Jeeno Thitikul, the world’s top-ranked female golfer from Thailand, is eager to claim her first major title as the LPGA Chevron Championship begins this Thursday in Houston.
Set against the backdrop of Memorial Park, this tournament marks the start of the women’s major season, offering a fresh challenge to the best players in the world. Jeeno comes off a recent victory in Thailand, her eighth win on the LPGA tour, but intentionally skipped last week's event in Los Angeles to refine her game.
"That one thought of swing it was -- I don't have it," said Jeeno. "That's why I can't control my ball as much as possible. It just lost the feelings. You don't know where the ball is going to go."
Jeeno, 23, has experienced several near-misses in major tournaments, achieving nine top-10 finishes without a victory across all five major championships. Her best result came last year when she finished as a runner-up at the Evian Championship.
"You want to be in contention," she said. "If you were in contention every week, you saw your name on the top in every week, which means your game was there and just a matter of time."
Despite her impressive results, Jeeno acknowledges the pressure of competing for a major title. "Every time I lost in a major for sure people reminding every week," she noted. "It's just another challenge of my career. At this age I think I accomplish a lot, but obviously, major is the one I feel like first time always the hardest."
"I feel like I'm still somewhat on Cloud Nine," Green said. "I definitely have a lot of confidence in my game. It has been a really crazy I guess last five, six events that I've played."
Green is in pursuit of her second major title, having previously won the Women's PGA Championship in 2019. She understands the importance of maintaining her focus as she navigates the challenges of back-to-back victories.
"Before last week I was probably thinking, 'OK, top-10 will be really good.' Now I'm more hungry to continue the success that I've had so far," she mentioned. "I want to win. Obviously I do. But I feel like it's also a really hard task to win back-to-back weeks."
Competing directly against Jeeno and Green will be many top-ranked players, including second-ranked Nelly Korda, who lifted the Chevron trophy last year. Furthermore, Charley Hull from England boasts ten top-10 finishes in majors without a win, and is anticipated to be a strong contender as well.
"I've been working very hard on my game so just looking forward to it," said Hull, reflecting on her preparation.
The defending champion, Japan's Mao Saigo, ranked 14th, has struggled this year, failing to reach the top 20 in her five appearances thus far.
As the LPGA Chevron Championship unfolds, all eyes will be on Jeeno Thitikul as she aims for that elusive first major title amidst a field of formidable competitors.