The LPGA Player of the Year race maybe has a new candidate. Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu each have two majors in 2026 and it's likely to be decided between those two, but perhaps Jeeno Thitikul has at least joined the conversation.
Thitikul won her fourth LPGA event of the season Sunday, tying Nelly Korda for the most on tour in 2026, after winning the 2026 Lotte Championship in Oahu, the final American venue to host on the circuit until the tour retuns to Florida in about six weeks.
Thitikul built a a three-shot lead heading into Sunday's final round was cruising along until trouble hit late with a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 16th, knotting things up with Ina Yoon at 19 under. Thitikul then responded with a birdie at 17, while Yoon took bogey there,
and suddenly it was back to a two-shot lead heading to the 18th hole.
From there, Thitikul closed it out with one last birdie on the par-5 closing hole to win it at 21 under, three shots clear of the field. Yoon was solo second at 18 under, with Miyu Yamashita solo third at 17 under and Auston Kim solo fourth at 16 under.
Thitikul's win was good for $450,000 and elevated her past the $20 million mark in her career at just 23 years old. She now has 11 LPGA wins and 65 top 10s in 101 starts.
The LPGA next heads off to a five-tournament Asian swing starting with the Buick LPGA Shanghai, where Thitikul is the defending champion. The field for that event is yet to be finalized.
Most wins on LPGA in 2026
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jeeno Thitikul wins Lotte Championship in Hawaii to earn her fourth LPGA title in 2026
