AtthayaThitikul, a native of Thailand, was born on February 20, 2003 and began playing golf at the age of six. She improved her game quickly and at the age of 13 finished second in the Thailand Amateur Open. The performance earned her a place in the 2017 Honda LPGA Thailand where she finished 37th just three days following her 14th birthday. Following her experience in the LPGA event, Thitikul went on to win the Taiwan Amateur Open.
Thitikul made a name for herself internationally with a win at the Ladies European Thailand on the Ladies European Tour (LET) on July 9, 2017. Not only did her win come as an amateur, but it was historic. Thitikul became the youngest person male or female to ever win a professional event at the age of 14 years, 4 months and 19 days old. She broke the record previously held by Brooke Henderson by nearly five months. With the victory, Thitikul earned spots at the Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship. Although missing the cut at the British Open, Thitikul played all four rounds at the Evian Championship.
Returning to amateur action, Thitikul dominated at the Junior Dutch Open in July, winning by eight shots after a course record of eight-under par on the final day. The following month, Thitikul led team Thailand to a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games and took home the individual gold.
Just following her 15th birthday in February of 2018, Thitikul competed in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Singapore. Entering the final round in a four-way tie for the lead, Thitikul went on to claim victory, which guaranteed a spot in the HSBC Women’s Championship. In addition, she earned a spot in the British Open and the ANA Inspiration.
Thitikul was the youngest competitor at the HSBC event and impressed with a final round of 66 which put in a tie for 8th place. Thitikulcontiued to open eyes at the ANA Inspiration, earning low amateur honors and finished 30th overall, all at the age of 15. Thitikul continued to make a name for herself, finishing as low amateur at the Women’s British Open in August. Just a month later, Thitikul posted a sizzling round of 60 at the World Junior Girls Championship, giving her a come from behind victory. A final highlight from a very successful 2018 was a mixed team gold medal for Thailand at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
Thitikul emerged as the player to beat at the Ladies European Thailand Championship in June 2019. Her final round of 67 was good enough for a five-stroke win over Esther Henseleit of Germany, giving Thitikul her second win in the event in three years. The win bolted Thitikul to the top ranked women’s amateur in the world. She once again took low amateur honors at the British Open and finished in a very impressive tie for 29th. Thitikul once again represented Thailand in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and helped the team win a bronze medal. After staying on top of the women’s amateur ranking from October until the end of the year, Thitikul turned professional.
Thitikul played her first events as a professional in Australia early in 2020. She finished 4th at the Women’s NSW Open and after the COVID-19 break, Thitikul burst into the winner’s circle. She won the 3rd Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship on the Thai LPGA Tour in July. That was just the start for Thitikul, as she went on to win the 6th, 7th, and 8th Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championships as well as the Muang Thai Insurance Thailand LPGA Masters.
A sponsor’s exemption allowed Thitikul into the field at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She finished second to Ariya Jutanugarn. Thitikul got into the winner’s circle for the third time on the LET at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open, which qualified her for the Women’s British Open and Evian Championship. Thitikul rapidly moved up the Rolex World Golf Rankings and was in the top 100 as of July 12. Two weeks later, Thitikul placed 5th at the Evian Championship with a score of 14-under par. She vaulted 28 more spots up the world golf rankings to 61st. After a runner-up finish at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, Thitikul improved her ranking to 35th.
A fourth LET title at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open on September 11 improved Thitikul’s Rolex World Golf Ranking to 28th. In December of 2021, Thitikul earned her card for LPGA Tour through qualifying school for the 2022 season.
As successful as Thitikul has been on the LET and this past season in LPGA events, she is a favorite for the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award for 2022.
