Let's put it plainly: Jeeno Thitikul is the best golfer in the world right now, and she did it by finishing tied for 30th at the AIG Women's Open.
We all saw it coming. Week after week, we kept asking the same thing: is this the one? And now here we are: the 22-year-old from Bangkok back on top of the Rolex Rankings. The moment came with a +1 at Porthcawl while Nelly Korda finished at +3, ending her impressive 71-week run at number one. No spotlight needed, just steady golf and the kind of composure typically reserved for Ariya Jutanugarn.
In this age where it sometimes feels we want immediate viral moments and the kind of fuss made for streaming services, Jeeno did this her way. She methodically chipped away at the rankings. You wouldn't have known it from her face Sunday, but there was triumph in her walk -- not a swagger, but that Ariya-esque stride, crossing dunes as if untouched by scores or poorly placed backboards that can hug a green. When asked about the ranking afterward, she said, "Sometimes, it's just about surviving the week."
When the week was over, did she celebrate? Of course. Maybe with an iced coffee, hold the ice, with her friend Ronnie Yin.
Jeeno's numbers support all this: eight top-10 finishes, runner-up at HSBC and Evian, and a win at the Mizuho Americas Open. Beyond the colorful grips, her iron game is sharp -- leading the tour with over 77% greens in regulation and averaging 4.6 birdies per round. She's a quietly relentless force among the best this season.
Let's not forget, this isn't Jeeno's first time. She was No. 1 in 2022, at just 19. That stint lasted two weeks -- roughly the same amount of time the PGA of America stays concerned with a player who punches up a historic country club's locker room. But she's back now, again without a major win. Older, calmer, and in absolutely no rush to appease anybody. If there's a deeper well of fortitude on tour, I haven't seen it.
Jeeno isn't here for the drama either, though some unintentionally found her at Evian. What she is here for is the long game: contesting 20+ tournaments a season and quietly reclaiming the top spot from whoever assumed it was theirs. And when that major finally lands--and it will--don't expect a victory lap. Just a quiet nod, that trademark grin, and then she's off again, pin-seeking like nothing ever happened.
And the greater truth? Jeeno doesn't even need a major to have her place among the game's best. That's exactly what makes her so brilliant to watch.