CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 19, 2024

Jeeno Thitikul

Cynthia Beveridge

Tiburon Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: I am pleased to be joined by Jeeno Thitikul, thrilled to announce her as this year's 2024 Aon Risk-Reward challenge winner and the $1 million prize winner for the Tour this year. The Aon Risk-Reward challenge is the season long competition that highlights the LPGA Tour and the best golfer's decision making.

I would also like to introduce Cynthia Beveridge, Aon's Global Chief Broking Officer who is joining us today. Cynthia, welcome.

CYNTHIA BEVERIDGE: Thank you very much, Matt. It's great to be with you all here today. Jeeno, congratulations. This is quite a feat. It's the 2024 Aon Risk-Reward challenge champion, so we well-done. We are very proud to be celebrating our sixth year, not just with respect to the challenge itself but also with our LPGA partnership.

The challenge itself actually tests a player's ability to make better decisions. So this helps us bring together some of what Jeeno did throughout the entire season with respect to her thought process and her skill, of course, but really to think in a way that's very clear and with quite a bit of confidence. It's quite an accolade.

You've had an unbelievable year, and this adds to all of your accolades for the year. I really am very thrilled to be the person to say congratulations.

THE MODERATOR: Jeeno, how does it feel to be this year's Aon Risk-Reward Challenge champion to add to an already phenomenal year you've had?

JEENO THITIKUL: It's just pretty good because to be honest I finished second twice. This is the third time. Third time's a charm, right, isn't it?

First of all, thank you to Aon for supporting women's golf, women's sports, and for being partners with the LPGA, as well. That's why we got the challenge every year.

It feels really amazing to get this done and also I really feel amazing for high competition level with Aon, as well. It's really challenging thought, each hole that we had at every tournament.

Q. Can you tell us more about the strategies and on-course decision makings you made on those Aon Risk-Reward Challenge holes, especially at BMW and Maybank as that race really began to tighten up?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yes, I just want to say, Maybank, it's a really tough hole, to be honest, and also I just know that I was in contention before Asian Swing going to start. What has just been on my mind and with my team is I really want to make birdies on every hole that's Aon Risk setup, so that's all my plan. I just give it 100 percent that I have. Either make it or not make it, I'm just happy what I did out there, but it's paid off for three years.

Q. Throughout the season you went for the green on these challenge holes 63 percent of the time, executing the shot successfully 35 percent of the time which ranked second out of the 147 participating players, which is a really outstanding figure and more than double of your overall success rate. What about your approach and success rate allowed you to take advantage of those holes?

JEENO THITIKUL: Well, I mean, that's all my plan, that I'm trying to -- especially reachable par-5s, par-4s that Aon have been setting, that's all the plan for me and my coach, trying to play all the par-5s, we're trying to make birdies, if we can all day long, which really suits the Aon setup, rules kind of thing like that, which is really helping me with all the holes or all the rounds that I have to take advantage of it.

Q. As you mentioned, third time's a charm for you here. At what point in the season did you become aware that you were back in contention, and did it affect some of your strategy on those challenge holes? As I said, you have finished real close a couple times.

JEENO THITIKUL: Aon, like I said earlier, the plan, I'm trying to make birdies on those holes because me and my caddie just really have a challenge that if I make a birdie on that hole, like Aon hole, my caddie should be really, really happy with it, more than the 17 holes that I have in a round.

Q. Cynthia, this challenge has really gained a lot of momentum since it was first introduced by Aon in 2019. Can you share the importance of this program to Aon?

CYNTHIA BEVERIDGE: Sure, absolutely. When we launched the program, the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge, we really wanted to think about how to draw parallels between what the player is doing on the course and what we do every day for our clients. I think this was a terrific way of thinking about how both parties, whether the player or our clients, can make better decisions.

Of course supporting women's golf is near and dear to my heart, and it helps us with our golf partnerships across the board. It's certainly a point of pride for our firm.

Q. It's an awful lot of money; I'm wondering what you can tell me about what a big check -- your first big check, what it meant to you in professional golf, what it meant to your family, and how your life has changed as more checks like this have come into your life?

