Jeeno Thitikul won the 2026 Mizuho Americas Open on Sunday, successfully defending her title at a $3.25 million event. But the moment that defined the week had nothing to do with her scorecard.

On Friday night, Golf Channel’s Cameron Jourdan posted that the final group had been stuck on the 17th hole for 35 minutes. Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols quote-tweeted it with a photo of Jeeno Thitikul mid-snack and four words: “There was plenty of time.”

The image of the tournament leader casually eating while waiting on a par hole spread quickly, and the Tour’s most stubborn problem, slowplay, was back in the conversation. What makes it harder to brush off is the timing.

In February 2025, the LPGA officially rolled out a stricter pace-of-play policy with immediate penalties and increased on-course monitoring. Under the revised system, players can be fined for going just one to five seconds over their allotted time, with repeat violations escalating into stroke penalties. A month later, in March 2025, the LPGA Tour added season-long tracking for timed holes, meaning officials now monitor repeat offenders across the full season rather than treating each round in isolation.

Thompson called the idea “a bit aggressive” but said she did not disagree, adding that something needed to be done. Korda called slowplay “a pretty big issue,” saying rounds running close to six hours “really drag the game down” and that it “really, really needs to change.”

Those calls appeared to land. The LPGA tightened the rules. But the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills showed the culture had not shifted. Hull was spotted sitting on the 9th tee while Thompson was still putting out on the 8th green. Thompson clarified, saying her group had waited on every single hole because of the group ahead and that they were never warned or put on the clock.

Thitikul’s round at Mountain Ridge, however, moved at a different pace.

Jeeno Thitikul wins back-to-back Mizuho titles, now eyes Major

The win comes with Korda sitting out this week after winning back-to-back at the Chevron Championship and Riviera Maya Open. She has not finished outside the top two all season. Both players are in the field next week at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, setting up what could be a direct resumption of their rivalry.

The U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera is next on the horizon, and the major question around Thitikul is not going away. Asked about it Sunday, #2 kept it simple.

“I would say not a goal, but a dream to win a major. Whether I win one or not, I think I have done enough.”

Thitikul closed with a final-round 69 to finish at 13-under. She won the tournament, but what she could not control was standing on a tee for half an hour while a $3.25M event crawled along around her. The LPGA has the policy. It now needs the enforcement to match.

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