MIZUHO AMERICAS OPEN

May 7, 2026

Jeeno Thitikul

Mountain Ridge Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, joining us after the first round of the Mizuho Americas Open is Jeeno Thitikul. Jeeno, really, really hot start on your front nine. Talk about what was going well for you at this course.

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I open it really good with a birdies putt on the first hole, and then, you know, I just tell myself just be patient this golf course and then just had a really good calculations on the irons and yardages.

It's kind of tough, like green going, and then I think I holed the putt really well on, you know, like six, seven, and eight to be able to making a birdie and making the run.

Q. On eight you had an eagle. Can you walk us through that hole? What clubs you hit and what went well to get that eagle?

JEENO THITIKUL: I wasn't hit my tee shot that good. It's went into the rough. Luckily it wasn't in -- the ball stayed up high in the rough, which is I can be able to get on the green in two.

And then I had like 20-, 21-foot putts and I hole it because it's uphill putt, right to left. Better than left to right for me for sure.

I holed the putt. Wasn't a good at beginning, but end up really nice.

Q. Your birdie on 16 was great. Can you talk about what club you hit your tee shot with?

JEENO THITIKUL: Oh, yeah, I think 16 was seem easy but like the wind kind of swirling around and then we had to, you know, be committed to it.

So I saw Ronni hits pitching wedge a little short but she miss it by a little bit. But I just hit half pitching wedge into and then it just went in like two feet.

Q. This is the first time that the LPGA has played at this course since 2021. A lot of people have been talking about the greens. What do you think is tough about this course specifically?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think every green on the yardage books you can see it's square, not circle. Normally it's like circle or not, but it's just like square.

It's not really running if you hit it high on the slope in the front of the green, but you don't want to miss long side because long side it's always going to be a downhill putts or downhill chip to the hole. Just not a little down, it's so down.

I think it's just the things that everyone really concern about to keep it below the hole, not above. And then it just also hard calculating. The green is not that soft and the wind picked up and then also the front of the green, it's kind of like a slope that where if you hit it high it's not going to run out.

Q. I was just going to ask, you said yesterday I believe in your press conference that it was playing like a major a little bit. A lot of that obviously you just talked about the greens. With some rain yesterday, how do you feel with the conditions? Were they still pretty firm and fast or did they slow up a little bit?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think the only things that make it a little easy is the front nine play like shorter than we play a couple day in practice round, because maybe not that much wind that I play in the morning, early morning.

And then I think when -- I saw them like all the staff watering the green every day even we play the practice round. I was just like water it. Water it more. Luckily we got rain yesterday, which is going to help it a little bit more.

But I think if they not watering the green and then if we got a really breezing coming in a couple days should be tough for sure. That's why I'm saying it's like a major.

And then I think it just -- when you're above the hole and then you just like, you think just not putting in the hole, but putting around the hole it's really good enough. If you had a really aggressive putt you can have another maybe longer than your first putt.

Q. How important do you think it is to play these really difficult courses even when they're not majors, regular LPGA Tour event? How nice is it for you, a player, to get those super complex, really difficult golf courses to see the level of talent out here?

JEENO THITIKUL: Uh-huh, I think it's just golf, it should be like that. Sometime we -- I'm not (indiscernible) think that we should only difficult or only easy course, but I think having the mixing about along the way, maybe some challenging course, some makable courses along the ways, it's better. You know, sometime when you see a difficult golf courses it can test your games and tell you what things you need to work on. You don't have just like maybe a gap wedge and then going for the pin every hole.

You just -- you know, on the last hole I got to like 6-iron downwind and then it just rolled out. Ronni and me just like, what the hell are we doing wrong? But just sometime it just testing not just hitting well, but testing the scrambling a lot.

But today I hit it quite good, which is I don't have that scramble that much. Sometime I know a challenging course, but it definitely had plenty room for you to be able to hit there.

Q. One last question from me. Last time LPGA was near 2021 Jin Young Ko won with a score of 21-under par. Do you think that that number is possible this weekend or do you think it's playing a lot tougher?

JEENO THITIKUL: Are they changing the course? Are they renovating the course? What did she do, 21-under par?

Q. I believe so.

JEENO THITIKUL: Oh, she's just damn good. (Laughter.)

To me, I think it's really depend on the condition, the wind, the weather. It's really cool in this morning and then it will cold again in the -- like tomorrow morning and then also Saturday maybe a little bit of rain.

And also it's depend on how they put the pin.

But I think if you -- if anyone can shoot 21-under par for four round, I think definitely going to lift the trophy for sure.

I think 18 or 19 you can already hoist the trophy.