Atthaya Thitikul ( th, อาฒยา ฐิติกุล, , ; born 20 February 2003) is a Thai

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal stru ...

. She is the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf tournament at aged 14 years, 4 months and 19 days after winning the

Ladies European Thailand Championship The Ladies European Thailand Championship is a professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour and Thai LPGA Tour, first played in 2017. Atthaya Thitikul became the youngest ever winner on the Ladies European Tour by claiming victory ...

as an amateur on 9 July 2017. She was the number one ranked women's amateur golfer in the world for a total of 12 weeks, rising to the top on two occasions, the first time on 26 June 2019. On 27 March 2022, Thitikul won for the first time on the LPGA Tour at the

JTBC Classic The JTBC Classic Presented by Barbasol, formerly the Kia Classic, is a women's professional golf tournament in Southern California on the LPGA Tour. It debuted in 2010 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, then moved north for a year in ...

. While still age 19 in September 2022, Thitikul had two wins on the professional LPGA Tour and four wins on the

. On 31 October 2022, Thitikul became the number 1 ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings, and was considered to be the fastest rising star in golf. On 10 November, she was named the 2022

LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

Early life

Thitikul was born on 20 February 2003 in Ban Pong, Ratchaburi to Montree Thitikul and Siriwan. She first started playing golf at the age of 6 years old, when her father presented the opportunity to play golf or tennis. She chose golf after watching pictures of both sports on YouTube. She graduated from Sarasas Witaed Nakhonpathom School, a high school in Nakhon Pathom. She is also known by her nickname, "Jeen" or "Jeeno".

Amateur career

2017

On 23 February, 3 days after her 14th birthday, Thitikul made her first appearance at the Honda LPGA Thailand on the LPGA Tour, where she finished 37th out of the 66 competitors. She had earned her place in the field when she finished runner-up in the Thailand Amateur Open the previous August when she was just 13 years and 6 months old. After competing in the LPGA event, she won the Taiwan Amateur Open in June. Her emergence onto the international golf scene came with her victory at

on the

as an amateur on 9 July. This win made her became the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event at age 14 years, 4 months and 19 days old. The previous record belonged to Canadian

Brooke Henderson Brooke Mackenzie Henderson (born 10 September 1997) is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Henderson was named the Canadian Press female athlete of the year for 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won her first major at age 18 in 2016 at the ...

who won the 2012 Canadian Women's Tour aged 14 years, 9 months, and 3 days. Her amateur status meant that she could not claim the first prize of 45,000 euros for winning but it gave her the entries into both the Women's British Open and the Evian Championship in France. She missed the cut at the British Open by a shot but made the cut at the Evian Championship, playing the final two rounds and finishing in 64th place. Thitikul also competed at the Junior Dutch Open in July. In the final round, she carded a course-record 8-under-par round to win the tournament by eight clear shots. In August, she won an individual gold medal and was part of the Thailand team that won another gold in the team event at the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.

2018

In February, Thitikul competed in the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Singapore, just as she turned 15. She was part of a four-way tie in the final round but went onto to win the title. Her victory earned her a place in the HSBC Women's Champions on the same course, plus entries into the

ANA Inspiration The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Fou ...

at Mission Hills, California and for a place in the British Open, for a second year running. At the HSBC event, she was the joint youngest starter of the championship at 15 years and 9 months, the exact same age at which Singapore's Amanda Tan competed in 2014. She carded a bogey-free final round of six-under par 66 to finish tied for eighth. At the

in March, she finished in a tie for 30th place and earned low amateur honours. In August, she was the only amateur to make the cut at the Woman's British Open and won the Smyth Salver, low amateur award. On 15 September, she broke the course record at World Junior Girls Championship on Camelot Golf and Country Club in Ottawa, with a score of 12-under-par 60, in the final round to win a title by 2 strokes. Mixed Team Golf Medallist Ceremony YOG18 15-10-2018 (23)

Mixed Team Golf Medallist Ceremony YOG18 15-10-2018 (23)

At the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held ...

in Buenos Aires, Thitikul teamed with Vanchai Luangnitikul to win the mixed team gold medal for Thailand.

