Par-five scoring decided the Portland Classic when Jeeno Thitikul reached the 10th tee needing an answer.
She had spent Sunday tearing through Columbia Edgewater, starting with a birdie at the first before running off five straight from Nos. 3 through 7. Then the charge hit its first snag. A bogey at the ninth sent her toward the back nine with the tournament still tight and two fellow Thai players refusing to disappear.
The next hole measured 512 yards, and Thitikul drove into the left rough. Water guarded the front-right portion of the green, so the safer response after a bogey would have been easy to justify. She attacked anyway. Her second shot reached the green, setting up an eagle chance that she converted.
Bogey followed by eagle. The momentum snapped back almost instantly.
Thitikul eventually signed for an eight-under 64 and finished at 22-under 266, one stroke ahead of Arpichaya Yubol and Chanettee Wannasaen. The victory required more than four par fives, but one aggressive decision on one of them changed Sunday.
Columbia Edgewater rewards players willing to attack
Par-five scoring carries unusual weight at Columbia Edgewater because the course gives elite players repeated chances to turn good position into red numbers. Thitikul understood that before she ever reached Sunday.
After her second round, she described a course that does not overwhelm players with length. Several par fives can be reached in two, while shorter approaches leave players hitting wedges into more greens. For someone with Thitikul’s ball-striking, those opportunities create an obvious route up the leaderboard.
The winning scores reinforce the point. The LPGA’s official tournament ledger lists Chanettee Wannasaen at 26-under in 2023, Moriya Jutanugarn at 22-under in 2024, Akie Iwai at 24-under in 2025, and Thitikul at 22-under in 2026. Columbia Edgewater has produced four straight champions at 22-under or better.
Contenders know the Portland Classic is a sprint. A routine par can feel expensive when another player has a wedge in her hands or a reachable green ahead. That changes the psychology of the par fives. Players do not simply see chances to pick up shots. They see holes where failing to score can mean losing one.
That pressure becomes especially sharp at No. 10.
Why the 10th hole creates such a difficult choice
Thitikul’s tee shot into the left rough changed the calculation immediately.
From the fairway, No. 10 invites aggression. From the rough, the same shot becomes much less comfortable, especially with water guarding the front-right side of the green. The tournament’s Aon risk-reward data captured that difference clearly: 53% of players finding the fairway were projected to go for the green in two, compared with just 29% from the rough. Missing the fairway was expected to cost nearly two-tenths of a stroke.
Those numbers help explain why Thitikul’s decision carried so much weight. She had just made bogey, missed the ideal landing area and still chose the aggressive line.
From the fairway, a player can attack with more control over trajectory, spin and starting line. Rough introduces more uncertainty into all three. Thitikul later said she knew reaching the fairway would normally give her the chance to go for the green in two. The miss complicated the shot, but it did not change her intent.
She caught the second well enough to find the putting surface.
That was the aggressive choice. The putt made it unforgettable.
Thitikul turned a mistake into the shot of the tournament
Thitikul did not need the eagle to rescue a poor round. She was already flying.
Starting two shots behind the 54-hole leaders, she birdied the first and then ripped off five consecutive birdies from Nos. 3 through 7. Even with the bogey at nine, she reached the turn in five-under 31.
The ninth could still have disrupted everything. In a low-scoring tournament, bogeys carry extra weight because the damage grows while several players around the lead keep making birdies. Thitikul had gone from applying pressure to giving the field a small opening.
She closed it immediately.
From the left rough at 10, Thitikul reached the green with her second shot and converted the eagle. The sequence moved her to 21-under and transformed a possible momentum killer into the defining stretch of the final round.
Her reaction afterward explained the moment better than any statistical breakdown could.
“I thought birdie is good enough for bouncing back on the ninth, but it’s really changing the momentum.”
That sentence gets to the heart of par-five scoring at the Portland Classic. Thitikul was not standing on the 10th demanding eagle. Birdie would have done its job. The par five simply gave her a chance to respond quickly, and she turned that chance into something bigger.
One hole earlier, she had surrendered a stroke. Minutes later, she had gained two.
The leaderboard left no room for a cautious finish
Thitikul needed almost every piece of that turnaround. Wannasaen shot a final-round 63 and Yubol closed with 67. Both finished at 21-under, only one stroke behind. Thitikul’s 64 gave her the title at 22-under and completed rounds of 68, 67, 67 and 64.
That one-shot margin makes the eagle at 10 impossible to dismiss as another highlight buried inside a low round. Without it, the shape of the championship changes completely.
Thitikul still had work ahead. She needed a crucial par save at 16, then made the birdie at 17 that supplied her final margin. Her putting, which she acknowledged had caused doubts earlier in the season, held up when the tournament tightened.
So par-five scoring did not win the trophy by itself. It gave Thitikul the acceleration she needed.
That distinction matters. Golfers still have to survive the difficult holes, control their approaches and make putts when their hands feel something different on Sunday afternoon. The scoring holes simply create the places where a player can change the tournament fastest. Thitikul changed it in one swing and one putt at 10.
Par-five scoring has become part of Portland’s winning formula
The recent history at Columbia Edgewater shows why players cannot treat those opportunities casually.
Wannasaen reached 26-under in 2023. Jutanugarn won at 22-under the following year. Iwai pushed the winning number back to 24-under in 2025 before Thitikul won at 22-under.
Those totals create a simple competitive reality. Four pars on the par fives may look clean on a scorecard, but against a field making birdies and occasional eagles, they can feel like four missed opportunities.
Par-five scoring therefore rewards more than distance. Tee position matters, as does lie quality. The willingness to keep attacking immediately after something goes wrong can matter even more.
The 10th captured all of it. The numbers suggested players in the rough became far less likely to challenge the green. Thitikul landed there anyway and went for it. Water waited near the target, but she still found the putting surface and finished the job.
Portland will keep asking the same question
Par-five scoring should remain one of the clearest indicators to watch whenever the LPGA returns to Columbia Edgewater.
The course creates tension through temptation. A contender can lay back and trust her wedge, or chase the green and bring eagle into play. The right choice changes with the lie, pin position and leaderboard.
Thitikul faced that choice moments after her first bogey of the day. Her tee shot missed the fairway. Water guarded the green. She attacked anyway.
Before the final round, she had reduced her Sunday mindset to five words: “I have to make birdies.”
The decisive moment demanded more.
From the left rough at 10, with the ninth-hole bogey still fresh, Thitikul went for the green and made eagle.
Par-five scoring gave her the opening. Jeeno Thitikul took the tournament.
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FAQs
Who won the Portland Classic?
Jeeno Thitikul won the Portland Classic at 22-under 266. She finished one stroke ahead of Arpichaya Yubol and Chanettee Wannasaen.
What did Jeeno Thitikul shoot in the final round?
Thitikul shot an eight-under 64. Her closing round carried her from two shots behind to a one-stroke victory.
Why was the 10th hole so important for Jeeno Thitikul?
Thitikul made eagle at the par-five 10th immediately after bogeying No. 9. The response restored her momentum during the Sunday chase.
How long is the 10th hole at Columbia Edgewater?
The 10th plays as a 512-yard par five. Water protects the front-right side of the green and makes the second shot a risk-reward decision.
Why do the par fives matter so much at the Portland Classic?
Low winning scores make missed birdie chances costly. Columbia Edgewater’s reachable par fives give aggressive players opportunities to separate from the field.
