Jeeno Thitikul carded a final-round 70 at last week’s Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G to come five shots short of matching Lydia Ko's four-day total of 23-under and her fourth LPGA Tour title. But the Thailand native's runner-up finish pushed her up three spots to No. 12 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.

Thitikul has made ten cuts in 12 starts this season, earning one victory and five other top-10 results in addition to her runner-up showing at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. She tied for seventh at the Mizuho Americas Open, tied for sixth at the U.S. Women's Open presented by Ally, finished fourth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, a tie for eighth at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, won the Dow Championship with her playing partner Ruoning Yin and then tied for fourth at the FM Championship at TPC Boston.

The three-time LPGA Tour winner has been a force to be reckoned with since joining the organization in 2022, capturing three wins and 33 additional top-10 finishes to make over $5.3 million in career earnings in just three seasons as a member.

Mao Saigo on Top in the Rookie of the Year Race

Mao Saigo leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings after a T39 showing at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. She currently sits 54 points ahead of Jin Hee Im.

While the Japan native has yet to find victory lane so far this season, Saigo has earned five top-10 finishes in 2024 – a tie for seventh at the AIG Women's Open, a solo second at the CPKC Women's Open, a tie for eighth at the Dow Championship with playing partner Yu Jin Sung, a tie for eighth at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and a tie for eighth at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. Despite a slight drop in the Rolex Rankings to No. 38 in the world, Saigo's solid 2024 performance has kept her in the top 30 of the world rankings.

The 2024 LPGA Tour rookie played on the JLPGA Tour and has won six times, most recently at the 2023 Ito En Ladies Golf Tournament, with her other five wins coming in 2022. Even though she is only a rookie this year, Saigo has made multiple appearances in each of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships – the U.S. Women's Open (2022, 2023, 2024), the KPMG Women's PGA Championship (2022, 2023, 2024), the AIG Women's Open (2022, 2023, 2024), The Amundi Evian Championship (2023, 2024) and The Chevron Championship (2023, 2024).

New No. in Epson Tour’s Race for the Card

With a tie for second at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, Lauren Stephenson has catapulted herself into the top spot in the Epson Tour’s season-long Race for the Card. She moved up one place in the standings with 1633.416 points and is one of five players to have already secured their LPGA Tour cards for the 2025 season.

With a T13 in Arkansas, Four Winds Invitational champion Yahui Zhang dropped a position in the standings, now sitting 109.850 points behind Stephenson. The competition is fierce, with Jessica Porvasnik in third place with 1432.302 points, having earned six top 10s this season.

Fatima Fernandez Cano is currently fourth with 1356.509 points, earning her third Epson Tour victory at the Guardian Championship earlier this month. Rounding out the top five is Brooke Matthews with 1291.895 points, who, with seven top-10 results, has yet to find the winner’s circle this season but became the fifth player to secure their LPGA Tour card after the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout with one event remaining on the Epson Tour schedule.

Some other significant moves following the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout are as follows:

Jenny Bae jumped 18 places to seventh in the Race following her win in El Dorado, Ark., and has 1191.847 total points
Hailee Cooper went from 53rd to 34th with 565.520 total points after earning her third top 10 result of the season
Therese Warner jumped 100 spots to 63rd with 257.875 total points after her solid performance at Mystic Creek Golf Club

The Race for the Card is a season-long points competition in which Epson Tour members accumulate points in every official Epson Tour tournament. The ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15 in the point standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. The point-based system, new on the Epson Tour this season, replaces the money-based system and will award points to those who make the cut weekly.

The 2024 season will also be the first year that Epson Tour athletes will vie for 15 LPGA Tour cards awarded after next week’s season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif.

Making Moves: Jeeno Thitikul On the Rise

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