LPGA: Talented Thai teen Atthaya Thitikul turns win last week into major opportunity at Chevron Championship

For most of us, when our travel plans get changed at the last second, it’s a bummer. Not so for Atthaya Thitikul.

The 19-year-old rising LPGA star from Thailand won last week’s tour event in Carlsbad, and that victory qualified her to play in this week’s Chevron Championship in Rancho Mirage. Needless to say, she adjusted her plans.

Just three days after her first LPGA Tour win, she will be playing in her first major as an LPGA Tour member.

“It means the world to me to be out here and winning last week and I’m excited to play this week,” Thitikul said Wednesday after playing in the pro-am. “If I wasn’t here, I probably would’ve gone home or somewhere to stay focused on my game. This is better.”

When Thitikul tees it up Thursday, it will be her first time playing the Dinah Shore Tournament Course as a pro, but it won’t be the first time she played in this event. She played here in 2018 as an amateur, made the cut and finished in a tie for 30th. She was the top amateur that year.

She finished 5-under in 2018, tied with the likes of Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr and In Gee Chun. Not bad for a 15-year-old.

Does that mean that this course suits her game?

“No, I think not very much,” she said matter-of-factly. “For me, and just like for all the players, if you can keep your ball in the fairway, it will be much easier.”

Thitikul said she doesn’t feel like the confidence and glow she gained by winning last week will necessarily translate to this week.

“You can’t expect anything with golf,” she said, showing the wisdom of a veteran. “That was last week not today. I don’t want to just have winning always on my back, like ‘Oh yeah just won that tournament, you should do good in this tournament too.’ It doesn’t mean that. It depends on your week, depends on the course.”

Having just turned 19 on Feb. 20, if she were to make it two in a row and win this week, she would be the third-youngest player ever to win this event.

Morgan Pressel in 2007 and Lydia Ko in 2016 both won as 18-year-olds. Lexi Thompson was 19 years, one month and 27 days old when she won here in 2014. Thitikul would be a couple weeks younger than that on Sunday.

Thitikul has another unique distinction relating to her success at a young age. She is the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf tournament. At age 14 years, 4 months and 19 days, she won the Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur in 2017. It was that victory that enabled her to play here in Rancho Mirage in 2018.

A victory in the desert on Sunday would replace all of those accomplishments and become her new shining moment. She admitted that she has dreamt of jumping in Poppie’s Pond, and with the tournament moving to Houston after this year, she knows this will be the last opportunity for her to be able to do that.

There is one problem though.

“The other players have this dream, too,” she said with a laugh.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Palm Springs Desert Sun, part of the USA Today Network. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

Watch her play

Who: Atthaya Thitikul, 19-year-old from Thailand who won last week’s LPGA event.
Playing partner: Inbee Park, the 2013 champion here
Thursday tee time: 12:47 p.m. off the 10th tee
Friday tee time: 7:47 a.m. off the 1st tee