At Chevron, World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul is facing 'the challenge of his career'

HOUSTON – Jeeno Thitikul hears a noise. World No. 1 know the questions are coming, and only one thing can make them disappear. Unfortunately, so far, that's one question Thitikul can't answer as she has climbed to the top of women's golf.

Thitikul has won a lot in his young career. She has won 21 majors, including eight on the LPGA and five on the Ladies European Tour. He won back-to-back CME Group Tour Championships, two Vare Trophies, and was named LPGA Player of the Year in 2025 while becoming one of only two players to win multiple titles.

But for all his talent and achievements, Thitikul has yet to climb the biggest mountain. Great glory eludes him. He has nine top-10s in his 27 major starts as a professional. He played 36 holes in the 2024 Chevron Championship but faded over the weekend as Nelly Korda went on to win. She watched Minjee Lee blow past her over the weekend at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA, then saw Grace Kim track her down and beat her in spectacular style at Evian.

Thitikul's big dreams have always been understood, but he has watched them slip through his fingers as if trying to catch smoke.

Last year, at the Chevron and KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Thitikul put aside the idea of ​​feeling pressure to win a major tournament – a move befitting her world-class talent.

“Everything big, I want to cut, to be honest,” Thitikul said, laughing, at the PGA Frisco last year. “It would be great to win it, and I can definitely say that it would be like everyone's wish to win a major medal. For me, what I have now under my belt, I'm very happy with everything I've achieved. If I can get it, it would be great, but if not, I'll have no regrets.”

In last year's Chevron, Thitikul, when the youth is invincible to him, said that he would be fine if he never won a major medal. That's an idea that stems from a humble upbringing in Ratchaburi, Thailand, a town not far from Bangkok that didn't have a golf course. Thitikul has always had a very positive outlook. He learned this sport from his grandfather and pursued it professionally to provide a better life for his family. Given his career earnings, he has done just that. Anything that follows is added. That is the gift of youth, to have only light in front of you and you have reached beyond what you thought.

“I can see that as a challenge,” said Thitikul last year trying to overcome the emergency. “As one challenge that we have to do, I don't say that there is pressure because I know that I am still young and there are many opportunities that will arise.

“I just answer for myself if I don't win anything big [until] I'm retiring, if I'm going to regret it or feel bad about it, and I can say I'm not. I think of all the things I did here on the trip, [if] I've done enough, then I give it 100 percent, and I just let it be natural. If I get it, I'll get it. If not, a lot of things to do, more than life, more than golf.”

Time and scars have a way of changing things.

No one is immune to the weight of great stress, and, as time goes on and the goal remains difficult, things can change.

After a summer in which he was outplayed by Lee in Frisco and failed to throw off Kim in Evian, Thitikul arrives at this year's Chevron Championship with an understanding of the stakes rising as his wireless drones continue to run longer. He still approaches her in the same way, but he understands that the weight will increase if he continues to lose weight. His accomplishments are undeniable, but the majors are different, no matter what you tell yourself.

“Every time I lose a lot, of course, people remember every week,” Thitikul said, laughing, Tuesday at Memorial Park in Houston. “Obviously, I think it's just a challenge for my career. I know what I have [under my] belt right now this time [age]. I think I accomplish a lot, but it's obvious [majors are] which I feel like the first time is always the hardest.

“And if I can prove to myself that I can do that, I think that's just—that's what golf is.”

Thitikul has already shown that he can overcome obstacles and bounce back from heartbreak – that he can endure pain and use it as fuel to climb.

Last season, after he birdied the 72nd hole to lose at the Kroger Championship, Thitikul, the world No. 1, went home to Dallas and cried a lot. He took a picture of his swollen face to remind him of the ups and downs of the life he chose. There will be highs, but it doesn't come without lows. A few weeks later, Thitikul overturned that loss by making history in Shanghai. After that victory, he showed a different side to himself. He showed the tears of an international talent on fire – who wants to win and make the most of a rare gift.

“I just finished [telling] me or whatever [happens] in amazing events, not only Cincinnati, but this year, I just told myself that I need to win it alone,” said Thitikul in Shanghai. “The winner is only one player and I have to win it alone, and then when it's my time, I'll want to be in that moment again and do it alone again. I'm not scared anymore.”

Jeeno Thitikul hopes to find himself in that position again this week. He'll tell you that putting yourself in contention, as he does, means it's only a matter of time before things go your way – before the golf gods rule over you and you prove you're made for the times you've always dreamed of.