Jeeno Thitikul first repeat winner on the LPGA Tour in 2025

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Jeeno Thitikul became the first repeat winner on the LPGA Tour in the 2025 season with her five-hole playoff victory at the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai.

After a streak of 25 different winners on the LPGA Tour in 2025, World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul was the one to break it. Thitikul prevailed over Minami Katsu in a grueling five-hole playoff for her second win of the season at the Buick LPGA Shanghai.

Everyone was playing catch up to Katsu during the third and fourth rounds of the tournament at the gettable Qizhong Garden Golf Club. Katsu’s second-round 61 (-11) broke three records; she set her personal best 18-hole score and the 18 and 36-hole tournament scoring records. After a third-round 68, Katsu sat atop the leaderboard with a total of 17-under-par. It was an uphill climb for anyone hoping to catch the leader in round four.

Thitikul was the player to do just that. In her blistering bogey-free final round of 63 (-9), Thitikul carded seven birdies and an eagle. Her lowest round of the week and the season came at just the right time. Katsu’s final round 65 (-7) was also bogey-free, so the two headed to a playoff.

Jeeno Thitikul eagles the #AonRiskReward Challenge hole and we're heading to 18 all tied up 🫣 pic.twitter.com/gLpEf40xnG
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 12, 2025

Here’s where the drama ensued. In the first hole of the sudden death playoff, both players made par after missing two very makeable birdie putts. Thitikul’s was certainly closer to the hole, but with how the two golfers had been playing all week, anything was bound to drop. Unfortunately, they had to settle for tap-in pars.

Things got interesting on the second playoff hole when Thitikul hit her tee shot into the water to the left of the playing area. It seemed like Katsu had a wide open look at a victory, but Thitikul stuck her approach shot after a penalty stroke. She was in range for an easy par putt, just hoping that Katsu would miss her birdie. Katsu did miss, and Thitikul was safe for another hole.

Minami Katsu narrowly misses her birdie putt and the playoff continues… ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/hhUPX0MTAw
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 12, 2025

On the third and fourth playoff holes, both players missed genuine birdie opportunities, which kept the tournament level. Heading into the fifth playoff hole, the stakes seemed that much higher.

It was almost as if Thitikul, sitting in the fairway of the 10th hole, said, “I’m sick of this.” She hit perhaps her best wedge shot of the tournament, sticking her approach to just a couple feet. What could have been racing through her mind over that putt?

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“I knew that one of us need to make a birdie to be able to win the tournament,” Thitikul said in her post-win press conference on Sunday, Oct. 12. “I’m like whatever happens, it’s happen. I have the people who love me by my side and then I think of my mom and dad’s face, yes.”

That was a pretty good mindset considering her devastating last hole at the Kroger Queen City Championship last month and her three runner-up finishes this season. It was evident that a huge weight was off her shoulders when she finally sunk the winning birdie putt.

Her head dropped back in exhaustion and a huge breath of relief was sighed.

The shot that won Jeeno the trophy in Shanghai 🏌️‍♀️🏆 pic.twitter.com/ahJ3EDyIKu
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 12, 2025

Thitikul’s win was hard-fought. After being crowned World No. 1, she had so many chances to nab a win and just couldn’t finish the job. But this win at the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai was well-deserved.

See you next week, golf fans.

This week in women’s golf

Five at The IX: Hear from Jeeno Thitikul during her post-win press conference at the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai on Sunday, Oct. 12

Jeeno, you earned this one 🏆🫶 pic.twitter.com/h3RJy6HZg4
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 13, 2025

Q. You have officially broken our streak of different winners this year by being the first repeat winner. Why do you think that is? Why do you think there has been so many different winners, and what does it feel like to be the first repeat winner?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I think it’s because of like I said, we just had more talented players, and then I feel like I do—I did came close for a couple time this year, but I feel like every week it’s going to be only one player that can be outstanding and then just some, you know, some dramatic finish for each tournament.

I think it’s a good sign, to be honest. It’s a good sign for the LPGA Tour. It’s just meaning that, you know, like the field get stronger and the Tour gets tougher and stronger to be able to win even once.

And be able to win again, I mean, for me, for the multiple for this year, which is just like really amazing.

And then I think my last tournament has got me a little bit of kind of doubt for sure. But to be standing out here and then getting that again after that week, what’s happen, I can’t answer it by myself. I can’t wrote my note about it, wrote all the things that happened in my career by myself, so I have nothing to be afraid of anymore.

Q. Like you mentioned, this win comes after multiple runner-up finishes, including Cincinnati. What did you do after Kroger to debrief and reset and be able to come back here and win?

JEENO THITIKUL: Definitely cried a lot. Not going lie, cried quite a lot. And then I do have like, you know, a really amazing off week, which is we spend time with no golf in Canada and then just like remind me that whatever it’s happen, it’s the past. And then I’m a human, which is I make a mistake for sure, and then everyone does.

And then I was just like trying to be back and then practicing and then earning—I mean, like I just kept told myself—whatever is happen in dramatic events, not just Cincinnati, but in this year, I just told myself that I need to earn it by myself. Every win or every work that you—the winner is just only one players and then I have to earn it by myself, and then when it’s my time, I will want to be in that moment again and did it by myself again.

Q. You think the major championship is going to be your goal next year?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I think major still every tournament still going to be my goal in next year. Talking about this year as well, we got done yet until the CME yet. Still have work to go.

And then obviously major’s going to be another project in my job that one time I really want to get it, but it’s a long way to go, and then I don’t want to pressure myself too much because major, tough course, tough weeks, tough fields.

And then to be able to win the major you should get really A-game on every major that you have. Like I said, I think I still have lots of time to be able to do it.

Q. Your playing partner, Minami Katsu, also posted a solid round. Also performed very well in her play. What’s your opinion of this opponent, Japanese player?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, she’s had really amazing like round and week long from Tuesday—no, Friday, Friday. Friday she got to like 11-under or 10-under, around that.

I saw her play today when we start until like 10 something, she had—on 10 she got birdie; 11, something like that for two, three holes in a row. She had really strong game today.

I mean, I don’t know, I just knew my spot after I calculated that I had, whatever, 9-under par today. Do I? Yes.

And then because—to be honest, I think she was going to win. I know that I have a chance, but just like not many. I don’t know how many holes left but still two, three stroke behind.

I don’t know what’s happened on 17, 16, 15, that I have. It’s kind of like maybe lucky; maybe not. I don’t know.

But, yeah.

Q. What do you think about this younger generation?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think like we got a lot of more talented players and also young. As you can see, the girl who won the low amateur was just 16 years old. That was her first LPGA event ever in her life, so she was able to do a really good job after, you know, like playing alongside all the LPGA players.

And then, I mean, like from China, from Japan, Korea, Thailand, I think all Asia had a really good like new generation that’s coming up, which is I think because of all the role model on each country did a really good job to be able to motivating them to be better and better.

And I think all the next generation, it’s going to be really amazing for them because of the technology-wise, you know, growth, and then everyone, golf, you can see all the (indiscernible) so tall and hitting so far compared to me. Yeah, I just can’t wait to see how the future holds on for them.

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Jeeno Thitikul first repeat winner on the LPGA Tour in 2025

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Five at The IX: Hear from Jeeno Thitikul during her post-win press conference at the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai on Sunday, Oct. 12

Written by Marin Dremock