FRISCO, Texas – It’s not often that a player gets to sleep in her own bed at a major. For Jeeno Thitikul, that’s especially important given that she has her blackout shades.
“Every time I got to Evian, it’s so bright like early morning,” said Thitikul. “Like in ShopRite, in U.S. Open, like 5 a.m. in the morning, it’s so bright.”
But with her extra shades, Thitikul can sleep in til at least 7 a.m., which will come in handy as the week goes along, as she’s likely going to have nothing but late tee times going forward after an opening 4-under 68 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East. After a shaky start that found her 2-over par through five holes, Thitikul, 22, birdied five of the next six holes. She needed just 25 putts in her opening round to take a one-stroke lead over Minjee Lee.
The top three players in the world were paired together in the opening round. No. 1 Nelly Korda opened with an even-par 72 while No. 3 Lydia Ko finished at 3 over.
“I’m pretty happy with my first round in the conditions,” said Korda. “It was pretty windy. It was hot. It definitely takes a toll on you, the Texas heat.”
What’s with Jeeno Thitikul’s color-coded grips?
Thitikul, who makes her home in the Castle Hills area when she’s staying in the U.S., travels the world with her manager. Her parents likely won’t come out to watch her play outside of Thailand this year.
To help her father follow along from home, Thitikul has a color-coded system with her grips. Her dad came up with the idea when she was around 10, and she’s used the same bright color codes now for several years. Golf Channel highlighted the setup during the broadcast in Frisco, and Thitikul joked that she might have to change it now.
Thitikul’s putter was white-hot on Thursday
One club that didn’t need color coding was Thitikul’s putter, and it was hot throughout the balmy day. The star seemed to drop everything she touched, including a 60-foot birdie putt. Incredibly, she lipped out a 76-footer on 18, but she finished making just under 200 feet of putts while playing partners Ko and Korda combined to make just over 108 feet.
The best player on tour without a major, Thitikul currently ranks first on tour in strokes gained total and first in putts per green in regulation. She ranks behind only Korda in scoring with a 69.09 average.
A victory this week would move Thitikul into No. 1 in the world, should Korda finish 11th or worse.
When asked how she’s dealing with pressure to win her first major, Thitikul laughed as she said in every major, she’s just trying to make the cut.
“I’m pretty happy with all I’ve achieved,” she said. “If I can get it, it would be great, but if not, I don’t have anything to regret about.”
“It would be really great to win it, and definitely I can tell that it would be like everyone dreams to win a major.”
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