For the second year in a row, Jeeno Thitikul won the professional division of the Mizuho Americas Open while Aphrodite Deng won the junior division.
Thitikul came into the final round with a two-stroke lead over major champion Celine Boutier, but Boutier struggled early with three bogeys on the front nine, essentially taking her out of contention. Thitikul started fast with birdies on two of the first three holes, but followed that up with nine pars in a row.
A strong front nine by Thitikul’s close friend and major champion Ruoning Yin brought her into contention. Yin has played strong recently despite no wins since October 2024. Yin made four birdies in a row on the front nine on her way to a 31 going out. She struggled on the back though with two bogeys and no birdies.
Thitikul finished this event off strong with two late birdies to get to -3 on Sunday. She finished off the week at -13, defeating Yin by four strokes.
This was Thitikul’s second win of what has been a bit of a slow season for her standards. Thitikul finished outside of the top 10 just six times all season, but already has five times in the early stages of the year. This could give the No. 2 player in the world some much needed momentum going into a crucial stretch of the season.
In the junior division, Aphrodite Deng finished with a five-point victory over Amelie Zalsman to capture her second Mizuho Americas Open title in a row. This shouldn’t be a surprise, Deng is one of the top juniors in the world and has experience in LPGA events after playing well at the JM Eagle LA Championship last month.
The LPGA Tour heads next to Cincinnati, where Thitikul is in the field as well as world No. 1 Nelly Korda.
About the Author
