Aditi, Diksha finish well at LPGA, LET events respectively

By Rahul Banerji

Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar fell short of titles but both continued their strong performances in the ongoing season with the former scoring her third successive top-five finish on Sunday.

At the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Cup in New Jersey, Aditi finished tied fourth two shots behind headline-maker Rose Zhang, who won in her maiden tournament as a professional. 

And across the Atlantic, Diksha was tied eighth at the Helsingborg Ladies Open in Sweden for her second top 10 placing in as many starts on the Ladies European Tour.

Collegiate standout Zhang closed with a 74 for a 9 under total along with Jennifer Kupcho (71-70-69-69) whom she then beat on the second play-off hole.

Before that she had to ward off strong challenges from Aditi, Kupcho and Koreas’ Hae Ran Ryu. The Indian star, Ayaka Furue of Japan and Korea’s Eun Hee Ji (71) were tied for fourth two shots behind the winner.

Aditi, tied second overnight kept Zhang in her sights and in fact closed to within one shot with an early birdie but bogeyed the next to fall two behind again at Liberty National Golf Club.

Shared lead

Another gained shot saw the Bangalore golfer even pull alongside Zhang before Ji and Kupcho caught up, making it a four-way tie for the lead. That, however, did not last long as the challengers fell away before the turn.

Three dropped shots on the back nine all but eliminated Aditi’s chances though Zhang made it tough for herself with a closing bogey but Kupcho could not cash in on the opening and convert for outright victory

“You guys will see me more on the LPGA Tour, as I am taking membership from now on, and I’ll be playing in 2023,” Zhang said at her press conference.

“I had to stay composed throughout the round. When you’re under pressure, birdieing is very difficult and going at flags sometimes is just not smart.

“I didn’t really give myself the most opportunities that I had given myself the prior days. I’m fortunate to have really grinded throughout the round and only managed two bogeys.

No expectations

“I honestly didn’t even expect to make the cut and the reason why I say this is because I don’t think about my expectations a lot. I think about playing the golf course, trying to shoot the best score that I can.

“Obviously, I have frustrations, disappointments with my game, but I never once think about where I finish, where I should finish, et cetera. The expectation for me winning did not even cross my mind.

“I was just playing my game. I was having a good time out there. This is the game that I love, and I’m so thankful to be a professional doing it now.”

The UCLA star made a better professional debut than Tiger Woods, who finished T60 at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open and Jack Nicklaus’ shared 50^th place at the 1962 LA Open.

Besides her 12 wins at Stanford University, Zhang bagged two college championships, an Augusta National Women’s Amateur title, a US Girls’ Junior win, and a US Women’s Amateur victory coming into her LPGA debut. All this bespeaks a stellar career in the making.

For her part, Aditi now has a shared second, a tied fifth, and now a tied fourth in her last three LPGA events and is in the top 20 of the Road to CME Globe (Order of Merit).

In the latest Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, the 25-year-old is now in 48^th place with 118.36 points, her best for the season so far.

Late push

Meanwhile, in Sweden, Diksha shot a level par 72 in the final round and to finish on 5 under 211 and tied eighth place at the Allerum Golf Club on Saturday.

Diksha, who was tied for sixth place overnight had an early birdie but three bogeys set her back before two late birdies helped her climb back into the top 10.

Vani Kapoor, T16 after the second round, slipped to T31 with a closing 74, while Tvesa Malik, who was T55 ended in a share of 68th with a final round of 78.

At the top, Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson produced a sensational finish for her maiden LET win Spaniard Ana Pelaez Trivino (69) was second on 10 under and Smila Tarning Soenderby finished third.

In the LET’s Race to Costa Del Sol Order of Merit, Aditi continues to lead with 1,260 points, while Diksha is 41st on 212.92 points. Vani is 90th and Amandeep Drall 111st.

Also read: Aditi chases maiden LPGA win as Diksha is top 10 at LET event