NAPLES, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Down by two shots with two holes to play, Jeeno Thitikul knew exactly what was needed to capture the biggest prize in women's golf history.
And another eagle-birdie finish 鈥� for the second straight day 鈥� made it happen.
first-place check by winning the CME Group Tour Championship on Sunday. It's the biggest money prize in women鈥檚 golf history, bigger than even the winner鈥檚 shares in three of the four men鈥檚 major championships this year.
鈥淭oday, standing here with the trophy, it's more than I can ask for,鈥� Thitikul said.
Thitikul shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday and finished the week at 22 under, one shot ahead of Angel Yin (66). Yin had a two-shot lead walking to the 17th tee, only to wind up settling for the $1 million runner-up check.
Yin 鈥� who missed the start of the season after breaking her leg over the winter 鈥� hardly sounded defeated after finishing second and more than doubling her 2024 earnings in four days.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty awesome. ... I鈥檝e learned that I just need to believe my myself and that鈥檚 what I did," Yin said.
Brooke Henderson (66) of Smiths Falls, Ont., tied for eighth at 13-under overall.
The win and the massive check came down to the 18th hole, Thitikul and Yin tied at 21 under after a back-and-forth day atop the leaderboard 鈥� both knowing a mistake would likely come at a $3 million cost.
Both hit the fairway on 18. Thitikul鈥檚 approach was nearly perfect, stopping about 5 feet from the cup. Yin鈥檚 response stopped maybe 15 feet away, giving Thitikul the edge as they walked up the fairway. She was smiling broadly as she approached the green, almost as if she knew what was about to happen.
Yin鈥檚 birdie putt just missed. Thitikul鈥檚 was dead center. And history was hers.
Her plans for all that cash?
鈥淒efinitely spend it,鈥� Thitikul said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an honest answer, for sure. Definitely going to spend it for a little while.鈥�
She already had clinched a $1 million bonus this week through the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge, a competition based on how players score on a designated hole each week. In the end, it wound up as a whopping $5 million week for the 21-year-old from Thailand 鈥� and going 8 under on the Nos. 17 and 18 over the four days at Tiburon Golf Club made the difference.
鈥淎ll the hard work paid off,鈥� said Thitikul, whose eagle-birdie close to Saturday's round pulled her into a tie for the lead with Yin going into Sunday at 15 under.
It didn鈥檛 take long on Sunday for Thitikul to jump in front, with birdies on two of the first three holes to grab a two-shot edge. Her lead vanished with a two-shot swing on the par-4 fourth; Yin made birdie, Thitikul bogey.
It seemed like Yin grabbed control on the par-3 16th. 鈥� about 25 feet 鈥� rolled in for a two-shot lead with two holes to play. But her second shot at the par-5 17th missed the green right, and the door was opened for Thitikul.
The eagle-birdie finish Saturday gave her hope.
The eagle-birdie finish Sunday gave her so much more 鈥� even though, it turns out, the second shot on the par 5 wasn't one that she caught flush. It worked out anyway.
鈥淛ust lucky enough,鈥� Thitikul said.
Olympic gold medalist Lydia Ko (63) finished third at 17 under, her nine birdies coming in a 13-hole span.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be able to work hard this offseason and have another great 2025,鈥� Ko said.
Ruoning Yin (68) was alone in fourth at 16 under, and LPGA player of the year Nelly Korda (66) finished at 15 under along with Narin An (68). Ayaka Furue finished at 13 under, good enough to give her the Vare Trophy as the LPGA鈥檚 season-long scoring champion over Haeran Ryu.
鈥淚 feel very happy to have this trophy in my hands,鈥� said Furue, the first Japanese player to win the Vare.
Lexi Thompson 鈥� a 15-time winner as a pro who plans to step away from full-time golf 鈥� finished at 2 under. It鈥檚 not clear how often Thompson plans to play in 2025 and beyond; that said, she returns to Tiburon the week of Dec. 9 for the Grant Thornton Invitational, where she鈥檒l team with Rickie Fowler in the event featuring PGA Tour and LPGA Tour players.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going anywhere, guys.鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be back in two weeks.鈥�
There were two players who said they were retiring after Sunday鈥檚 round: Marina Alex, who shot 66 to finish at 12 under, and Ally Ewing, who closed with a 68 to wrap up the week at 11 under.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy to have ended on my best,鈥� said Alex, a bottle of sparkling wine in her right hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other.
Added Ewing: 鈥淚鈥檝e been at peace with my decision. It鈥檚 just so nice to be able to share the walk with my family this week.鈥�
But in the end, the week belonged to Thitikul. And as the sun was setting over Tiburon on Sunday, she was ready for her offseason to begin with a well-deserved celebration.
鈥淎nybody hungry?鈥� she asked. 鈥淚 am.鈥�
With Sunday's check in her pocket, she can dine anywhere she wants for a while.
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AP golf:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
