Ariya Jutanugarn Bio
Ariya Jutanugarn, born on 23 November 1995 in Bangkok, Thailand, is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the American-based LPGA Tour. She is the first golfer, male or female, from Thailand to win a major championship, and she rose to the number one position in the Women’s World Golf Rankings in June 2017. Known to fans as “May,” she turned professional at the end of 2012 and has since built one of the most decorated résumés in women’s golf.
Standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and still based in Bangkok, Jutanugarn has combined power off the tee with an aggressive, fearless style that has produced multiple titles across two major tours. Her career includes twelve LPGA Tour victories and three Ladies European Tour wins, along with the two major championships that announced Thailand’s arrival on the world stage.
Early Life and Background
Ariya Jutanugarn was born on 23 November 1995 in Bangkok, Thailand, to father Somboon and mother Narumon. The family runs a professional golf shop at the Rose Garden Golf Course near Bangkok, a setting that gave Ariya and her older sister Moriya constant exposure to the game from a young age. The two sisters often play matches together, and the family travels with them as they manage their business and financial affairs.
Golf came naturally to the Jutanugarn household, and Ariya showed her talent early. At age 11, she qualified for the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand, becoming the youngest player ever to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. That early start signaled the arrival of a player who would soon represent Thailand on the biggest stages in the sport.
Path to Golf
Jutanugarn sharpened her game in junior competition, and in 2012 she was named the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Girls Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. By early May 2013, she had already played in three LPGA tournaments and four Ladies European Tour events, recording five top-four finishes as an amateur and newly turned professional.
She turned professional at the end of 2012 and joined the Ladies European Tour in 2013, where she claimed her first professional title at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco and finished the season atop the LET Order of Merit. That same year, she showed her speed of development by leading the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand entering the final hole before finishing one shot behind Inbee Park, signaling that an LPGA breakthrough was close.
Ariya Jutanugarn Career
Early Career (2012-2015)
Jutanugarn turned professional at the end of 2012 and joined the Ladies European Tour in 2013. Her LET debut season produced an immediate title at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, and she also led the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia, after opening with a 7-under-par round. Her early professional play confirmed she had the consistency to compete week after week.
An unfortunate accident during a practice round at the 2013 Wegmans LPGA Championship, when she tumbled down an incline and injured her shoulder, required corrective surgery in Bangkok. She recovered to finish tied for third at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, earning her LPGA Tour card for 2015 and setting the stage for her breakout years in the United States.
LPGA Tour Breakthrough (2016-2017)
Jutanugarn earned her first LPGA Tour win at the 2016 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, becoming the first Thai winner on the tour. She followed that victory with two more consecutive LPGA titles, becoming the first player in tour history to win her first three events in a row. In 2016, she also lifted her first major championship, the Women’s British Open, winning by three strokes.
Her 2016 season brought a long list of individual honors, including the LPGA Player of the Year, the LPGA Tour money title, the Race to the CME Globe, the GWAA Female Player of the Year, the Heather Farr Player Award, and the Thailand Professional Athlete of the Year Award. Even during a mid-season slump in 2017, she still won twice, including the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, and rose to number one in the Women’s World Golf Rankings in June of that year.
Major Championship Era (2018)
The 2018 season represented the peak of Jutanugarn’s career to date. She won three times on the LPGA Tour, including the U.S. Women’s Open on 3 June 2018, becoming the first Thai golfer to capture that major. She closed the year by winning the season-long Race to the CME Globe and the $1,000,000 bonus on 18 November 2018.
Her 2018 stat line was historic. She earned the LPGA Player of the Year award, the LPGA Vare Trophy with a scoring average of 69.415, the Leaders Top 10 competition with 17 top-10 finishes, and the LPGA money title at $2,743,949. She also set single-season records for rounds in the 60s (57) and birdies (470), and finished the year ranked number one in the world.
Honda LPGA Thailand Return (2021-Present)
After winless seasons in 2019 and 2020, Jutanugarn returned to the winner’s circle in May 2021 at the Honda LPGA Thailand, her first victory since 2018. After the win, she shared with media that she had considered leaving the game during her time away from the top of leaderboards, making the home title a meaningful comeback moment.
Driving Style and Strengths
Jutanugarn is known for an aggressive and fearless playing style, attacking pins and chasing birdies rather than playing safe. Her length off the tee, combined with a confident short game, has made her especially dangerous on courses that reward bold play, and her attacking mindset helped her set the 2018 records for birdies and sub-70 rounds.
Notable Events and Milestones
Jutanugarn’s signature moments include her 2016 Women’s British Open victory and her 2018 U.S. Women’s Open title, which together made her the first Thai player of any gender to win a major championship. She is also the first player in LPGA history to win her first three tour titles consecutively, and her number one ranking in 2017 marked the first time a Thai golfer topped the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Ariya Jutanugarn Career Wins
Ariya Jutanugarn has accumulated 13 professional wins across her career, with 12 LPGA Tour titles and 3 Ladies European Tour titles, including one co-sanctioned event. Her victories span two major championships, the Women’s British Open in 2016 and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2018, and they cover courses across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
LPGA Tour Highlights
Her LPGA Tour win total stands at 12, beginning with the 2016 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, where she became the first Thai winner on the tour. Her most recent LPGA Tour victory came at the 2021 Honda LPGA Thailand, ending a drought that had stretched back to 2018. She has been a consistent presence in the final groups of major championships, including a T-2 finish at the 2025 Chevron Championship.
Other Wins and Performances
On the Ladies European Tour, Jutanugarn has 3 titles, beginning with the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco in 2013, which moved her to the top of the LET Order of Merit. She has continued to perform well in co-sanctioned events, using her LET schedule to sharpen her game for the biggest stages on the LPGA Tour.
| Series | Wins | Major Wins | Years as Number One |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPGA Tour | 12 | 2 | 2017, 2018 |
| Ladies European Tour | 3 | 0 | N/A |
Ariya Jutanugarn Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Jutanugarn comes from a close-knit Bangkok family that has long been tied to golf. Her parents, Somboon and Narumon, operate a professional golf shop at the Rose Garden Golf Course near Bangkok, and the family has four older half-siblings through her father. The two sisters often play practice matches together, and the parents travel with the girls while managing their business and financial affairs.
Personal Life
Ariya’s older sister, Moriya Jutanugarn, is also a professional golfer on the LPGA Tour, and the two have frequently been paired together in tournaments. Jutanugarn continues to make her home in Bangkok, Thailand, the same city where she was born and where much of her family life remains centered. Beyond her relationship with her sister, public details about her personal relationships are limited.
2025 Season Performance
Jutanugarn entered the 2025 LPGA Tour season continuing her long career at the top level of women’s golf, with a tied for second finish at the Chevron Championship marking one of her most notable results of the year. That performance reaffirmed her status as a consistent contender in the major championships, even as a new generation of Thai and international players has risen around her.
Her play in 2025 reflects the same aggressive style that has defined her career, mixing birdie chances with the experience of a two-time major champion. While she has not added a 13th professional title in the early part of the 2025 season, her major-championship form has shown that she remains a threat on the biggest stages.
Looking ahead through the rest of 2025, Jutanugarn’s outlook centers on contending in the remaining major championships and finishing inside the top tier of the Race to the CME Globe. With two majors already on her résumé and her game still traveling well, she enters the second half of the year positioned to add to one of the most decorated careers in Thai golf history.