Jersey City, NJ — Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul felt very good seeing the putt in and was a happy opportunity at Mizuho Americas Open on Thursday. She led with two shots with a clean start of 8 under 64 for 26 putts and eight birdies.
Thitikul was bogey-free at Liberty National, with the advantage of playing on a morning where there was virtually no wind on the course from Manhattan over the Hudson River.
She finished hard, dropping a short iron to five feet on the 17th, staying under the hole and fully judged the distance of the hole closed with a shot that left her only 3 feet for a birdie.
Frenchman Celine Butier drove off five straight birdies in the middle of her round to explain that she wouldn’t use a par 5. She was 66 years old and South Koreans Haejin Choi and Lindy Duncan lost in the Chevron Championship two weeks ago in the five-way playoffs.
“I think my putter works better than Chevron Week,” said Thitikul, the second player in the world rankings for women.
She opened in the 71-75 round of the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA season. Thitikul took off last week and spent a lot of time putting her most of the time. She discovered that her emotions were everywhere depending on the outcome.
“I went home for the first few days. I do a lot of stuff,” she said. “It feels good to see you fall, but it feels bad to see you miss it. And ‘No, you can’t be like this’ It must be within, or it must be the same emotion and emotion.
“I’m just going to think there’s less, and that’s what I want to do,” she said. “Psychologically, it’s very important to see every putt. I don’t want to be so tight and nervous.”
What’s more, she said the Greens are tough for anyone in the majors.
“We’re here, we’re good at it and we’re making putts,” Thitikul said after 11 rounds, with less than 64 in the past four seasons.
Defending champion Nelly Korda has six birdies (three of whom) explained some bogeys on her front nine and finished in the group at the age of 68.
Korda, the number one player in women’s golf, hasn’t won this year yet. She won the Mizuho Americas Open a year ago with her sixth victory in the season. Her game wasn’t that sharp this year, and Korda is more interested in the future views.
“Last year, I started focusing on what my game plan was. It was one shot at a time. “I know I had a lot to protect earlier this year, but I think instead of putting pressure on myself, I should be happy that I was in the moment, that I achieved such a great success.”
The 67 group includes South Korea’s Haeran Ryu, who won the Black Desert Championship last week, promoting her to fifth place in the world. Her round included a bogey in the final hole.
