GALLOWAY – World No. 2, Jeeno Thitikul, returns to the Garden State this weekend, a month removed from her win at the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City, as the LPGA travels “down the shore” to Galloway for the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.
Thitikul will join a field that includes three other golfers ranked in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings top-10, including world No. 1 Nelly Korda, No. 6 Maja Stark, and No. 10 Mao Saigo. In addition to being ranked in the top ten in the world, Saigo and Stark are this year’s two major tournament winners thus far, with Saigo taking home The Chevron Championship trophy in April and Stark hoisting the Women’s U.S. Open trophy this past weekend.
As for Thitikul herself, she will be returning to New Jersey not only looking to sweep the Garden State’s two tournaments, but she will also be looking to rebound from a less-than-stellar performance at the Women’s U.S. Open this past weekend, where she missed her first cut of the season.
While she hit a bump in the road this past weekend, Thitikul has been relatively consistent throughout the season. Out of her nine starts, she has six top-10 finishes, including three top-3 finishes, and a championship.
Additionally, Thitikul has seen her fair share of success in New Jersey. As previously mentioned, she won the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City in May. Moreover, she finished fourth at last year’s ShopRite LPGA Classic, just two strokes behind last year’s champion, Linnea Strom. Furthermore, out of the nine events that Thitikul has started in the Garden State, she has placed in the top ten in seven of them, and in the top five in three of them.
Finally, other golfers of note that will also be competing in Galloway this weekend include Lauren Coughlin, Ayaka Furue, Jin Young Ko, and Rio Takeda. Coughlin ranks 13th and has three top-10 finishes this year and finished in a tie for ninth at last year’s ShopRite LPGA Classic. Furue checks in at No. 16 in the world and was the runner-up in Galloway last year. Ko currently sits at No. 12 in the world, but owns the LPGA record for most weeks spent at number one in the world rankings. LPGA rookie Rio Takeda is currently ranked 14th and won the Blue Bay LPGA tournament in March and finished in a tie for second at the Women’s U.S. Open.
Thitikul will begin her quest for a Garden State sweep on Friday at Seaview’s Bay Course. Tickets for the 2025 ShopRite LPGA Classic can be purchased by visiting https://shopritelpgaclassic.com/tickets, and for those who cannot make it to the Jersey shore, live action can be caught on the Golf Channel from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
