01하와이 첫날 선전… 우승 레이스 재가동한 지노 티티쿨
지노 티티쿨이 미국여자프로골프(LPGA) 투어 하와이 대회 첫날 순조로운 출발을 알리며 상위권에 이름을 올렸다.
티티쿨은 하와이에서 펼쳐진 1라운드 경기에서 안정적인 경기력을 바탕으로 선두권에 바짝 다가서며 남은 라운드에 대한 기대감을 높였다.
최근 꾸준한 활약을 이어오고 있는 티티쿨이 대회 첫날부터 우승권에 포진함에 따라, 이번 하와이 대회 남은 기간 동안 치열한 선두 다툼이 이어질 것으로 전망된다.
02Original (English) — LPGA
Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand plays a shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei 2026 at Hoakalei Country Club on October 01, 2026 in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
Adam Stanley is an award-winning golf journalist. He is the golf reporter for Sportsnet, Canada’s No.1 sports media brand, as well as a frequent contributor to the LPGA’s digital coverage, PGATOUR.com, and The Globe and Mail.
Jeeno Thitikul has been the definition of consistency over her last five starts on the LPGA Tour, and the three-time winner – so far – in 2026 is back in some familiar territory after the opening round of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei.
Thitikul, who has already won The Standard Portland Classic, Mizuho Americas Open and Honda LPGA Thailand this season, shot a 5-under 67 to open her week at Hoakalei Country Club. She was just two shots back of A Lim Kim, who led after the morning wave with a 7-under 65.
Thitikul had a clean card Thursday, with three birdies on her first nine – she started on the back nine – before adding two more after making the turn, with back-to-back circles on her scorecard on Nos. 18 and 1.
Thitikul hit 11 of 14 fairways and missed just two greens in regulation.
"I've been trying to, like I said, be aggressive as possible and then kind of like, 'let it go' out there on the course," Thitikul said.
Thitikul said she knows that sometimes you're going to hit a good shot and sometimes you're going to hit a bad shot, but she's been a lot more committed to her alignment and being happy with her approaches – as long as they start on line.
She said, off the tee, the fairways were feeling awfully big – especially given how wet it was. The first round in Hawaii saw a short weather delay with a deluge of rain blowing through quickly.
"I think if you can go like, really aggressive to the pin it should be (the plan). I feel like with the rain kind of, you know, dropping down, the (greens got slower) and not really firm. I think if you can be able to be aggressive as possible (you should be)," Thitikul said.
Thitikul, who sits second in the Rolex Rankings and fourth in the Race to CME Globe, said her game came around a tidy corner through the end of the summer. With the Solheim Cup installed on the schedule, Thitikul hasn't played since the FM Championship but showed no signs of rust Thursday in Hawaii.
"I think I do have a better game than (how) I started (this season). I feel like a lot has been going well the last couple of months," Thitikul said earlier this week. "You know, golf you always have room for improvement, and it's never been perfect every time. Every second of golf never ever been perfect anyway.
"It was great to have a break after Boston. Have a month off before here, which is nice. I kind of like really doing like a work-life balance. Like not really hitting balls the first couple weeks."
Thitikul said with a smile that while it was nice to be away, as an athlete you get "addicted" to golf.
"When I had like a week off, I was like, 'I feel guilty and bad that I'm not like practicing.' Which is not good, because like you need to break, you know, sometime. Like mentally, physically break from it," she said.
Thitikul had a trip to Austria with her coach and his wife and her friends. Fun was had before she began putting in work again as she prepared to compete.
Thitikul has been a statistical darling so far this season, sitting fifth in strokes gained: total, second in greens in regulation and first in ball striking. One more victory would tie her with Nelly Korda for the most so far in 2026.
There are still three rounds left in Hawaii, but it's no surprise to see Thitikul near the top of the leaderboard, again, on the LPGA Tour.