2019

On 24 June, Thitikul won the

for the second time in three years. She finished with a five-under-par 67 to win by five shots from

Esther Henseleit Esther Henseleit (born 14 January 1999) is a German professional golfer and member of the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. Amateur career Henseleit attended Freie Waldorfschule Oldenburg and played for Golfclub am Meer before switching to Ham ...

. Following her win, Thitikul was ranked 1st in the world on the women's World Amateur Golf Ranking on 26 June and then again from October 2019 until January 2020 before turning professional. In August, she won the back-to-back Smyth Salver, low amateur honour, at the Women's British Open after finishing in a tie for 29th place at Woburn. In December, she represented Thailand at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. She won a bronze medal in the

women's team A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

event.

Professional career

2020

Thitikul turned professional in January 2020 and played several events in Australia, including the Women’s NSW Open in which she finished fourth. After the COVID-19 break, she broke through for her first professional win in July at the

Thai LPGA Tour The Thai LPGA Tour is a professional golf tour for women organized by the Thailand Ladies Professional Golf Association. Founded in 2008, the Thai LPGA Tour hosted 4-6 professional events per year from 2009 to 2012. In 2013, the tour got support ...

's 3rd Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship. She finished the season with 5 Thai LPGA wins and was on the top of the money list.

2021

In May, Thitikul received a sponsor's exemption to play in the Honda LPGA Thailand on the LPGA Tour, in which she finished second, one stroke behind

Ariya Jutanugarn Ariya Jutanugarn ( th, เอรียา จุฑานุกาล, , ; born 23 November 1995) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the American-based LPGA Tour. She was born in Bangkok. She is the first golfer, male or female, from Tha ...

. Later, she began playing on the

. On 27 June, Thitikul claimed her third Ladies European Tour title, her first as a professional, at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open. This win made her eligible to play in European major tournaments, the Evian Championship and the British Open in 2021. On 12 July, she moved into the top 100 on the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time with a rank of 89, after finishing second at the Aramco Team Series – London losing to Marianne Skarpnord in a playoff. On 25 July, Thitikul recorded her best-ever finish at a major championship with fifth place at the

2021 Evian Championship The 2021 Amundi Evian Championship was played 22–25 July at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France. It was the 27th Evian Championship (the first 20 played as the Evian Masters), and the eighth as a major championship on the ...

, having a score of 14-under par 270, and boosting her world ranking to its highest ever position of 61st place. On 15 August, she achieved her seventh consecutive top-five place on a Ladies European Tour event by finishing tied for second in the Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links. Following the event, her world golf ranking moved to 35th place. On 11 September, Thitikul secured her fourth Ladies European Tour title, her second of the season, at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open. She overcame a four-shot deficit after 36 holes to win by one stroke over Marianne Skarpnord. As a result, her world ranking rose to 28th place, her highest ever. In November, Thitikul recorded three more top-ten finishes, including second place at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, tied for sixth place at the Aramco Team Series – Jeddah, and third place at the season finale Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De España. Her world ranking went into top-20 for the first time, rank 18. Thitikul won the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles, following her two wins, three runner-ups, and nine additional top-ten finishes. She became the fourth player to win both awards in the same season and also became the youngest Order of Merit winner. She was also selected to earn the Players’ Player of the Year title. In December, Thitikul earned her card for the 2022 LPGA Tour after finished third at the qualifying school.

2022

After her tie for fourth-place finish at the HSBC Women's World Championship tournament in Singapore on 6 March, her world rank rose six places from 20th to 14th, the highest in her career, two weeks after her 19th birthday. She won her largest tournament purse in her first year as a professional on the LPGA, $81,447. On 27 March, Thitikul won her first LPGA Tour tournament in her fifth start as a tour member at the

. She carded an 8-under-par 64 in the final round to come back from 6 shots behind after 54 holes to force a playoff, then beating

Nanna Koerstz Madsen Nanna Koerstz Madsen (born 23 October 1994) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the American LPGA Tour and maintains membership of the Ladies European Tour (LET). She won the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand and made history becoming the first ...

