Chandni Canan BauerJeeno Thitikul arrived at the final round of the LOTTE Championship with a three-shot lead. Four-under later, she departed with precisely the same margin and rather more luggage for the trophy cabinet.
There was no Sunday collapse, no frantic recovery act and no need for arithmetic gymnastics down the stretch. Thitikul finished at 21-under, three clear of Ina Yoon, to claim her fourth LPGA Tour victory of 2026 and the 11th of her career.
It was another week in which the 2026 version of Thitikul looked alarmingly complete. She recorded four rounds in the 60s for the fourth time this season and has won three times when doing so. More revealingly, she led the field in greens in regulation, missing only seven all week, while ranking second in driving distance at an average of 284.4 yards.
Power is useful. Power combined with almost permanent residence on the putting surfaces tends to make life considerably less pleasant for everybody else.
Thitikul Makes the Lead Stick
Three-shot overnight advantages are comfortable only to people who have never had to defend one.
Thitikul handled hers with a final-round 68, maintaining the cushion she had carried to the first tee and denying Yoon the sort of opening that can turn a routine Sunday into something involving sweaty palms and hurried conversations with caddies.
The victory made Thitikul the first Thai player since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 to win at least four LPGA Tour events in a single season. Jutanugarn won five that year.
Thitikul now has 11 career LPGA Tour victories, leaving her one behind Jutanugarn, the winningest Thai player in Tour history.
For a player ranked No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings and already owner of consecutive CME Group Tour Championship victories in 2024 and 2025, this was less an arrival than another addition to an increasingly serious body of work.
The $20 Million Mark Comes With a Catch
The $450,000 winner’s cheque pushed Thitikul’s official career earnings to $20,210,011, making her the sixth player in LPGA Tour history to pass $20 million.
It also moved her past Karrie Webb and into fourth on the all-time career money list, behind only Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Annika Sorenstam.
Thitikul greeted the milestone with appropriate financial realism.
Through laughter she said, “That’s mean I need to pay more tax.”
Later, she placed the number in its proper golfing context. The money, she suggested, has followed the work rather than driven it.
“Obviously I think that just come behind what we doing.”
It is difficult to argue with the evidence. Her 2026 season now contains four victories — the Honda LPGA Thailand, Mizuho Americas Open, Standard Portland Classic and LOTTE Championship — alongside a collection of further top-10 finishes.
Her official season earnings stand at $2,840,611.
Yoon Keeps Applying Pressure
Ina Yoon could not reel Thitikul in, but an 18-under total produced her second runner-up finish of the season after another second place at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Yoon led the field with 26 birdies and matched the lowest 72-hole score of her career at 270, a total she had previously recorded at the 2026 Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.
It was also only the second time in her career that she had put together four rounds in the 60s.
For Yoon, there was encouragement beyond the scorecard. The result was her sixth top 10 of the season and her first since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
She also sounded considerably more comfortable with the expectations that accompanied her earlier career.
“Yeah, I think I learn a lot from last year because, you know, I really wanted to play well, like everyone does. I think I felt a lot of pressure that I need to play well, and I kind of drop it down since beginning of this year. I think that helped a lot.”
Yamashita’s Run Continues
Miyu Yamashita finished alone in third at 17-under after another week that extended one of the strongest stretches in the field.
Her 271 total tied the fifth-lowest 72-hole score of her career, while the result marked a sixth top-10 finish from her last seven starts. Four of those have been top-five finishes, including a victory.
Yamashita also finished second in the field with 25 birdies and equalled her career high of 12 top-10 finishes in a season.
It was enough scoring to win plenty of tournaments. This week, however, it ran into a player who missed seven greens in four days.
A Fourth Win, With More Still in View
Thitikul’s second appearance at the LOTTE Championship improved rather dramatically on the tied-sixth finish she recorded in 2022.
She has now made 15 cuts in 17 starts this season, with four victories, and her latest success places another significant marker on a career already decorated with a Rolex Player of the Year award, two Vare Trophies and a Rookie of the Year title.
The numbers are starting to pile up rather quickly: 11 LPGA Tour wins, more than $20 million in official career earnings and four titles this season.
The most uncomfortable number for the rest of the LPGA Tour may be seven.
That is how many greens Jeeno Thitikul missed all week.
