There’s many ways that professionals can secure paychecks in the modern era and, at The Annika Driven By Gainbridge At Pelican, one professional secured a $1 million payday without playing!
Jeeno Thitikul, formerly Atthaya Thitikul, has enjoyed a steady season, with the former World No.1 claiming victory at the Dow Championship alongside Ruoning Yin. However, her biggest payday of the year, so far, came in a tournament that she didn’t even play in…
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Opting to skip the The Annika Driven By Gainbridge At Pelican, an event that was won by World No.1 Nelly Korda, Thitikul claimed the $1 million Aon Risk Reward first prize, finishing 0.077 ahead of South Korea’s Haeran Ryu.
For those asking, the Aon Risk Reward Challenge is a season-long competition that is based on the best two scores from each selected hole in that tournament. Essentially one hole is selected for each event and, from there, the winners are decided via the best average score to par at the end of the regular season.
In the men’s game, Tyrrell Hatton won the 2022-2023 PGA Tour Aon Risk Reward Challenge, whilst Angel Yin secured the title last year in the LPGA standings.
As mentioned, Thitikul hasn’t featured since the Maybank Championship in October but, with an average of -0.900 under-par on the chosen holes, the 21-year-old had done enough to win the $1 million first prize.
Away from the Aon Risk Reward, it’s Nelly Korda who leads comfortably from the likes of Haeran Ryu and Lydia Ko in the Race to CME Globe standings, with the World No.1 securing another LPGA Tour title of 2024 at The Annika Driven By Gainbridge At Pelican. Carding a final round 67, Korda held off the likes of Charley Hull for a decisive seventh win of 2024.
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