Jeeno Thitikul’s innovative idea won his Mizuho. Will it help him answer the big question?

Two weeks ago, Jeeno Thitikul arrived at the Chevron Championship and admitted that he was hearing all the noise about his inability to win a major title. The then-No. The world No. 1 player called it the “challenge” of his career to finally make it to the big events.

Two days later, Jeeno Thitikul missed the cut at Memorial Park as Nelly Korda went on to win her third medal and reclaim the top spot in the Rolex Rankings. Thitikul took a week off after his morning outing in Houston and returned to work this week to defend his title at the Mizuho Americas Open. Thitikul has always approached his work with a positive outlook, that of someone who learned the game at a driving range in Ratchaburi, Thailand, a town not far from Bangkok that has no lessons of its own. A person who has achieved more than he thought possible. Thitikul wants to win big, but he is also satisfied with everything he has achieved in this game. There is pressure to win big points because that is his dream, but not because he needs validation from others.

“I don’t think I have to show anything to like other players or people or myself, because like what I have, I have already proved it for a long time,” said Thitikul on Friday at Mountain Ridge Country Club. “
There is a time when golf seems easy to you. Then I have some time [where] Golf is very difficult for me, which is Chevron, it’s one of those weeks where I feel like, ‘What did I do?’ … I’m like, ‘What am I doing golfing right now?’ Then I got to this week, I didn’t expect anything, to be honest. ”

Thitikul won earlier in the season in Thailand but has struggled with his game since the LPGA returned to America in March. After an early exit from Chevron, Thitikul spoke to his coach about the problems with his swing, especially his swing, and they decided to attack his title defense at Mizuho with a new mindset.

Try a little.

“When you put in the work [in] and you don’t see the results, sometimes you are really disappointed,” said Thitikul earlier this week in Mizuho.” He said, ‘Maybe, don’t try.’ Then, if you don’t try, you probably don’t expect anything.”

That change of mind freed Thitikul this week in West Caldwell, New Jersey. The 23-year-old opened with rounds of 67 and 69 to take a three-shot lead for the weekend. Celine Boutier closed the gap to two after the third round, but Thitikul took the competition away on Sunday. He birdied the second and third holes while Boutier birdied three straight to drop out of contention. As Boutier faded, Ruoning Yin made five birdies on the front nine to get within one of Thitikul, but bogeys on 11 and 16 halted his championship run, and Thitikul emphasized his title defense with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish at 13 under and win by four.

Finally, a little effort got Jeeno Thitikul where he wanted to go.

“It helped me a lot,” Thitikul said of his new mindset after the win. “I just stayed in my room, I stayed in what I can do. [If] golf won’t be good, so golf won’t be good. My life doesn’t change. I think what I have to think about is what I can control.”

As is always the case with Thitikul, the headlines were quickly eaten up by questions about when his big breakthrough would come. With the US Women’s Open in Riviera just a month away, Thitikul’s mind and game are shaping up at the right time.

That’s what Jeeno Thitikul wants. But it’s not something the World No. 2 will emphasize on it. When his big win comes, it comes. If not, Jeeno Thitikul will be fine.

“Yes, that has always been a dream,” said Thitikul about winning the big award. “I would say it’s a dream, not a goal, to be able to win majors. But I don’t want to put anything on my shoulders. I just gave it all out. I’m playing golf.

“Whether I win the big one or not, I think I have enough.”