on the second playoff hole. She earned the $225,000 first prize, and became the youngest winner on the tour, aged 19 years and 35 days, since

won the 2016 Portland Classic at age 18 years, 9 months, and 23 days. On 24 September, she tied the tournament record of 61 in the second round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, placing her with a one-stroke lead going into the Sunday finale of the 54-hole tournament. The bogey-free, 10-under-par round started with a 32 on the back nine, followed by a 29 on the front nine, with an eagle-birdie-birdie finish. The 61 was her lowest LPGA score over her previous best round of 63, and her 36-hole total of 128 was lower than her previous total of 131. She won her second LPGA tournament the next day in a playoff win over Danielle Kang. Both of her LPGA wins were in a playoff. By October, Thitikul had risen to second in the world rankings, and was described in 2022 as the fastest rising star in golf. On 20 October, she set a tournament record of 63 (9-under-par) in the first round, leading the

BMW Ladies Championship The BMW Ladies Championship is a women's professional golf tournament in Wonju, South Korea, co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Korea Tour and the LPGA Tour. It debuted in 2019. It replaced the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship as the LPGA Tour's Korean ...

by one stroke, carding seven birdies and an eagle on the par-4 13th from 102 yards. Thitikul leads the Rookie of the Year race. On 31 October, without playing in a tournament the previous week, she became the #1 golfer in the world for the first time, after her #2 ranking on 24 October. Ko Jin-young fell to #2 on her average points from 7.25 to 7.09, for Atthaya (7.20 to 7.13) to become the new #1. On 10 November, she was named the Rookie of the Year. She lost the top ranking spot to

Nelly Korda Nelly Korda (born July 28, 1998) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour, where she has won seven times and reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Korda won the Olympic gold medal at the women's individual ...

on 14 November.

Amateur wins

*2016 Singapore Junior Golf Championship qualifier, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #6, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #1, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #3, TGA-Singha Junior Ranking #4, Singha Thailand Junior World Golf Championship qualifier, Singha Thailand Junior World Championships *2017 Taiwan Amateur Championship, Dutch International Junior Open, Southeast Asian Games (women's individual), Santi Cup, Pondok Indah International Junior Championship *2018 National Team Ranking #2, Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific, National Team Ranking #4, Queen Sirikit Cup, National Team Ranking #5, World Junior Girls Championship *2019 National Team Ranking #4, Thailand Ladies Amateur Open, National Team Ranking #5, World Junior Girls Championship Source:

Professional wins (12)

LPGA Tour wins (2)

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

Ladies European Tour wins (4)

Thitikul won the event as an amateur. Ladies European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Thai LPGA Tour wins (5)

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

(5) 3rd Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship, 6th Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship, 7th Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship, 8th Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship, Muang Thai Insurance Thailand LPGA Masters

Other wins (1)

* 2021 (1) Phoenix Ladies Classic

Results in LPGA majors

''Results not in chronological order before 2019 or in 2020.'' LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (2017 Evian – 2022 British, current) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2022 Women's PGA – 2022 British, current)

Ladies European Tour career summary

¹ Insufficient rounds played to rank as Thitikul played in only one LET event in 2020
^ Official as of 2021 season

LPGA Tour career summary

^a Competed as an amateur
ⁿ Not a member of the LPGA Tour
^ Official as of 2022 season

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Team appearances

* Patsy Hankins Trophy (representing Asia/Pacific): 2018 (winners) * Southeast Asian Games (representing Thailand):

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

(winners),

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Youth Olympic Games (representing Thailand):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

(winners) * World Junior Girls Championship (representing Thailand): 2018, 2019 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

(representing Thailand):

Amata Friendship Cup The Amata Friendship Cup is a team golf tournament for male and female professional and amateur golfers contested by teams representing Thailand and Japan. It is the first mixed-gender team event for professional and amateur golfers with a similar ...

(representing Thailand):

(winners) * Queen Sirikit Cup (representing Thailand): 2016, 2017, 2018

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thitikul, Atthaya Atthaya Thitikul Ladies European Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Golfers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Atthaya Thitikul Atthaya Thitikul Atthaya Thitikul Southeast Asian Games medalists in golf Competitors at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games Golfers at the 2018 Asian Games Atthaya Thitikul Atthaya Thitikul 2003 births Living people Atthaya Thitikul