Jeeno Thitikul defeated Pajaree Anannarukarn by four shots to win the CME Group Tour Championship for the second year in a row. This is her third win of the season and seventh of her career.
Thitikul held a 6-shot lead over Nelly Korda and Anannarukarn after three rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship. Thitikul and Korda, the World No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, were paired together in the final grouping during the final round.
Anannarukarn put some pressure on Thitikul early with five birdies in her first seven holes to cut the lead to just two shots. Thitikul birdied two holes on the front nine but also made one bogey,dwindling her lead as she made the turn.
Thitikul responded with birdies on the 10th and 13th holes to get to 25-under. Anannarukarn bogeyed the 12th hole to sit 5 shots behind the leader with six holes to play. She birdied the 16th and 17th hole, but Thitikul made four consecutive pars starting at hole 14 to maintain a three-shot lead going to the 18th hole. Thitikul birdied the last hole to secure a four-shot victory.
Anannarukarn commented on her game this year, saying, “There is a lot of things to take away from for sure, not just this week but just this season. I think I’ve been, again, very happy with how I’ve been playing all season.”
For Thitikul, this win clinches the Rolex Player of the Year award and the Vare Trophy. She also passed Annika Sorenstam for the lowest scoring average in a LPGA season with a 68.681 average. Thitikul joins Lydia Ko and Jin Young Ko as the only three players to win the CME Group Tour Championship multiple times. She also just received a $4 million check.
“I think it’s just an honor,” said Thitikul. “Definitely all that Vare Trophy, like Player of the Year is always going to be representing how consistency you are in the whole long season, but hold that trophy just feel, you know, kind of goosebump because like I think it’s had all the history about golf from all the players.”
A running joke the last couple of days at the event was Thitikul’s love of Thai food in the U.S. She’s had the papaya salad picked out all week for tonight, so Fairway to Green’s Kelly Okun couldn’t help but ask if it was still on the menu for her win.
Korda finished in third at 20-under after a 2-under-68 during the final round. The highlight of her day was when she holed out for eagle from the fairway bunker on the 11th hole. With this finish, she won zero times this year after winning seven last year. She had this to say about her eagle hole-out.
“Yeah, hit my driver a little out right. Honestly wasn’t a bad place to miss it out there. I had 136 yards which was a perfect 9-iron and I hit it — like I hit it really pure, which is also really nice when you hole-out, when it all matches up. And I’ve never heard Jason yell that loud. Even the cameraman he was like, dude, I got scared. It was nice to see that go in. In the past year I’ve been lipping out, so for it to be the last round of the year, obviously last round of the season, it felt good to see that go in.”
There were also two hole-in-ones made on Sunday. Hye-Jin Choi carded hers on the fifth hole from 183 yards with a 5-iron while playing partner Stephanie Kyriacou made hers at the eighth hole from 138 yards with a 9-iron.
The 2026 LPGA season starts at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, FL. A Lim Kim is the defending champion.
