South Korean women golfers continued their dominant start to the LPGA season, placing six players in the top 10 at the Honda LPGA Thailand, following five top-10 finishes at the season opener.
No comeback victory materialized at Siam Country Club's Old Course in Chonburi, Thailand. Overnight leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, runner-up Kim Hyo-joo, and co-third place Lee So-mi all shot 4-under 68 on Sunday. Chisato Iwai of Japan, who started three strokes back in a tie for third, fired a 6-under 66 but fell short of catching Thitikul.
Thitikul finished at 24-under par to win by one stroke over Iwai, riding overwhelming support from home fans. Kim Hyo-joo finished solo third at 22-under, while Lee So-mi took fourth place at 21-under.
Despite missing the title, Korean players dominated the leaderboard with six of the 13 top-10 finishers. Choi Hye-jin shot 5-under 67 to tie for eighth at 18-under. Kim A-rim carded 7-under 65, while Kim Sei-young and Ryu Hae-ran both shot 5-under 67 to share 10th place at 17-under.
By nationality, Korea led with six top-10 finishers, followed by Thailand with two. Japan, New Zealand, the United States, Australia, and Denmark each had one.
At the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, five of six Korean participants finished in the top 10.
Lee So-mi, Ryu Hae-ran, and Kim A-rim have now recorded consecutive top-10 finishes. Ryu has placed in the top 10 in four straight events including two from last year. Lee has three consecutive top-10s including a tie for 10th at last year's CME Group Tour Championship.
Only five players have finished top 10 in both events this season: Lee, Ryu, Kim A-rim, champion Thitikul, and co-fifth place finisher Lydia Ko of New Zealand.
Yang Hee-young and Hwang Yu-min, who finished top 10 at the opener, were not eligible for the Thailand event. Kim Hyo-joo, Choi Hye-jin, and Kim Sei-young made their season debuts this week.
With 11 combined top-10 finishes through two events, attention turns to whether Korean players can surpass 100 top-10 finishes this season.
Korean women golfers have exceeded 100 top-10 finishes three times: 102 in 2015, 101 in 2016, and a record 103 in 2017. The numbers declined sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic—75 in 2021, 63 in 2022, 46 in 2023, 66 in 2024, and 69 last year.
Based on the current pace, the 100-finish milestone that has eluded Korean golfers since 2017 appears within reach.