Aditi Ashok delivered one of her most dominant performances on Ladies European Tour with a nine shot win at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open Sunday.
It was the fourth win on the Ladies European Tour for the Indian, who plays mainly on the Ladies PGA in America.
Aditi, who turns 25 next month will also end a long drought. She last won in Abu Dhabi in December 2017. Her first two titles were won in consecutive starts at the Hero Womens Indian Open, followed by the Qatar Ladies Open the week after.
She said, Its been a great week. Its proof to me that my offseason and hard work have paid off. After the match, she added,
.@aditigolfThis week, I was on another planet🤖
A well-deserved fourth LET title🏆🏆🏆🏆#RaiseOurGame | #MKLO2023
– Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) February 5, 2023
Aditi, with her father Ashok as her bag, shot rounds at 67-70-69 -74 and finished 12-under 280 at Par73 Vipingo Ridge. In 2019, Aditi was runners-up.
It was great to have my dad on my bag, three of the wins have been with him caddying. But not just him, theres also my mum (Maheshwari back home) and I have worked a lot together with my coach, my fitness team, and my coach. Aditi had her father at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and her mother at the Tokyo Olympics.
Aditi was the star, but Avani Prashanth, a teenager from India, shot 1-under 72 on day nine and finished in top-10. Amandeep Drall (77), was tied-55th.
Aditi, her first event in over two months, took a lead of three shots in the first round, then increased it to five after the second round, and six after the third. She finished the event nine shots ahead Englands Alice Hewson (72), who finished birdie -birdie and April Angurasaranee (77).
She could have won by a double digit margin, but she lost the final shot. Par-5 15th and Par-317th were her two bogies, but it was just academic in a week Aditi dominated.
We are so happy to have won again on the @LETgolfThank you @KenyaLadiesOpenThank you to our event sponsors for making this event a success. We are grateful to all volunteers, fans, as well as the staff. @VipingoRidgeWe are grateful to the greens keeping crew for making it possible despite the difficulties with water. #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/bi6sprGerL
– Aditi Ashok, @aditigolf February 5, 2023
Aditi started the final day with a six shot lead at a course that features wildlife such as giraffes. She played steady golf throughout the week. Aditi had two bogeys, one on the second day and none on the final day. She dropped three shots on her final day, and her 1-over round of 74 was her only over par round.
She opened with a birdie at the first, but she lost that shot at the eighth. On the final day, she picked a birdie at the 11th to be 1-under through the remaining 11 holes. She missed two shots towards end.
She has a solid record in LET – she won four times in 60 starts, and finished in the top-10 as often as 20 times – so she will be aiming for her first LPGA win. This could make her the first Indian winner on the LPGA, as she was the first to do so on the Ladies European Tour.
Aditi, a professional athlete who was also an amateur, came within a whisker from an Olympic medal at Tokyo Games where she placed fourth.
With PTI Inputs