“I just said to the media guy that walked up with me today, like, ‘I don’t think I’m good.’ I don’t think I’m that good. He’s just like, ‘What are you just saying?’ ” Thitikul said.
Thitikul has made 14 of 15 cuts this season, with an LPGA-leading nine top-10 finishes and a win in the Mizuho Americas Open.
“I swear that when I was young, I just thought about winning a tournament,” said Thitikul. “Just one tournament on the LPGA would be enough for me.”
Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul finished tied for seventh at the CPKC Canadian Women’ Open this past weekend, her ninth top 10 finish out of 15 starts this season on the LPGA Tour.Vaughn Ridley/Getty
For her career, the 22-year-old from Thailand boasts five wins, 50 top 10s, and 60 top 25s. Not too shabby.
She does, however, believe in the strength of the field at the FM Championship.
A staggering amount of the LPGA’s top names — 35 of the tour’s top-40 players — will be on display at TPC Boston, including 21 of the 23 winners this season (there has been no repeat winner on tour this year).
World No. 2 Nelly Korda makes her FM Championship debut. She’s made the cut in all 14 events this season. Her six top-10 finishes are tied for most of any player without a win this season, a stat she’ll look to correct this weekend.
Featured groups for the #FMChampionship 🙌
Nelly Korda
Minjee Lee
Brooke Henderson
Jin Young Ko
Rio Takeda
Nasa Hataoka
Lottie Woad
Linn Grant
Rose Zhang
Akie Iwai
Chisato Iwai
Haeran Ryu
Lauren Coughlin
Jeeno Thitikul
Hannah Green
Megan Khang
Ingrid Lindblad
Lexi Thompson pic.twitter.com/RJ1c4qzAZ2
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 27, 2025
Haeran Ryu looks to defend her championship from last season’s inaugural event. Ryu experienced a roller-coaster ride to the title — kicking off with a 3-under 69, then carding a scorching 62 on Friday, but following that up with a 6-over 78, only to shoot 64 Sunday to get into a playoff, where she beat South Korean countrywoman Jin Young Ko for the $570,000 first-place payout.
Ryu, the 10th-ranked golfer in the Rolex Rankings, summed up the sport as candidly as possible.
“But my score is really good and really bad, so that means, yeah, golf is too hard,” said Ryu.
Known for hitting fairways and rolling in putts, Ryu earned the target on her back. Her caddie, Martin Bozek, immortalized her career-best, second-round 62 with a customized Red Sox jacket. A baseball fanatic, Bozek created a jacket with her last name and the number 62 with Fenway’s Finest as an ode to her Massachusetts victory.
“That’s the pretty good memory for this week,” she said.
Ontario native Brooke Henderson, who earned an emotional win at the CPKC Canadian Women’s Open last weekend, will make her FM Championship debut. Riding high after winning her national tournament for the second time, Henderson acknowledged that the past few days have been a whirlwind, but she couldn’t turn down an event that was circled on her calendar.
“Right after I won on Sunday, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” said Henderson. “It was such a huge week for me. I was very busy and just emotionally took a lot out of me. So it would’ve been very understandable, I think, to take this week off and rest up.
“But I knew this event was a great event, and I was excited to have the opportunity to come play here, so I just decided just to try to keep things going.”
US Women’s Amateur champion Megha Ganne noted that she had to “lock in” for this event, recently descending from the high of her signature win. The rising senior at Stanford owns a laundry list of collegiate accolades but will rely on her experience of competing in multiple US Opens and high-level amateur events to calm her nerves.
“It’s definitely cool to play in these events, and I think the novelty that I feel when I’m at an LPGA Tour event is probably the biggest thing and getting exposure to a different vibe out here,” said Ganne.
Massachusetts’ own Megan Khang, ranked No. 30, will look to improve on her placement from last year, when she tied for 35th.
After the drama of last year’s event — and an increased $4.1 million purse — the FM Championship has become must-see TV.
“They’re pretty new but they hosted really good, so I think that’s why everyone is here,” said Thitikul.
More FM Championship coverage:
How the LPGA made it so golfers don’t have to choose between having kids and playing on the Tour
Following the money in women’s golf: How the bar is being raised for LPGA Tour purses
Your guide to the LPGA’s FM Championship at TPC Boston: Meet the field, how to watch and attend
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.
