Chandni Canan BauerThe Standard Portland Classic belonged to Thailand by Sunday evening, although Jeeno Thitikul still had to wrestle it away from two compatriots who had no intention of being decorative.
The 23-year-old closed with an eight-under 64 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club to reach 22-under 266, one shot ahead of Chanettee Wannasaen and Arpichaya Yubol.
Five straight birdies early did most of the damage; a birdie at the 17th supplied the final nudge. It was Thitikul’s third LPGA Tour victory of 2026 and the 10th of her career.
Two shots back, with the wrong player behind you
Yubol had set the pace at halfway, reaching 12 under after consecutive 66s. By Saturday night she and Sophia Schubert shared the lead at 16 under, with Thitikul two shots behind in solo third after a 67.
“Lurking” is one of golf’s overworked verbs, but occasionally the shoe fits. Nine previous LPGA victories make a two-shot deficit look less like a problem and more like admin.
Thitikul had already won the Honda LPGA Thailand and Mizuho Americas Open this season. Now she had two leaders in front of her and 18 holes to remove them.
Five straight birdies tilt the Portland Classic
Thitikul’s answer was immediate. She ran off five consecutive birdies early and signed for 64. Across the week she made a field-best 27 birdies, while her 266 total was her lowest 72-hole score of the season.
Both runners-up made her earn it. Thitikul’s birdie at 17 supplied the decisive edge before she closed at 22 under.
Afterwards, the polished numbers gave way to something rather less tidy and more revealing.
“Yeah, I think it will mean a lot to me. Golf is really love/hate relationship to me and to everyone, too, I guess. Because like when you win it you’re like, wow, how good is a test? But there are time you ask yourself, you questioning yourself that’s what’s going on and then what can I do to make golf in my way.
To be able to get this win just really worth the sacrifice that I have put in the work. The cryingness, the sadness that we waiting for. I mean, I just love it anyway. Even golf slap my face. Today I think I win not just the tournament but I win my inner self negative side.”
Chanettee Wannasaen fires 63 and nearly steals it
Wannasaen’s final round was absurdly clean: nine birdies, no bogeys, a 63 and a 21-under total. It tied her career-best 18-hole score and gave her a share of second, her best finish of 2026. She made 25 birdies for the week, two fewer than Thitikul.
“I think today is just like the day like I know that I can make putt, and when I miss the putt I can chip in. Actually today is not like a perfect day. I didn’t hit like driver that good. I didn’t hit like approach shot like that good.
I mean, like it’s good but it’s not like a perfect shot. But today I would say like, you know, it kind of feels like the momentum is like the year I won. It kind of feels like that. Like if I make it, I make it. If I feel like I’m not going to make this one, it’s a miss. But today is kind of like the year I won, yeah.”
A 63, no bogeys and second place: golf can be admirably unsentimental.
Arpichaya Yubol comes close again
Yubol’s 67 left her alongside Wannasaen on 267 and delivered a third runner-up finish of 2026. She needed only 103 putts for the week, tied for the second-fewest in the field, and made just three bogeys across 72 holes.
Her 267 was also a career-best four-round total. Her run at Portland followed runner-up finishes earlier in the season at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba and ShopRite LPGA.
“Oh, okay, so this is I can say the best year for me. Like every time like too close, just a little bit. You know, I’m do my best on my game every shot. Like this week, too. Like on the last day I do my best and she do her best, too. So just one stroke, so, yeah, it’s golf. Yeah.”
There is scant consolation in being one shot short for the third time in a season, but Yubol’s consistency is becoming difficult to dismiss as coincidence.
Ten LPGA wins before the age of 24
Thitikul is now the eighth player to reach 10 LPGA victories before turning 24. She has 63 career top-10 finishes and official career earnings of roughly $19.7 million.
Portland also made her the third Thai winner of this tournament, following Chanettee Wannasaen and Moriya Jutanugarn, and completed an all-Thai top three — a neat measure of the country’s LPGA depth.
One conspicuous blank remains: a major championship. It is not a criticism so much as the obvious next measure for a player whose ordinary Tour résumé is already becoming extraordinary.
The trophy cabinet is now in double figures. The awkward part for everyone else is that Jeeno Thitikul is still only 23.
