Staff WriterIf you wanted drama, noise and a touch of nationalistic hysteria, the Honda LPGA Thailand delivered all three – and then some – as Jeeno Thitikul turned Siam Country Club into her own front garden and promptly shot 66 to take a two-shot lead into the final round.
The world No. 1 closed with three straight birdies, the local fans lost structural integrity, and suddenly Sunday in Chonburi looks less like a golf tournament and more like a coronation with a queue.
Queen Jeeno and the Roar of Home
Thitikul’s 6-under-par 66 was the sort of round that looks routine on the scorecard and anything but in real life. Seven birdies, one lonely bogey, and that furious late charge on 16, 17 and 18 gave her a 54-hole total of -20 and a narrow cushion over a world-class chase pack that refuses to go away quietly.
The numbers under the hood were as tidy as her swing: 11 of 14 fairways found, 14 of 18 greens in regulation, and 27 putts that mostly behaved themselves. On a course that can turn nasty when you get out of position, Jeeno looked as if she’d been given the pin sheet with the answers already circled.
And if the golf wasn’t enough, there’s the emotional weight of trying to win the only LPGA event in her home country with her family watching.
“I think it’s mean a lot, especially my family. My mom wouldn’t come for the whole year. This is only like event that she going to came out and watch me play, so it’s mean a lot to me. You know, like my mom is not really coming out, so playing in front of her and then I think if she saw so many people cheering for me and grabbing for me she would be so proud.”
This is Thitikul’s eighth appearance at the Honda LPGA Thailand, dating back to her days as a teenage amateur and sponsor invite in 2017 and 2019. She’s now the Rolex Rankings No. 1, a seven-time LPGA Tour winner, and coming off a monstrous 2025 season in which she won three times, set the single-season earnings record with $7.5 million, and posted the lowest scoring average in LPGA history at 68.68.
In other words, this isn’t a fair fight. It’s Jeeno with home-crowd superpowers.
Hyo Joo Kim: The Hunter at -18
Of course, golf has a way of ignoring storylines, and Hyo Joo Kim is doing her best to turn the script into confetti. The Korean star went seven-under on Saturday, firing her second consecutive 65 with nine birdies and two bogeys, and she’s only two back at -18.
Kim has basically put a forcefield around the fairways this week, hitting 40 of 42 off the tee so far, including a perfect 14 of 14 in round three. She added 15 of 18 greens and 27 putts to complete the kind of clinical card that makes swing coaches weep with joy and opponents quietly swear in their courtesy cars.
This is her 10th start at the Honda LPGA Thailand, with a previous best of T5 in 2024. Now she’s staring at a very real chance to leave with the trophy – and she seems to enjoy the role of the chaser.
“I think being in first is actually probably the best. I’m in a position where I have to chase, but I think being in that position I can be more aggressive within my play. I had some mistakes that I made today so tomorrow I just want to be more aggressive and hopefully finish first.”
Aggressive Hyo Joo Kim sounds like bad news for anyone hoping for a Sunday stroll.
The -17 Gang: Corpuz, Iwai and Lee
Three players sit one shot further back at -17, a trio with wildly different styles but the same inconvenient habit of not going away. Allisen Corpuz, Chizzy (Akie) Iwai and Somi Lee are parked at 199 after 54 holes, one solid round away from hijacking the Honda LPGA Thailand script entirely.
Allisen Corpuz: Quiet Assassin
Corpuz has been the metronome of the week, carding her third consecutive sub-68 round with a 67 on Saturday. She sprinkled in seven birdies against two bogeys, including a sparkling run of four in a row from 12 to 15. She even drove the green at the par-4 15th and lazily two-putted for birdie, like someone dropping a mic and walking off stage.
Her stats read like a ball-striker’s résumé: 12 of 14 fairways, 15 of 18 greens, 29 putts, and a tie of her career 54-hole scoring record. This is her fourth appearance at this tournament, with a best finish of T7 in 2025, and she’s chasing her first LPGA title that doesn’t involve the word “major.”
“Yeah, really just been hitting the ball well. I have had a lot of really good birdie looks every day, and been able to convert them. Drove the green on 15 today and had a two putt birdie there, and I think just the more I come back to this course year after year I just kind of learn it a little better and learn where your birdie opportunities are.”
If she keeps seeing those opportunities on Sunday, Jeeno might need every decibel the Thai fans can muster.
