HILTON GRAND VACATIONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 28, 2026

Jeeno Thitikul

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Very pleased to be joined by Jeeno Thitikul at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Your first time here at Lake Nona. Just what are your impressions of the course and the environment?

JEENO THITIKUL: I definitely like impressing about the greens, and then like how good the shapes of the course are right now.

I mean, it's cold but like the green's still, you know, run outs really good, smooth, and then it's kind of tough though. I just know from, you know, the guy who with me, he's like, you know what? It's the same -- like the guys who design it here it's the same as Shadow Creek. I was like, I have no wonder then, because the green was so tough at Shadow Creek.

Q. Just coming into the season how would you assess your game, where it's at and some things you're still working on?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think I had really good offseason. I haven't hit the ball like practicing until new year because like I protecting my wrist. The same one as CME. That's why.

And then I feel like I don't have enough practicing coming here much because of that, too, and then also -- but for a couple days out here, Monday until now, I think my irons hasn't come with me yet, so I do have things to figure it out.

I mean, after this week, before Honda. I feel like this week is kind of warmup week for us but it's not warm for the weather.

Q. Obviously this is your first time playing here despite being a multiple time winner on Tour. What was the decision to play this week instead of starting your season back home in Thailand?

JEENO THITIKUL: I mean, it's kind of tough for me to come overseas from Thailand to here, just especially one week. Obviously I think it just -- our responsibility is to the sponsor, too, and to the celebrities, to the Tour. I think they love to see us, they love to see all the top players that showing up here. I don't think they expect the result that much but they expecting to -- us to have fun with all the celebrities and then to enjoying it in a unique environment and unique tournament and format.

Q. Some big news that you had this offseason was obviously joining WTGL. Talk through your thoughts on joining that and why you wanted to and the excitement you have around the indoor league.

JEENO THITIKUL: It's just a really good sign and opportunities for us to, you know, like let all the fans see how good are we and then how good the women's sport is, how we play outside, how we -- you know, I know it's indoor, but like I don't think that amount of fan from the men saw us a lot, so I think it's just like great opportunities and unique match of golf.

I think they can shout out loud more than outside, yeah.

Q. Have you made it down to the So-Fi Center yesterday?

JEENO THITIKUL: Not yet. Not yet. I just came from Thailand to here like Saturday. Haven't visited and stopped by yet. Hopefully in the nearly future.

Q. You talked about how going Canada after Kroger was super important for you. What were some moments you had in the offseason that you feel like got you charged up for 2026?

JEENO THITIKUL: I don't really miss practicing to be honest. I have to rest my wrist. But obviously same as two years ago, '24, that I have been injured. I haven't hit the balls and then it's kind of same to me to be able to -- I want to be 100% healthy to be just hitting balls, just go out and play, and that's pretty much it for the offseason that I have.

But obviously spent quality time, Jeeno outside the golf course with family, with friends, with the people that I comfortable within Thailand which is really important moment.

Q. Would you describe your wrist as 100% this week?

JEENO THITIKUL: I would say that. I would say 100%. I don't feel once I hit the ball at all. But it just, you know, it's kind of feel tight sometimes because it's cold.

Q. Do you feel the same amount of pain that you did when we talked about it at CME and it was bothering you?

JEENO THITIKUL: Not at all. Not at all. I think CME was hurt. I mean CME was fine, sorry. The week before CME the first time that I got it like kind of inflamed, it's hurt. CME was fine, but after that I have sponsor service, like a golf tournament for the sponsor. I hit some shots earlier in December and it's feeling -- I thought it's going to, you know, be gone but still had the feeling.

So I went through MRI and then it just doesn't show any bad result. Just like inflammation of the tendon. So that's why I have to keep -- have the time to recovery by itself. But did I some medical things from the doctor.

Q. How long did you actually not practice at all during the offseason? How long did you take off?

JEENO THITIKUL: I just had some sponsor service in Thailand. I didn't actually have like serious practicing before new year at all. Just starting like 3rd of January.

Q. Question about WTGL. You were one the first to sign up. Nelly Korda was asked about it yesterday and she said it felt like it was a big miss that you guys weren't playing with the men. Do you agree with her comments?

JEENO THITIKUL: Well, I would agree with that, too. Obviously I think it should be hard at the first time to be able to mix us together at the first time. I believe they might do it nearly in the future. Maybe not this year but maybe next two years. They have told me about that. They like want to do mix last year, end of last year, but I was like, I don't think it's going to be, you know -- it's going to be happening.

It's kind of hard schedule on women's side and men's side to be able to get them at the same time. Because like even me, I have Callaway shooting and it's hard to get Xander and whoever on the LPGA side and PGA side at the same time. So it's because of that schedule too.

Also they might have to figure out so hard to, you know, how they going to play, which team that's -- because I think in the women's side we don't have enough like players yet that announce. Maybe six players that have been announced now.