JEENO THITIKUL: I think it's the biggest check in my life that I have achieved since I turned pro. It's meant a lot. It's huge money that we're going to get from Aon.

I think it's going to change my life a little bit with this challenge. But also at the same way, I think it's an achievement that we have, and I'm really proud of the way I did out there.

But overall, we really have -- especially my team. It's not me, especially my team.

Q. Have you thought of anything you might splurge on for you or your team?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yes, we did. We did have a plan. It's a lot of people have asked me what are you going to spend for like a million dollars. I'm going to Disneyland next week. That's what I'm going to spend.

Q. Have you allowed yourself to think what an extra $4 million would give you if you won on Sunday?

JEENO THITIKUL: Hmm, that's going to be my biggest ever. I don't know, I mean, coming up this week, I think I love this period of time that it's almost going to end of the season. It would be really great if I can achieve that. But in the same way, I would say I did my best, and what I care is how I think and how I react on the course, not the outcome.

Q. If you were talking to a higher handicap player, how would you advise them about going for a risk or playing it safe?

JEENO THITIKUL: Well, for me it's hard. I know golf is so hard. It's like a really -- there's the ball and the club like this big. I think sometimes it needs confidence. You need confidence and not afraid to make a mistake if you're going to go to a risk. I think that's the big key, when you have a really challenging hole, a really risk hole, water or something that you have to carry. I think confidence is the most important.

Q. Last week slow play popped up at the tournament. Do you think slow play is an issue on LPGA?

JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah. A little bit. I mean, five hours and a half or maybe it's a little too much for us. I think it's had some holes or some events that we've seen maybe two groups in the tee box, and total is a little bit of an issue for all the players because we play and we stop, we play and we stop again. It's just not really smooth.

Q. Would you have any solutions?

JEENO THITIKUL: Maybe on the clock, everyone each hole.

Q. After winning the Vare Trophy last year, was it difficult to come up short just in the number of rounds that you needed to play, and can you take us through that decision not to play last week?

JEENO THITIKUL: Last week, one of the reasons, it's going to be I'm not really suiting that golf course as well because I played that last year was my first time playing that course, and I'm not really good. That's another reason why, that I don't play last week.

But yeah, I know it has some rounds that come short and I'm not being able to hand the trophy, but at the same way, I just keep it on my stats that it's two years in a row that I have scoring average, even if I'm going to lift the trophy or not. But it's a really good number and really good stat on my team.

Q. Cynthia, I know Aon is committed to growing somen's sports just like CME Group is now that we're here at the CME Group Tour Championship, but for you and Aon, what does it mean to continue to support women's sports in this way?

CYNTHIA BEVERIDGE: I think there's a lot to be said for a corporate sponsor to really put everything that we've got behind some of the women's sports. In this instance, I love that we were one of the very first to be able to do that.

But I also think we're making it come to life in some of the work that we do, and I think we're also making a difference in the players' lives, which is gratifying for us. Not only are we able to think about how we're looking at our business and thinking about doing it through the lens of golf, but the sponsorships is something that I think we should be doing a lot more of and thinking very differently about how it works in conjunction with our business.

But it makes a difference.

Q. Jeeno, how do you feel when you see a partner like Aon, people like CME Group really step up and support women's golf in the way that Aon and CME has done this week?

JEENO THITIKUL: It's really amazing. First of all, thank you to all the sponsors, especially Aon, all the sponsors that partner with LPGA to help us -- like making the Tour bigger and making them know that women's golf, it's really nice to watch, as well.

That's what we love to see. Not just me; I think it's all the Tour, like LPGA and everyone loves to see women's golf growing more than this. That's really what we really want to see, and thank you to all the sponsors that partner with us.

Q. Are you going to spend the money on buying dinner for Ronni?

JEENO THITIKUL: Sure. Have I never buy dinner for Ronni?

Q. My second question is what's the best memory of this year.

JEENO THITIKUL: Is it allowed that I have to answer winning with you? If not you're going to be --

Q. It's your decision.

JEENO THITIKUL: Okay, make a decision.

Q. Make better decision.

JEENO THITIKUL: Okay, so winning with you. Is that a good answer? That's all you want to hear.