The Women’s PGA Championship has reached an exciting midpoint, with 22-year-old Atthaya Thitikul maintaining her lead after a stellar performance. The tournament, held at the prestigious venue this week, has drawn significant attention, especially with veteran golfer Lexi Thompson in pursuit. Thompson, 30, is seeking her first major title to go along with her five career tournament victories—all of which came before 2020.
With the field of competitors nearly doubled and the rivalry being rekindled, Thompson set the second round on fire. She shot 2-under 70 for 6-under 138, only four shots behind Thitikul. This will be Thompson’s seventh tournament of the season, having played in all three major championships so far.
Thompson’s path to this moment hasn’t been easy. After a spectacular tee shot at the drivable 10th hole, she found herself only 70 yards from the hole. She drove her approach into a bunker, leaving her with a difficult 43-foot putt to save par. Through all these challenges, she was still bogey-free heading into the last hole, where her approach shot ended up in a bunker.
“This made No. 10 a lot more difficult from my drive,” Thompson stated, reflecting on her round.
Thitikul opened with a 68. She now carries a one stroke lead over fellow competitor Minjee Lee. Meanwhile, Lee remains three strokes behind Thompson’s share of third place on the leaderboard. As Thitikul continues to pursue her first major victory, she reacted with astonishment at how well she played.
To help you speak about these truthfully I did, to be honest, didn’t think it’s gonna be that good result out there, Thitikul said.
That leaves chairman Thompson in a unique position this year. She recently shared that it would be her last full schedule on the tour. After next week she will be heading to her final race at the Dow Championship in Midland, Michigan. After that, she intends to take a lengthy sabbatical from the sport.
“Like if anybody can shoot under par today, that player will be really, really great,” Thitikul remarked about the challenging conditions.
As we head into this exciting tournament weekend, things are really heating up! Thompson will surely be focused on erasing a three-stroke deficit and capturing that long-awaited breakthrough win. Such a strategy is still only playing defense in the here and now.
“It’s just something that I’m going to take one shot at a time. When you get to thinking too far ahead of time it just gets to you, so I’m just really going to embrace the moment,” she said.
Thompson and Thitikul are not the only electric performers. It was a tough day for Nelly Korda, who shot 74 and is now 2 over for the week. Australian Minjee Lee and New Zealander Rio Takeda are only three strokes behind Thompson. That makes for one heckuva weekend of golf!
As the Women’s PGA Championship continues, all eyes will be on Thitikul and Thompson. They will meet the physical, mental and emotional challenges of the course and the rigors of competition full on. Every round has its own distinct set of challenges and pathways to victory. Everyone around the world will be excited to see what happens at the very first one!
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