But I saw in the men's side they got enough and they got a lot. Hopefully we might have the opportunity in the future like Nelly said, too.

Q. What have your friends on Tour told but this tournament to kind of get you ready for this?

JEENO THITIKUL: My friend told me to get the bicycle for the gift. That's it. Pajaree told me, you will get the gift from the tournament and scan it and get a bicycle. I was look, okay. Interesting.

But nothing. We don't get really serious coming here I guess. We playing with celebrities, having fun. We seem like we don't get -- we don't really -- I mean, I'm not really. I don't know if other people might be really serious.

I feel like they just want us to have fun.

Q. Also, you talked about responsibilities to sponsors and all of that and finally coming out here. Did being a world No. 1 play into that feeling of responsibility as well?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think like I said the sponsor did a lot to us to be able to, you know, organizing, to be able to connect with people, connect with the celebrities who going to come and then obviously it's just really important like for us to showing what we have, to showing what I have to be able to come oversea to play only for a week.

But like it's just give and take for me. Like to my opinion. So I don't know, like, okay I would say world No. 1 right now, but if I world No. 10, 20, I will come anyway.

Q. Looked like you had a lot of fun with your foundation work over the offseason. Can you describe the scene for us going to those schools and being with the children and what kind of intrinsic motivation does that give to you want to give back more and make more to do more sort of thing?

JEENO THITIKUL: Uh-huh. Yeah, I feel like I'm the -- I have been like that, a people who have a hope in my eyes, and then one day I have already success and then I have been taking from peoples a lot.

I just thought this is a nice time to giving back some of what I have. And then I just really be happy to see people happy, smiles, especially the kids that they have opportunities. I think studying, it's really important to all the childrens, to all the child's life.

So I think this is a good start for our -- not foundation yet but like a charity. I haven't signed for the foundation yet but like in Thailand -- because might have some paperwork, a lot of things to do. I was like, I don't have that much time to do.

I'll just do time by time if I have. I own the charity last year one time and this year like earlier of January one times, so this year we going to buying medical supplies for hospital that they don't have enough money. They don't have a government can't go in there yet, something like that, yeah.

Q. And do you and your coach, do you talk about goals? Do you pour over stats at the end of the year and do you specifically talk about the road to winning a major?

JEENO THITIKUL: Not really yet. I mean, like with all the numbers we got last year, it's kind of unbelievable. And then I don't know if I can be able to do that again this year because, you know, I don't know how many numbers that have been really improving from last year, more than last two years.

So I just trying to keep the number the way it's like that and then I'm not really talking about the goals that kind of -- results at that go that much. The win, major win.

I definitely think that he would thought in his mind but what he didn't say it to me and I didn't say anything because he know that my personality is that I'm not going to say about the wins at all.

So that's why. We just work, hit balls, balls, balls, putts, yeah.

Q. When you say it was unbelievable, what number specifically stuck out to you?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think every number. I can't really -- I'm not really looking at the stats that much like during a year, but like ending of -- I didn't look at it by my eyes but like every media showing the numbers. I'm like, wow, okay. I didn't know that I'm like -- my number is this good.

So I can't promise that I going to be -- can do the same number again for sure because every number is too good to me to be real.

Q. You obviously have more demands on your time this year, and playing in this tournament, WTGL, maybe more sponsors, et cetera, how are you going to manage your time and travel this year? Do you worry about over extending yourself and the fatigue?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I do. Yes, I do. I feel like, you know, being like on top of the world, this thing is really important to us to, you know, balancing the time of practicing and then kind of sponsor service, especially we Asian and then we got more sponsor services than American does I definitely think.

And then just need like my own time sometimes to recharging myself from outsider, the people outsider, the time that is -- all the people might come to you. If I were in Thailand, people might come like, what's happening? You had a great year. And then when are you going up next?

I think a thousand times that I have been listening and answering that question, and then I was like, sometime I need to balancing things. I'm so glad that I have my manager and team managing the time, but obviously sometime I think it's a time to say no to some things that kind of, you know, like don't let us do our job.

Because I know people really want to see us, all the medias want our time, but sometime I feel like what got us here is practicing, so I do have my own time and I think sometime we need every people understand that we have to practice to be able to showing the performance and then practicing to hitting some, you know, good games again.

Q. And I know you spent time with family and friends in the offseason. What was one the most fun or cool activities you did?

JEENO THITIKUL: I went to camping. Like I slept in a tent and then went to camping for like three days, two nights without a signal. Like a phone signal at all.

Yeah, we don't have signal in the mountain. (Smiling.)

Q. Was it glamping, glamourous camping, or roughing it?

JEENO THITIKUL: We can drive there and then we camping there in a safe area. We not walk though. We walk during the day, like hiking during the day, not hike and then have a tent. We just drove there, built the tent, and then we find some kind of small hike during the day.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Jeeno.

JEENO THITIKUL: Thank you.