JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand feels so much better when she sees putts going in, and Thursday was an happy occasion at the Mizuho Americas Open. She took only 26 putts, eight of them for birdie, in a clean start of 8-under 64 to lead by two shots.
Thitikul was bogey-free at Liberty National and had the advantage of playing in the morning with virtually no wind on the course across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
She finished strong, dropping a short iron into 5 feet on the 17th and judging the distance perfectly on the closing hole with a shot that stayed below the hole and left her only about 3 feet for birdie.
Celine Boutier of France ran off five straight birdies in the middle of her round to account for not taking advantage of the par 5s. She was at 66 with Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea and Lindy Duncan, who lost in a five-way playoff at the Chevron Championship two weeks ago.
“I think my putter working well, better than Chevron week,” said Thitikul, the No. 2 player in the women’s world ranking.
She opened with rounds of 71-75 at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA season. Thitikul took off last week and devoted a lot of time to her putting, almost to a fault. She found her emotions going all over the place depending on the result.
