She learned golf without a course. Now? She’s nearly No. 1

The scene: At home in Dallas, chatting over the phone, settling in after the LPGA’s early-season Asian swing.

Dylan Dethier: Growing up in Thailand, how’d you learn to speak such good English?

Jeeno Thitikul: Just from travel, to be honest. I didn’t study at an international school, just a normal Thai school. We had English classes, but they weren’t that great. But I was on Thailand’s international golf team, and we traveled every month, so that helped.

DD: How did you first get into golf?

JT: My grandfather introduced me. He came up with two sports, golf and tennis, that he wanted me to try. He wanted a sport that wouldn’t hurt your body too much, so that I could play for a long time. And he wanted a sport that could lead to a career, if I was talented.

DD: So I’m guessing you liked golf better than tennis?

JT: [Laughing] I didn’t even have the chance to try tennis. He read in the newspaper about Tiger Woods, who was so good at that time, so I think he really wanted me to play golf. He took me to the driving range, I took a lesson with a pro there, he asked me if I liked it, I said yes and I started from there.

DD: Did you play with your family?

JT: Nobody in my family plays golf. At all. I’m the only one.

DD: Did you find friends to play with?

JT: When I started, there was a group at the driving range, a lot of friends. But five or six years later, they were all gone. They’d quit. Maybe two or three were left but, like, 10 quit.

DD: How would you describe where you’re from: Ratchaburi, Thailand?

JT: I came from a small town in the region, not too far from Bangkok. But we didn’t have a golf course in our city, just a driving range. So I learned there.

DD: Do you remember the first time that you knew, Okay, I’m very good at this?

JT: I think it was when I qualified for the national team and played some of the Asian Games and international and overseas tournaments. That helped me improve.

DD: And then you won your first pro event when you were 14. What do you remember about that — pressure? Fun?

JT: I just remember it was so fun. I remember the excitement and the nerves from the final round too, but I think at that time it was so fun because I wasn’t really scared to fail at all.

DD: Is that what happens as you play longer — you get scared of more things?

JT: Over time, you can know too much. You can think too much because you know what’s not good versus what is good. You’re not scared, but you think more carefully.

DD: From the outside it seems that you and Ronni Yin do lots of things together and have become close friends. True?

JT: Oh, yeah. She just bought a house near my house. Like, walkable. We started hanging out after 2023, and we got closer when we played the Dow Championship together. [Editor’s note: They won as partners in 2024.]

DD: You’re both 22. Do you think you relate to each other because you’ve had so much success at a young age? You’ve each reached No. 1 in the world. You’ve got four LPGA wins; she’s got five.

JT: We have had such similar careers, and we talk about that a lot. How did we become golfers? What has it been like for us? Everything has happened so fast. Sometimes if I’m not in a good mental-health space, it helps me to talk to her. And if she needs something, I can be there for her too.

DD: In golf, how important is it to have your mind in the right place?

JT: I think it’s the most important part. I know the physical skills are required, but at this level we aren’t too different from each other, so the mental is the biggest part. Performing under pressure.

DD: How do you practice your mental game? How do you work on that?

JT: I’ve done some research and learned more about psychology, just by myself. But I practice feeling more present. Feeling your feet while you’re walking, stuff like that. Simple things.

DD: Do you think the biggest win of your career was last year’s CME? You took home the $4 million first-place prize.

JT: Either the CME or my first-ever win. Both amazing.

DD: Did you make any big purchases? I know you were thinking about it.

JT: No. Small things. [Laughing] But all the small things can make a big thing.

DD: You’re currently No. 2 in the world. Do you dream of getting back to No. 1?

JT: I would say it’s not that important to me. Whether I am No. 1 or No. 10 or No. 20, I feel the same. And I don’t think those numbers tell how hard you work.

DD: Do you consider yourself a hard worker?

JT: I don’t. But my coach says, “Oh, you work too hard.” My whole team says the same thing. And I say, “Oh, really?” Because I always think I’m not doing enough.

DD: Do you set goals for yourself?

JT: Before I turned pro, I did set a goal: If my family could live a good life, that would mean I did my goal.

DD: And have you accomplished that?

JT: I think so. A really good life now. And now that I have been a professional, I have the goal that I would want to win a major at least once.

DD: What’s the hardest thing about life as a pro?

JT: The travel, for sure. The schedule is better now than it was my rookie year, because I can choose which tournaments to play. I still love travel, but if we could have more time to enjoy things while we travel, instead of just golf and hotel or golf and Airbnb, that would be better. Finding that work-life balance is so important. Two years ago, I learned that sometimes it can burn you out. You need to be able to motivate yourself every day.

DD: What’s a specific thing you like to do that’s not golf?

JT: I love to work out. And I’m finally getting into tennis.

DD: After all these years! Are you good?

JT: No. No, I’m not.

DD: No problem. You don’t have to be.