Yin and Thitikul secured their victory in the Dow Championship, the LPGA’s two-person team event, after eight months of preparation. Yin invited Thitikul to be her partner during a Callaway shoot in November, which led to their triumph in Midland, Mich. They sealed their win with a final four-ball score of 62, edging out Solheim veterans Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho by one stroke. Here’s a breakdown of how Thitikul and Yin emerged victorious.
Implications:
Yin and Thitikul now have three career titles each, with this being their first victory of 2024. Thitikul, aged 21, last won the 2022 Walmart N.W. Arkansas Championship. Despite not securing a win last season, she received the 2023 Vare Trophy for achieving the best-scoring average on the tour. Thitikul’s 2024 season began in April at the Chevron Championship, as she spent the initial months of the year in Thailand recovering from a thumb injury. In her first nine starts this year, she has earned five top-10 finishes.
Yin, also 21, clinched her third career win after an exceptional sophomore campaign in 2023. She became the second-ever winner from China by triumphing in Palos Verdes, Calif., and then went on to win her first major at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. After withdrawing from the Mizuho Americas Open in May due to wrist pain, Yin mentioned that her wrist was around 60 percent recovered at the start of the week. Her next tournament will be the Olympics in August, as she has decided to skip the Evian Championship in two weeks to allow herself ample time to heal.
