Charley Hull defeated world number one Jeeno Thitikul after Thitikul’s four-putt on the final hole; the Kroger Queen City Championship is Hull’s first win since the 2022 Volunteers of America Classic and her first start on the LPGA Tour since the AIG Women’s Open, where she finished T2.
After a third round of 67 (-5), Hull entered the final round with a one-shot lead over Thitikul, and a two-shot lead over Chisato Iwai and Miyu Yamashita. After carding five straight pars to start her round, Hull made three birdies in a row to take a two-shot lead over Thitikul into the back nine. Thitikul quickly took the lead with three birdies in five holes, with Hull playing that stretch in even par.
The two would stay where they were until the 18th hole, where Thitikul led by one stroke. After reaching the green in two on the par-5 18th, Thitikul proceeded to four-putt. After Thitikul’s costly bogey and Hull’s clutch birdie, Hull claimed the Kroger Queen City Championship title. She had this to say after becoming the 25th different winner on tour this season.
“Yeah, feels good. Plenty of second-place finishes in the last few years and even in the last couple weeks coming from the British Open, and then last week finished second on the Ladies European Tour, and then to get the win, it feels pretty good,” Hull said.
With her second-place finish, Jeeno Thitikul will finish as a runner-up for the fourth time this season. The world number one has missed just one cut this season and has 11 top tens in 17 starts.
Lottie Woad finished in third place this week after her final round of 66 (-6). This is her first top ten finish in the U.S. as a member of the LPGA Tour. After turning pro in July, Woad had this to say about practicing as a professional.
“I think I’ve just been working out how to navigate the practice days; like we get a few more practices than we do in amateur stuff. So just not overdoing it playing 18 every day. Just managing that and making sure I conserve energy a little bit. Been good the last few events,” Woad said.
With her win, Charley Hull earned $300,000 in prize money. She also earned 500 points in the season-long competition, Race to CME Globe. She moved into ninth place in the standings. Thitikul extended her lead over Minjee Lee to 599 points after her finish.
The LPGA Tour will conclude its continental U.S. stretch next week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. This will be the last event played in the continental U.S. until November. 2024 champion Jasmine Suwannapura will look to defend her title at Pinnacle Country Club.
