Maineville, Ohio, United States: Atthaya ‘Jeeno’ Thitikul may not have won the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, but having a front row seat witnessing the brilliance of Lydia Ko was ample compensation for the Thai.
New Zealand’s Ko signed off with a superb nine-under-par 63 at TPC River’s Bend for a 23-under-par 265 total, five shots ahead of overnight leader Atthaya. It was Ko’s third LPGA Tour title of the 2024 season and the 22nd of her glittering career.
Despite having to settle for second place, Atthaya said it was a privilege for her to be playing alongside Ko.
“I respect her like my older sister, as a legend, and also as my role model,” said 21-year-old Atthaya, winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2018.
“It was a really good experience watching her on the same tee box, on the same greens. Lydia’s putter was on fire. She makes it everywhere that she has a chance,” added Atthaya, after posting her seventh top-10 finish of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, including her third career victory at the Dow Championship alongside China’s Yin Ruoning.
Having suffered a thumb injury at the start of the year that sidelined her for a while, Atthaya has impressed in just 12 events this year.
“What I have seen in the last couple of months has been really good for me. It’s more than I could ask for. In the same year that I got injured to be in contention every week is really amazing for me.”
Having captured the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews in her last Tour start in August, Ko’s latest triumph in Ohio marked the first time she has won in back-to-back LPGA Tour appearances since 2016.
“It's been pretty surreal. I had the most unbelievable three weeks in Europe and, after having another three weeks off, you’re not entirely sure what it’s going to be like. I started off this event really strong, playing well the first couple of days,” said Ko, who also won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics in early August.
“I know that Jeeno and a lot of the other girls aren’t going to play bad golf, so I’ve just got to try and play even better golf. To have a round like this to cap off a win is pretty special.”
At the start of the final round, it looked like it was going to be a two-horse race between Ko and Atthaya, which was what ultimately played out at TPC River’s Bend. It was Ko who prevailed as the Thai player faded over the closing stretch for a round of 70.
“I don't think it’s ever easy. You could win by 10 strokes and still never feel like it was an easy round,” said Ko.
“My ball striking has been a part of my game that I feel like has improved a lot and something that I’m more and more comfortable with, especially coming down the stretch when there are big things on the line. That’s the aspect I’m most proud of. I feel like I’m able to handle these situations a lot better than maybe a couple of months ago,” added the 27-year-old, who earned her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame with the Olympic victory.