Chizzy Iwai: Bogey-Free and Bothering Everyone
Iwai quietly signed for a four-under 68 that could easily be described as ‘boring’ if boring meant “relentlessly efficient”. No bogeys, four birdies, 9 of 14 fairways, 12 of 18 greens and a very smug 26 putts.
She’s already etched her name into the tournament record book with a 61 in last year’s final round, a mark now shared with Somi Lee, and if she finds anything close to that gear again, the leaders will hear footsteps very quickly.
Somi Lee: Records, Nerves and an “Easeful Mind”
Lee endured a more turbulent day, posting an even-par 72 with four birdies and four bogeys, hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens while taking 29 putts. It was enough to keep her at -17 and, more importantly, lock in her career-low 54-hole scoring mark by a stroke.
She already owns two of the Honda LPGA Thailand record lines:
- 18 holes: 61 (R2, 2026, tied with Akie Iwai’s 61 from 2025)
- 36 holes: 127 (R2, 2026)
Not bad for someone who insists her shots aren’t quite doing as they’re told.
“My shots didn’t go as expected to today so I will be practicing and hoping to find my rhythm going into tomorrow. Honestly, compared to my shots earlier in the year it’s gotten better, so I’m going to try to go in with like an easeful mind tomorrow.”
If that’s her with an imperfect rhythm, the field may want to stop asking questions.
Defending Champ and a Rising Thai Star
Defending champion Angel Yin isn’t in the thick of it this time, but she did at least remind everyone why her name sits beside the 72-hole scoring record here (260 in 2025). A third-round 69 featuring four bogeys, five birdies and an eagle moved her to T52. It’s the sort of line that says, “Yes, I still have the firepower – I just left the map in my locker.”
Further down the board, Thai amateur and sponsor invite Prim Prachnakorn is sitting at T66, but her week is about much more than the number next to her name. Already committed to play collegiate golf at the University of Oregon, she’s learning on the fly in one of the LPGA’s noisiest pressure cookers. If she can climb into the top 40 by Sunday night, she’ll earn a LEAP point – a small acronym, but a big step on the path to the big leagues.
What a Win Would Mean for Jeeno
Should Jeeno Thitikul survive the final-round onslaught and complete the job at the Honda LPGA Thailand, the record books will need more ink:
- It would be her eighth career LPGA victory and first of the 2026 season.
- It would be her first win at the Honda LPGA Thailand, the only LPGA event played in her home country.
- It would mark the fewest starts before a win in any of her seasons so far – just her second start of 2026.
- Her career official earnings would jump past $17.5 million.
- Her 2026 season earnings would cruise past $300,000.
- It would be her third consecutive season with at least one win.
- She’d become the third Thai champion of this event, joining Patty Tavatanakit (2024) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2021).
For a player who first earned LPGA membership by finishing third at the 2022 LPGA Q-Series and then proceeded to break the speed record from $8 million to $13 million in career earnings, this would feel less like a breakout and more like the natural next chapter.
The Leader by the Numbers
A snapshot of the woman everyone is trying to catch:
- 2026 Race to CME Globe Rank: 7
- 2026 LPGA Tour Wins: 0 (for now)
- 2026 LPGA Top 10s: 1
- 2026 Official Season Earnings: $65,000
- Career LPGA Tour Wins: 7
- Career LPGA Tour Top 10s: 56
- Career Official Money: $17.4 million
Give her 18 more holes like the last three, and those lines will need updating.
Sunday at Honda LPGA Thailand: Nerves, Noise and No Guarantees
So here we are: Jeeno by two at -20, Kim snarling at -18, Corpuz, Iwai and Lee loitering ominously at -17, and a golf course that’s already surrendered scoring records like confetti. The 54-hole marks of 195 held by Angel Yin (2025) and Nanna Koerstz Madsen (2022) remain the tournament standard, and the 72-hole record of 260 by Yin is suddenly in play if someone catches fire on Sunday.
What we know for sure is this:
- The Honda LPGA Thailand has its dream scenario – the world No. 1 leading in front of a home crowd that’s one birdie away from spontaneous combustion.
- The chasers are not here to admire the view.
- And somewhere in the gallery, Jeeno Thitikul’s mum is watching the whole circus unfold, wondering how on earth this became the only event she travels to – and how her daughter looks so calm with the weight of a nation riding shotgun.
Whatever happens in the final round, it won’t be quiet. And it certainly won’t be boring.
