Jeeno Thitikul sure knows how to throw an impromptu birthday party.
The World No. 1 shot a nine-under 63 in the second round of the Honda LPGA Thailand on Friday and soared up the leaderboard in her home country. She had seven birdies and an eagle.
Fans were loving their star playing well in the 100-degree heat, especially when she made a long eagle putt on No. 7. They serenaded her with “Happy Birthday” all day.
“They’re going to sing just for birdie putts,” the new 23-year-old said. “Just birdie drops and then they all sing it. Obviously, it was nice to have a lot of birdies today, and I heard a lot of happy birthday. The most times in my life. It’s just really good memories that I have created with them on my birthday on the golf course again.”
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Thitikul is tied for second place in the LPGA’s second event of the year and first stop on the Asia swing. Thitikul shot an opening-round 67 and after two rounds is three shots behind leader Somi Lee, who was one of the 29 different winners on the LPGA last year.
Thitkul is 14 under for the tournament and Lee is at 17 under. Thitikul will have work to do to catch Lee and also fend off some big names behind her as Hall of Famer Lydia Ko and Chizzy Iwai, both of whom won last year, are four shots back of the lead.
“It feels great, and I have really good momentum from yesterday and carried it on to today,” Thitikul said. “It’s just better, more than I expected.”
Last year, Thitikul won three times and was the Rolex Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. She won the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship and tied for seventh in the weather-shortened Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions that World No. 2 Nelly Korda won to start the new season.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
