 2020 before turning professional.[28] In August, she won the back-to-back Smyth Salver, low amateur honour, at the Women's British Open after finishing in a tie for 29th place at Woburn.[29] In December, she represented Thailand at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. She won a bronze medal in the women's team event.[30]

Professional career[]

2020[]

Thitikul turned professional in January 2020 and played several events in Australia, including the Women’s NSW Open in which she finished fourth.[31][32] After the COVID-19 break, She broke through for her first professional win in July at the Thai LPGA Tour's 3rd Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship.[33] She finished the season with 5 Thai LPGA wins and was on the top of the money list.[34][35]

2021[]

In May, Thitikul received a sponsor's exemption to play in the Honda LPGA Thailand on the LPGA Tour, in which she finished second, one stroke behind Ariya Jutanugarn.[36][37] Later, she began playing on the Ladies European Tour.

On 27 June, Thitikul claimed her third Ladies European Tour title, her first as a professional, at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open.[38] This win made her eligible to play in European major tournaments, the Evian Championship and the British Open in 2021. On 12 July, she moved into the top 100 on the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time with a rank of 89, after finishing second at the Aramco Team Series – London losing to Marianne Skarpnord in a playoff.[39]

On 25 July, Thitikul recorded her best-ever finish at a major championship with fifth place at the 2021 Evian Championship, having a score of 14-under par 270, and boosting her world ranking to its highest ever position of 61st place.[40] On 15 August, she achieved her seventh consecutive top-five place on a Ladies European Tour event by finishing tied for second in the Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links.[41] Following the event, her world golf ranking moved to 35th place.[42]

On 11 September, Thitikul secured her fourth Ladies European Tour title, her second of the season, at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open. She overcame a four-shot deficit after 36 holes to win by one stroke over Marianne Skarpnord.[43][44] As a result, her world ranking rose to 28th place, her highest ever.[45]

In December, Thitikul earned her card for the 2022 LPGA Tour through qualifying school.[46]

Amateur wins[]

  • 2016 Singapore Junior Golf Championship qualifier, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #6, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #1, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #3, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #4, Singha Thailand Junior World Golf Championship qualifier, Singha Thailand Junior World Championships
  • 2017 Taiwan Amateur Championship, Dutch International Junior Open, Southeast Asian Games (women's individual), Santi Cup, Pondok Indah International Junior Championship
  • 2018 National Team Ranking #2, Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific, National Team Ranking #4, Queen Sirikit Cup, National Team Ranking #5, World Junior Girls Championship
  • 2019 National Team Ranking #4, Thailand Ladies Amateur Open, National Team Ranking #5, World Junior Girls Championship

Source:[47]

Professional wins (10)[]

Ladies European Tour wins (4)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up Winner's
share (€)
1 9 Jul 2017 Ladies European Thailand Championship[1] 70-71-70-72=283 −5 2 strokes Mexico –
2 23 Jul 2019 Ladies European Thailand Championship (2)[1] 69-67-63-67=266 −22 5 strokes Germany Esther Henseleit –
3 27 Jun 2021 Tipsport Czech Ladies Open 68-68-65=201 −15 1 stroke Spain Nuria Iturrioz 30,000
4 11 Sep 2021 VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open 68-66-66=200 −16 1 stroke Norway Marianne Skarpnord 30,000

1 Thitikul won the event as an amateur.

Ladies European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2021 Aramco Team Series – London Norway Marianne Skarpnord Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Thai LPGA Tour wins (5)[]

Other wins (1)[]

  • 2021 (1) Phoenix Ladies Classic[50]

Results in LPGA majors[]

Results not in chronological order before 2019 or in 2020.

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
ANA Inspiration T30LA
U.S. Women's Open
Women's PGA Championship
The Evian Championship T64 NT 5
Women's British Open CUT T64LA T29LA T48
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary[]

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
ANA Inspiration 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
U.S. Women's Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Women's PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The Evian Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2
Women's British Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
Totals 0 0 0 1 1 1 7 6
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2017 Evian – 2021 British, current)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (2021 Evian)

Ladies European Tour career summary[]

Year Tournaments
played		 Cuts
made		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish		 Earnings
(€)		 Money
list rank		 Scoring
average		 Scoring
rank
2017 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 – n/a 71.78 n/a
2018 1 1 0 0 0 0 T64 – n/a 75.00 n/a
2019 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 – n/a 68.75 n/a
2020 1 1 0 0 0 1 T4 8,505.00 95 69.50 n/a1
2021 17 17 2 2 2 14 1 602,042.02 2 69.58 2

1 Insufficient rounds played to rank as Thitikul played in only one LET event in 2020
• Official as of 2021 season[51]

World ranking[]

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year World

ranking

Source
2017 352 [52]
2018 245 [53]
2019 229 [54]
2020 275 [55]
2021 18 [56]
2022 20 ^ [57]

^ As of 24 January 2022

Team appearances[]

References[]

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External links[]

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