THE CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP

April 19, 2024

Atthaya Thitikul

The Club at Carlton Woods

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Atthaya Thitikul after her second round at The Chevron Championship, your second round on the LPGA Tour this season and you're at the top of the leaderboard. How gratifying is that?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Oh, I mean it's mean a lot. I mean, like just be able to be playing here, it's already a bonus for me.

But like for the past two day that I did out there, it's kind of like really boost my confident for the rest of the season.

Q. What has your mentality been this week knowing you're just coming into your first round? Are you feeling under pressure? Feeling sort of free?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: I think it's kind of free. Just a little bit of excitement of starting like my first week of the season here in a major.

But like other than that, not really pressure at all.

Q. How I guess did the injury to your thumb begin? Were you hitting one specific shot?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah, I think it's happen maybe two or three weeks after CME last year. But I thought it wasn't that serious thing, and then I just kept -- I have play one tournaments Indonesia, which is not an LPGA tournaments, but -- and then after that new year it's get more -- you know, I get like I feel it more, it's hurt more.

So I went to see a doctors and the doctors say, yeah, it's kind of big deal. So, yeah, like three months.

Q. So I know you were aiming to come back a little bit earlier in the season, last month.

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah.

Q. Were you still feeling a lot of pain when you were practicing? Is that what caused the delay?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: No, I'm just wait until it's 100%. So I think doctors say at first like a month. After a month I take a shot and it's still have pain, so just tell the doctor and the doctor said, yeah, you have to wait maybe another month.

I also hitting balls and still feel it until maybe just three weeks before this week it's gone.

Q. Can you just detail a little bit of the swing adjustments that you've made to allow yourself to not injure it again?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah, I just do everything that I could to protect it. So, yeah, after it just feel it a little bit with my kind of normal swing, but otherwise when me and then my coach and my team figure it out how we can going to less pressure on it more in the future, so we just like shank the grip.

So I think it's -- how? It's just like at first the left hand just kind of like this. (Indicating.) And then the right-hand is like this. (Indicating.) If you can see. And now it's like this. (Indicating.) Like more weaker.

Q. Have you had any changes to your stock shot shape or stock yardages with the change in your grip?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: At first I hit really short. I think like 15 yards shorter than now because I'm not really get used to it, because if you play golf you know the most important thing or the most important like feeling, it's the grip.

It's the hardest part to change, so that's why I just withdrew from the -- I think Arizona or last week because I'm not get used to it yet.

Now it's all good. It's not gain, but like it's same as before.

Q. When did you first feel used to it?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: I don't know. I just kept practicing, practicing, and then I think my dad bought me like a grip when it's in the car -- because Thailand has so many traffic and it's in the car and it's just a grip and I grip it on the way from the course to like my house.

So, yeah maybe that point.

Q. Just one last one from me. Looking ahead to the next 36 holes, contending in a major again. What are you looking for from yourself over the next 36 holes in your first event of the year in contention now?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: I think the rest now like is just a bonus for me. I mean, coming here this week I think making the cut is -- it's good enough because, you know, I wasn't be out here for so long.

Starting my season with major week is -- it's not that easy, so I think from now on it's just a bonus for me. Just go out there, staying positive, and then also being out there smiling and then just do my best.

Q. In terms of when you hurt yourself hitting a golf shot or when you feel pain hitting a golf shot and then you finally heal, how hard it to then get rid of the memory that a golf shot might hurt me? How hard is it to get past that mental block?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah, I know. That's when it's still -- the most important thing that my doctor says as well, like you going to rebound from hurting and not really hurting at all.

So maybe not really, just because I really want to go hit some balls. So I just go hit, hit, hit, hit, and then I think I did everything that I could, everything that's going to help it healing by itself.

So maybe because of that make me really comfortable. Because I kind of like taking really, really good care of it.

Q. Do you still practice your grip in the hotel room?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Not yet. No, not anymore.

Q. Were you able to putt at all during this period?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah, I be able to putt and kind of chip a little bit, but not really -- I don't think I can do a bunker shot at first.

Just chip around the green and then putt.

Q. Saw you give a hug to So Yeon. What do you think of So Yeon and was she a golfer that you looked up to while you have been on Tour?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: I have said before that when I was like nine or ten I went to Honda LPGA. I forget which year is it.

But, yeah, she's kind of one of my favorite golfer out here on the LPGA, because like I think everyone loves her. Like, I mean, her personality, her smiling, and then, you know, like everything that she done for women's golf, it's more than anything else.

So, I mean, having her as the older sister, older auntie out here on Tour is really nice to be.

And then, I think she ends up her career here it is pretty remarkable for her. She's the past champion as well here.

Yeah, I just been looking for her next chapter of her life and then I just want to wish her best of luck for everything.