Jeeno Thitikul outlasts Yin to win
Mizuho Americas Open for second title this year
[May 11, 2026]
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul fought off one
final challenge Sunday and pulled away with a pair of late birdies
for a 3-under 69 to win the Mizuho Americas Open by four shots over
Ruoning Yin, giving the Thai player her second LPGA Tour victory
this year.
Thitikul was staked to a two-shot lead at the start of the final
round. Yin managed to rally from four back to get within one shot.
The turning point came on the par-3 16th hole, a two-shot swing when
Yin fell behind with a bogey, and Thitikul made her first birdie on
the back nine. That made it a three-shot lead, and Thitikul added a
birdie on the final hole at Mountain Ridge.
She also won the Honda LPGA Thailand earlier this year, and Thitikul
now has nine career LPGA titles. This is her fourth season with
multiple wins since joining the LPGA in 2022.
“It means a lot to me,” said Thitikul, who stated that her game
hasn't felt right since returning from the Asian swing in March. “I
don’t feel great with my performance, with my game, at all. But had
a call with my coach earlier on the practice round and then went
everything out of my head, which is really helping. ... Sometimes
you don't try to fix things to be perfect.”
Yin shot a 69 to finish alone in second.
Celine Boutier, who played in the final group with Thitikul, had
three bogeys and no birdies on the front nine to fall out of the
chase. She shot 75 and tied for ninth.
Thitikul went into the year at No. 1 in the women's world ranking,
and then won early in Thailand. But the Thai and everyone else has
been left behind by Nelly Korda, who overwhelmed the field two weeks
in a row to win The Chevron Championship for her third major and
then in Mexico.
Korda did not play this week.
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Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand, center, is sprayed with champagne after
winning the Mizuho Americas Open golf tournament, Sunday, May 10,
2026, in West Caldwell, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Thitikul becomes the fourth player with at least
two wins this year, after a 2025 season in which it took until
October before there was a multiple winner. The others are Hannah
Green and Hyo Joo Kim, who went home this week and won a Korea LPGA
event.
“I think all the players, including me, just really
want to get better,” Thitikul said. “We've got a lot more talented
players, new faces, and then everyone could win the tournaments
which means the competition level, it's getting higher.
“I believe everyone just putting work in on the offseason to see the
good result.”
Thitikul got off to a quick start with a pair of early birdies. Yin,
one of her best friends on the LPGA, came charging back with four
straight birdies on the front nine to go out in 31. But Yin's birdie
on the par-5 eighth was the last one she made. Yin hit all 18 greens
in regulation and missed only one fairway, but with a pair of bogeys
on the back nine, she didn't get as much out of her round.
It was her fourth runner-up finish it just over a year.
“I just think something cool is going to happen. I just don’t know
when,” Yin said. “Yeah, I mean, if I can be in contention every week
like this week and like the Chevron week, I think it’s going to
happen soon.”
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