CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 19, 2023

Atthaya Thitikul

Tiburon Golf Club

Flash Interview

Q. All right, here with Atthaya Thitikul. Bogey-free 66 on this last day here in Naples. Overall what was the mindset heading into this final day of the regular season?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: I don't know, I mean, like the mindset was go have fun. Last 18 hole in 2023 season on the LPGA Tour, go have fun. Do the best you can do out there and then, yeah, just enjoy it.

Q. Quite exciting couple holes there, especially at the end. How much fun were you having and what were the birdies like to close off your season in that way?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah, it's been a really good closing round, not closing season for me yet, but closing round for the LPGA, which is good. Par-5, I'm not hitting it good on the par-5. Just make a putt for the last two hole which is really gains more confident for the next season.

Q. For you also you're now projected to become this year's Vare Trophy award winner based on your scores here this week. Overall now that it's come to the conclusion, what does something like that mean to you?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: It's mean a lot. I don't have any trophy but, yeah, I have Vare Trophy, which is okay. (Laughter.)

It's mean a lot. It's mean, like we are heading to the right direction and all the consistency is -- this my second year in LPGA tour. I know it's kind of, yeah, just a little bit not getting the win yet, but like getting the Vare Trophy kind of means like, yeah, we are going to the right one.

We are trying to keep it going, and then I think one day when it's happen we going to feel like grateful and also thankful for that.

Q. There has been quite a few winners of this trophy. To show the consistency you've had over the last couple weeks, months, this entire year, when you look back on the season, how much will to describe your season winning this award knowing the consistency you've been able to bring?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: You know what? I have no idea I'm going to win the Vare Trophy, to be honest. Like I mention, in the middle of the season I played really bad. I mean, like missed two cut on the major events and then also not playing quite good in the middle of the year.

So just like I think it's really mean for me when I just bounce back from like really uncomfortable and I don't have any confidence there during that time.

It's just like really happy that I go over it, go past it, overcome it.

Q. How did you get that confidence back? Who helped you?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: It's a lot. Like my coach, he really pushing me up, too. My family, my team, managers, and then my friends surrounding me like really help me to boost my confidence up and then just like -- they just like, don't put the pressure on yourself too much.

I think they just like, if you put the smile on your face you will be fine. Because I used to -- you know, I mean everyone used to see me smiling on the course all the time, which is when I play bad this year, during the middle of the season I don't have that smile. It's I'm not being 100% myself on the course. Not enjoy it.

They really pushing me up to be who I am, like 100% to be myself on the course, so get my smile back, too.

Q. Why do you think you felt so much more pressure?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Because I think maybe like I set too -- the goal like really high, like to win the tournaments, because I had a really good season so far last year as well. That's why I put the pressure too much on myself.

Q. Like you said a little bit ago, this is not the last event of the season for you. Indonesia from here?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yes.

Q. What do you take from this event and season on the LPGA Tour as you go into your next event?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Work, life, and balance, to be honest. At some point I think when I play bad I feel like my world is destroy. That day is not going to be good anything. I'm not going to enjoy anything in that day if I play bad, which is not right.

Golf is just golf. It's like the work that we do. If you play good, yeah, it's good. But if you play bad it doesn't mean your life is bad or you had a bad day. Just another day. It's not a perfect day and another day -- we always going to did it like a mistake. We always going to have a mistake, which is like it's kind of learning day, which is I think golf and life have to be separate, because at the end of the day I just be Jeeno, be No. 1 in the world, another golfer.

Like, yeah, just a normal Jeeno who's a human in the world. When you come out there and shoot 10-under nobody going to recognize you if you're not a golfer. You just going to be a normal people. You just be a normal people as well. Out there no one going to know how you did out there on the course, which is I think it's have to separate.

I kind of learn it and then I hopefully this year going to be really big experience for me for to last my life.

Q. Who is your mental coach?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: No. My swing coach, my manager. No, I don't have like actually mental coach.

Q. Very insightful answers. Reminds me of another Thai player, Ariya Jutanugarn, who is also a Vare Trophy winner. What does it mean to support Thailand and represent Thailand like this?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: It's mean the world for us, and it's meaningful for us as well. We are being out here, and representing our country is the biggest, you know, dream that we achieve, and then to be able to -- one thing that we do is to be able to representing our country and also inspiring the next generation of like Thai golf.

We really focus on that, because like every time we play, and then just the junior come out and play, watch us play, and then they're just like, oh, I want to be like you one day, and then you're kind of like inspiring me to play golf. It's like meaningful -- not just for me, but I'm pretty sure for all the players on the LPGA Tour.