--- description: Find out why Jeeno Thitikul was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Jeeno Thitikul image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f4ccfc2788876b/6a209b77d3d558176a56835f/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Jeeno-Thitikul.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Jeeno Thitikul by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/) ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent  Katie Goodale—USA TODAY Sports/Reuters Back in 2017, a few days after turning 14, [Jeeno Thitikul](https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318871/jeeno-thitikul/ "undefined") won the Ladies European Thailand Championship in her native Thailand as an amateur. Nearly a decade later, Thitikul returned in February as the world’s top-ranked player and won her eighth LPGA title, and her first in her home country. The win was personal for Thitikul, especially since she got to celebrate with her grandfather, one of the people who introduced her to golf. “I think that is the best moment ever,” the 23-year-old said. She’s had many highlights early in her career: in 2025, she became the first player since Lydia Ko, in 2022, to win both the LPGA’s Rolex Player of the Year Award and the Vare Trophy, given annually to the golfer with the lowest scoring average for the season. Thitikul is still seeking her first major championship; her chase for that elusive title is one of the most compelling storylines in her sport. Jeeno Thitikul: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jeeno-thitikul/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jeeno-thitikul/"},"headline":"Jeeno Thitikul","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:01:02.176Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:01:02.295Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jeeno-thitikul/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f4ccfc2788876b/6a209b77d3d558176a56835f/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Jeeno-Thitikul.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"creator":"Sean Gregory","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f4ccfc2788876b/6a209b77d3d558176a56835f/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Jeeno-Thitikul.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jeeno-thitikul/","name":"Jeeno Thitikul"}}]}] ```