Staff WriterThe Mizuho Americas Open has reached the weekend with Jeeno Thitikul exactly where a defending champion prefers to be: out in front, tidy on the scorecard, and making Liberty National Golf Club look a touch more obedient than it has any right to be.
After two rounds, the Rolex Rankings No. 2 sits at eight-under-par, three clear of Jennifer Kupcho, having produced a second consecutive round in the 60s. That may sound simple enough. It wasn’t. By Friday evening, Liberty National had sent several notable names packing, stirred the wind into the greens, and reminded the field that “just make the cut” is a far more stressful phrase than it looks on paper.
Thitikul Leads After Another Sub-70 Round
Thitikul is the only player in the field to record both opening rounds in the 60s, which is rather like being the only person at a dinner party who knows where the good wine is kept.
She also shares the field lead in birdies with 10 and leads everyone in greens in regulation, hitting 32 of 36. That is not so much golf as controlled accountancy with a seven-iron.
This marks the second time this season that only one player has played the first two rounds of an LPGA Tour event in the 60s, following Lauren Coughlin at the Aramco Championship. More importantly, it is only the second time Thitikul has led after round two while defending a title. The first came at the 2025 CME Group Tour Championship.
In other words, this is not a fluke. It is a pattern. And patterns, in elite golf, tend to be expensive for everyone else.
Asked about her mindset heading into the weekend, Thitikul kept it simple, philosophical, and wonderfully human.
“Like my coach said, I guess, just do your job. Just prepare things the same routine. I mean, just let golf be golf and let me be me. Even golf just be mean but we can be kind to ourself. So I think it’s just maybe stick to that process that just another day at the office and then whatever it’s turn out to be that turn out to be, and then you figure it out. Some holes you’re had surprising and some holes figure it out things when things not going your way.”
Kupcho Gives Chase as Conditions Tighten
Jennifer Kupcho is the nearest pursuer at five-under after a second-round 69, a significant step forward at an event where she finished tied 33rd last year.
It is also the first time this season she has been inside the top 20 after the second round, which should do the confidence no harm at all. Confidence in golf is a delicate creature: part muscle memory, part scoreboard, part pretending you are not thinking about either.
Kupcho’s round was shaped by a calmer front nine before the wind began behaving like an unpaid committee member on the back. With Liberty National’s greens running fast, aggression became less of a weapon and more of a liability if not handled properly.
“Yeah, I think early this morning on the front nine there was definitely a lot less wind, hardly any at all really. It was a lot easier to get closer to the pins and honestly just be a little bit more aggressive with the putts. Come the back nine when it was windy, as it is right now, I think you kind of have to be a little bit careful not to putt to, say, ten feet by or more or even off the green. The greens are really fast, so you just have to think about it and just be careful about what you’re doing.”
Brooke Matthews Holds Third After Eventful 72
Brooke Matthews sits third after an even-par 72 that contained a little of everything: two birdies, two bogeys, a double bogey, and an eagle.
That is less a scorecard and more a small weather system.
Matthews is one of only three players in the Mizuho Americas Open field to have made two eagles this week. It is also her first top-five position after round two since the 2025 BMW Ladies Championship, a timely sign that she is very much in the conversation heading into the weekend.
Liberty National Cut Line Claims Major Names
The cut fell at three-over-par or better, with 58 players advancing. It was not a gentle cut, nor a sentimental one.
Among those to miss out were tournament host and five-time LPGA Tour winner Michelle Wie West, three-time LPGA Tour winner Charley Hull, 2026 Aramco Championship winner Lauren Coughlin, 11-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson, major champion Brooke M. Henderson, and Chevron Championship runner-up Patty Tavatanakit.
That list has more pedigree than most trophy rooms. But Liberty National was not in a nostalgic mood.
Mi Hyang Lee withdrew during the second round due to injury, while Haeji Kang withdrew during the first round, also due to injury.
Thitikul’s Liberty National Record Keeps Growing
Thitikul’s relationship with Liberty National is starting to look increasingly one-sided.
This is her fourth start at the Mizuho Americas Open. She won in 2025, finished tied seventh in 2024, and tied 10th in 2023. So far in 2026, she has made six cuts in seven starts, with one win and one additional top-10 finish.
Her season already includes victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand in her second start of the year, though she did miss the cut at The Chevron Championship in her most recent appearance. If that was a stumble, this looks like a fairly brisk correction.
The numbers behind her career are equally firm: eight LPGA Tour wins, 57 official top-10 finishes, $17.8 million in career official earnings, and a résumé that includes the 2025 and 2024 CME Group Tour Championship titles, the 2025 Rolex Player of the Year award, the 2025 Vare Trophy, the 2023 Vare Trophy, and the 2022 Louis Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honour.
She has also represented Thailand at the 2023 and 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown and at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A Look At The Leader
| Category | Jeeno Thitikul |
|---|---|
| 2026 Race to CME Globe Rank | 4 |
| 2026 LPGA Tour Wins | 1 |
| 2026 LPGA Tour Top 10s | 4 |
| 2026 Official Season Earnings | $454.8K |
| Career LPGA Tour Wins | 8 |
| Career Official LPGA Tour Top 10s | 57 |
| Career Official Money | $17.8M |
Tournament Records Remain Within View
All Mizuho Americas Open tournament scoring records have been set at Liberty National Golf Club, and Thitikul already owns three of the four key marks.
The 18-hole record stands at 63, posted by Hannah Green in the third round in 2024. Thitikul holds the 36-hole record at 135 from 2024, the 54-hole record at 202 from 2025, and the 72-hole record at 271 from 2025.
At eight-under through two rounds this year, she may not be rewriting every line of the record book just yet, but she is certainly loitering near the bookshelf.
AJGA Competition Adds Another Layer
The AJGA competition is also underway in a modified Stableford format, with Amelie Zalsman leading after recording a score of 78.
Zalsman, currently ranked No. 5 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, made five birdies and two bogeys in her opening round. For a tournament already balancing LPGA pressure, junior talent, and a grandstand view of Manhattan, it adds another interesting thread to the week.
Missed Cut Stipend Adds Practical Support
Mizuho has added a $2,000 missed cut stipend, a notable move in a sport where the margins below the leaderboard can be far less glamorous than the television pictures suggest.
Players making the 36-hole cut of low 50 players and ties will receive CME Points and official money based on their finish after 72 holes.
Players who miss the 36-hole cut but remain within the low 65 players and ties receive CME Points and official money based on their finish after 36 holes, using the standard LPGA purse.
Those who miss the cut and finish outside the low 65 players and ties receive the $2,000 missed cut stipend as unofficial money, separate from the overall purse, and receive no CME Points.
Weekend Picture: Jeeno in Front, Trouble Everywhere Else
The Mizuho Americas Open now moves into the weekend with Thitikul holding the cleanest hand at the table. Kupcho is close enough to make noise. Matthews has shown she can ignite a round quickly. And Liberty National, with its quick greens and wind-prone temperament, has already made it clear that nobody gets anything for free.
Thitikul’s advantage is built on the most reliable currency in tournament golf: greens hit, birdies taken, and mistakes kept in a small cupboard where they cannot frighten the furniture.
There are still 36 holes to play, and a leaderboard can change moods faster than a golfer who has just found a plugged lie in a bunker. But for now, the defending champion has the Mizuho Americas Open exactly where she wants it — in front of her, beneath her feet, and increasingly under her control.
