Jeeno Thitikul won the 2026 Lotte Championship presented by Hoakalei for her fourth win this season.
Going into the final round, Thitikul led Ina Yoon and Polly Mack by three shots. She also led Maja Stark and Carolina Melgrati by four shots. Thitikul quickly lost her lead after Yoon made four birdies in her first five holes. Thitikul went on to regain the lead and hold a two-shot lead for most of the round. However, a double bogey at the par 4 16th drew them level with two holes to play. Thitikul finally slammed the door shut with two birdies on her final two holes to Yoon’s bogey to win the Lotte Championship by three shots. She mentioned her mentality after the double bogey late in her round.
“I knew that I had to focus on my game. I knew 16 was terrible. It was just like gosh, it was a terrible hole to me. But I just tell myself that, hey, it’s two holes left. Everything can happen. You can definitely bounce back whenever you still have the club in your hands,” she said.
Thitikul has been excellent this season with wins at the Standard Portland Classic, Mizuho Americas Open and the Honda LPGA Thailand. Although she is still searching for her first major victory, she can still win the CME Group Tour Championship for the third time in a row in November.
With her win, Thitikul earned $450,000 in prize money and 500 points in the season-long competition, Race to CME Globe. She moves into second place in the standings behind Nelly Korda, who holds an 883.5 point lead over her.
Yoon finished as the runner-up for the second time this season. She credits her practice for leading the field in birdies this week.
“I think I put a lot of work into my putting since last year, and I think all the hard work showed up in this tournament,” she said.
The LPGA Tour will resume at the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Oct. 15th in Shanghai. Thitikul is the defending champion.
