Jeeno Thitikul’s surprising major goal might be superpower at Women’s PGA

FRISCO, Texas — At only 22 years old, Atthaya “Jeeno” Thitikul has accomplished a lot in the game. The world No. 2 has five career wins, 47 top-10s and $11 million in winnings. In 2022, the then-19-year-old joined Lydia Ko as the only teenagers to reach world No. 1 status.

But now she faces the question all young golfers confront as they ascend:

When is a major breakthrough coming?

Thitikul has seven top-10 finishes in major championships in her career. She has flashed but has yet to deliver on the biggest stages and hasn’t found herself in the mix since last year’s Chevron Championship, where she grabbed the lead on Saturday only to finish 72-76 and plummet out of contention. She hasn’t carded a top-10 finish in her last five major starts. That run has included missed cuts at the 2024 Evian and this year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.

Majors define careers. Their weight, especially for those who have yet to crest the mountain, can be crippling. The longer a major win takes, the heavier the burden.

But Thitikul doesn’t appear to be carrying that stress this week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, thanks to a rare perspective.

“Every major, I just want to make the cut, to be honest,” Thitikul said Tuesday. “It would be really great to win it, and definitely I can tell that it would be like everyone dreams to win a major. To me, what I have now under my belt, I’m pretty happy with all I’ve achieved. If I can get it, it would be great, but if not, I don’t have anything to regret.”

Earlier this year at the Chevron, Thitikul pointed to her age and early stage in her career as reasons she hadn’t yet felt the major championship heat.

“I would see that as a challenging thing,” Thitikul said. “Like, one challenge to do. I’m not saying it’s stressful because I know I’m still young and a lot of opportunity will come forward.

“I just answer myself if I’m not winning any major [until] I retire, if I’m going to be regret or I’m going to be sad about that, and I would say I’m not. I’m thinking all the things that I have been doing out here on the tour, [if] I have done enough, and then I give it all 100 percent, and I just let it be more natural. If I get it, I’ll get it. If not, it’s just more things to do, more than life, more than golf.”

That viewpoint is the product of a journey that saw Thitikul hone her skills on the driving range in Ratchaburi, Thailand, a small town not far from Bangkok that doesn’t have its own course. Thitikul’s grandfather introduced her to golf, and her goal as she has climbed the sport’s ladder has been to provide her family with a good life. Given her career earnings to this point, Thitikul believes she has done that and that financial security also helps her approach majors without focusing on the monetary aspect.

“It definitely helps a lot to not really think about [making cuts],” Thitikul said at the Chevron about her career earnings. “Maybe some people [are] still thinking about the money, what they [are] going to make on the tournaments. But I’m not really thinking about making money.”

But it’s also the gift of youth.

Thitikul is still unburdened by the experience that comes with age. There is no fear, no worry, because everything is still in front of her. The sand has barely begun to feed through the hourglass. When there is only light in front of you, you don’t need to fear the setting sun.

But whether or not Thitikul feels the pressure of grand expectations, those will continue to be placed upon her. That’s the price of world-beating talent.

Thitikul will step on the tee box Thursday, alongside two superstars in Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko, armed with her unique perspective and the fearlessness of youth shielding her from the major pressure being thrust at her. Perhaps come Sunday at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, that freedom will result in major-championship glory.