Aditi Ashok, the 18-year-old from Bangalore and the only Indian female golfer that competed in the Rio Olympics 2016, recorded her third top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour at the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters held at the Golf Club Hubblerath, Germany. The Indian golfer shot a final round of three-under 69 and finished tied ninth.
Aditi played her fourth successive one-under 69 round for her third straight top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. She opened the final day with a double bogey but then went on an overdrive as she had an eagle and four birdies to turn in a brilliant five-under 31.
The Indian was in the running for a top-3 finish but a cataclysmic triple bogey on the par-11th followed by a bogey on 14th ended her chances of finishing higher. She finished with three straight pars and the card of 69 meant she ended the tournament at four-under and tied in 10th place.
At the top, 34-year-old Beth Allen of the USA overturned a four-stroke deficit with nine holes remaining to claim a decisive victory. Allen had an eagle and two birdies on the back nine to end four clear of Florentyna Parker and overnight leader Diana Luna. The American moved two ahead after Luna three-putted the 14th and she then soared three clear after making a short eagle putt on the long 15th.
Another Indian golfer on the rise
Studying at Bangalore’s Frank Anthony Public School, Aditi has been a prominent figure on the Indian amateur golfing scene. After an illustrious amateur career, she turned professional on 1 January 2016.
The golfer created history when she recorded herself as the first Indian to win the Ladies British amateur stroke-play championship at Leeds, in 2015. She bagged the St. Rule Trophy at St. Andrews and finished second in the 2015 European Women’s Amateur Championship, and also claimed the title called ‘The Nicholls Trophy’ as well as the ‘Dinwiddy Trophy’ given for the lowest score by an under-18 player.
Ranked 34th on the Ladies European Tour rankings, Aditi is set to play in the tour next season as well. With three straight top-10s, she has established herself as a contender in the remaining events of the season. Her next tournament will be in China next week, where she tees off at the €300,000 Xiamen International Ladies tournament.
