U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 1, 2026

Jeeno Thitikul

The Riviera Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning. Please welcome to the interview area No. 2 in the world Jeeno Thitikul, who's making her fifth appearance at the U.S. Women's Open.

Jeeno, how does it feel to be back at a U.S. Women's Open here at Riviera?

JEENO THITIKUL: I'm so blessed to be able to play U.S. Women's Open five years in a row, especially here at Riv, which is one of the golf courses that I really, really want to play in my career.

It's good start that I'm still playing on Tour in Riv, which is great, yeah.

Q. Have you watched this course on TV before?

JEENO THITIKUL: No.

Q. You've now played the whole thing. What was your reaction?

JEENO THITIKUL: It's great. It's nice. I think it's just different around the rough, the kikuyu rough is just different than everywhere else. I think we played Pebble Beach before, which is like similar to that one. Other than that where I live in Texas which is so different.

And then I think it's just adjustment of be able to see the ball reaction on the greens from the rough, rough around the green, and also on the fairway too. It is kind of different how you can see the ball reaction wise.

Otherwise, it's a nice course to be, and then it's U.S. Open. You don't expect anything to be easy, though.

Q. Just wondering if you worked with your instructor Chris before you came here, if he came to Dallas. He's here?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, we played pickle ball. We should play golf, I guess. Just kidding. We just have fun. He's always like by my side around major weeks because we do some preps, we do some -- I only see him not much as like other people -- like his student in Thailand. I'm here a lot. That's why he have to came over.

We have fun, but we not really work much things, I think. What we have been working for a while, it's just worked out. So we're just trying to keep things on track.

Q. What was it that you've worked out about your iron play? What's the difference now than it was, say, two months ago?

JEENO THITIKUL: It just in the beginning of the year my backswing was a little laid off. Then I just like kind of come like on the down swing, I just come over and then just down. Instead of good and then come down in the straight position.

Yeah, my backswing is getting better. Like we trying to not laid over, and then the slot of this transition of the downswing is better, which is what we expecting.

So he just keep tracking and then he just keep monitor if it's in a good position. So that's really basic things that we do right now.

Q. Was it in a good position in Thailand when you won?

JEENO THITIKUL: No. It's not a good position of the swing, but it's good finishing of the result. (Laughter).

Q. What have you learned from your previous four U.S. Open experiences, and how might whatever that was help you here this week?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think all the U.S. Open that I have is so different because like we had different courses, different mindset, different weather outside. I think you need to really be patient in U.S. Open to like -- on the course 18 hole, you definitely know that you're not going to make like a birdie bombs like you make in just like a lot of tournaments.

But like you definitely had a tough like up-and-down, and then you have to bounce back from some places that it's really like maybe just see impossible things.

I think if you keep really patient and wait until the time coming and then you take that opportunities, I think it's a good advantage for being in the U.S. Open.

Q. Do you have a favorite hole out here so far? I know you have a limited experience.

JEENO THITIKUL: I think 18 is one of my favorites too. You can see the clubhouse, and then it's a tough hole. Like it seems like it's not tough from like on the putting green that you saw now, but like you see nothing on the fairway from the tee box. Like you don't see where you landed.

Then you got -- I think I just got like 180 each something into the pin or 190, which is kind of -- I think it's kind of a nice closing hole for us, especially when you have the lead.

I think it's just not an easy hole to be able to get it near there that's easy.

Q. From the start of your career to where you are now, how has the way you've approached major championships changed?

JEENO THITIKUL: I don't think I approach anything change. Like I just talk to my coach what we have to do different, but in a major he's just like, we don't have to do anything different because like when you change your routine, that's when you change your mindset.

I think, when you just like -- like you have a lead -- just as an example, when you have a lead and you change it to be more careful, you're trying to look at the lines or different angles too much. Like other people can tell your routine is different, and that's when you get tight. That's when you get like kind of controlling shots, controlling strokes.

I think it's the same to the preparations, that obviously we just -- maybe you need to hit some of the long irons to the majors, I think. Like on my off week, I just play from the back tee, like all the way in the back from my home course in Dallas because we know major is just longer. Then longer, you have to be more up-and-down and then just making some long putts than what we're doing. But we're just trying to make things the same.

Q. Where did the majors fit in your schedule as you're structuring where you're going to play throughout the year? How do you kind of prioritize those in your schedule?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I know. I feel like the major was next by next by next a little, like coming up so close. I do love the time when we have Chevron to here, but from here we just feel like we had a major stress. Like U.S. Open, KPMG, Evian, and then AIG after that. Wow.

If you're at your peak in this period of time, you might have a really good long stretch, but honestly, I think I'll just do what the next thing I have to do.

Like do what -- okay, I prep for U.S. Open, and then next week I have a week off and I prep for obviously KPMG, as I will play, but we're not really like, oh, I have to make like 10 hours prep in a day for just U.S. Open or for just KPMG.

But I think we prep for just a better future. Not just the major, but the better future, the better games we're going to have not just this year, but like my whole career in the future.

Q. What do you think has been the biggest challenge for you in the majors?

JEENO THITIKUL: For me, I think to have an up-and-down. I think up-and-down are the biggest challenges for me because I know I hit like lots of greens when I was young and I'm not really chipping. I love practice my putting. And then my dad brought me to driving range a lot. That's why I hit a lot of greens.

My coach Chris always say that chipping is so fun. I'm always like, no, that sounds boring to me. But I do tell him that putting is fun too, and then he's just like, no, that's so boring. You just do one stuff all the time and then repeat that, repeat that. I was like, I just maybe love repeat things.

But he just love chipping and then playing shots around. He's the guy like chipping comes, chip it around the tree, chip it up -- you know, have to cover the tree, under the tree, which is like playing around.

Q. How much are you influenced by the play of Nelly Korda?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think she's always one of the players that -- I don't really saw her practice that much on the tournament, like in the tournament day or in the tournament week. I just always saw her on the driving range a little bit like before, like she going to tee up her practice time. Then after that, maybe she just putt for a couple balls and then went home.

Then I feel like that's kind of inspire a lot of players that you did all the hard work in your week off. I definitely thought so, that she's No. 1 in the world, definitely she's going to work hard.

I just feel like, especially this year she mentioned that she changed her mindset a little bit and then last year maybe. I'm not too sure about that. But it just feel like you have saw the things, you know, that she play in Florida a lot, and then she just came here to play golf.

And then she's really, you know, inspiring me to that too, and then if you put too much work and you not let your body like rest and relax, especially tournament week, I think it's going to be an advantage more than disadvantage.

So it just really inspires me to see her doing what she's doing right now. Then obviously the pressure on her, I know she's playing for USA, and especially the U.S. Open is the one she's looking for. She's just a good person to hang out around. She's a fast player, which is my favorite (laughter).

It's just great to see someone that's good-good, and then we're just hanging around and trying to do the same things like better together.