By Rahul Banerji
Aditi Ashok overcame a third-round blip to close with a 2-under par 70 and a tied 13th place at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Raton, her first outing of the 2022 season on Sunday.
The 23-year-old aggregated 4-under 284 (66-72-76-70), 10 shots behind event winner Lydia Ko of New Zealand. Last week’s winner Danielle Kang of the US was second on 13-under 275 and Japan’s Yuka Saso third on 12-under 276.
Aditi was in the top five after two days but Saturday’s performance sent her down the leader-board.
It was a strong recovery thereafter on Sunday that included three birdies against one dropped shot in the course of which she hit 10 of 14 fairways and needed 29 putts in all.
At the top of the order, Ko’s win was her 17th on the LPGA as she held off Kang with two critical birdies on the back nine for a 3-under 69 finish against Kang’s 68.
“I tried to stay really patient out there and not get carried away on what everybody else was doing,” Ko told lpga.com.
“It was just keeping focus on my game, trying to make the lowest score I could”
“To finish off with a few birdies was nice, and I think holing that putt on 15 was kind of the momentum shifter for me,” Ko added.
Saso (67) took outright third, and England’s Charley Hull (68) and Celine Boutier (69) of France shared fourth on -11.
Good break
Earlier in the year, Aditi said she rested as much as possible after the 2021 season, putting down the clubs for what her father and caddie said felt like two months.
“I was playing good to the end of last year but then with couple months off, I didn’t know where my game was at, so it was good to kind of pick up where I left off with a lot of good shots,” Aditi told website.
India’s Tokyo Olympics star said she had added a new club to the bag, a 5-hybrid, and was feeling more comfortable.
“Just trying to work on being better with the longer clubs. I’ve added a hybrid in my bag. I used to have just two hybrids, now three hybrids and I think that’s helping longer approaches.”
Her performance at Tokyo was inspirational and spurred her into a series of good finishes after August.
“The goal is to get in those positions much more often because I haven’t actually been in that position a lot,” Aditi said.
“After the Olympics, I had like three top 10s, so it has been a goal and I’m hoping for more of that this year.”
Up next for Aditi is the LPGA Drive On Championship in three days time at Fort Myers, also in Florida.
Also read: Brisk start to season by Aditi Ashok at Gainbridge LPGA
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