By Rahul Banerji
“It has been a great week,” Aditi Ashok said after completing a thumping nine-shot win in the 2023 Magical Kenya Ladies Open at Vipingo Ridge on Sunday.
“It’s proof to myself that my off-season and hard work has paid off,” the Indian star told the Ladies European Tour website shortly after her triumphant start to the new season.
Aditi rounded off her run with a one over par 74 on Sunday to follow rounds of 67, 70 and 69 for a 12-under 280 aggregate that was worth a 45,000-Euro winner’s cheque.
It was Aditi’s first title on the LET since the 2017 Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi back in 2017 and her fourth overall besides the 2016 Hero Women’s Indian Open and the 2016 Qatar Ladies Open.
Making it an excellent day for India was a top-10 finish for two-time national champion Avani Prashanth, playing as an amateur in a field filled with former winners on the European tour.
The Bangalore teenager was one of a handful to break par on a tough final day and finished in a tie for ninth place with cards of 75, 75, 73 and 72 on the par-73 Baobab Course.
Best result
The Kenya event was Avani’s third outing and her best result on the LET after a tied 12th place at the 2022 Hero Women’s Indian Open and a T66 at the German Amundi Masters last July.
Amandeep Drall, the 2022 Hero Women’s Indian open joint runner-up, took a share of 52nd place.
In all, just four players finished with sub-par totals – Aditi (-12), co-second placed Alice Hewson of England and Thailand’s April Angurasaranee (-3), and Australian Gabriela Ruffels (-2) who was fourth.
Unusually, Aditi dropped three shots on Sunday against two birdies including the par-3 eighth hole, the par-5 15th and the par-3 17th and said later, “I think that hole (eighth) doesn’t suit my eye so I didn’t play it that well today.
“But after that I think I got back into my rhythm and just kept hitting fairways and greens. I think the last few holes, I didn’t make many good swings but it’s okay, I guess.”
In the end, her dominant run over the first three days made the final day card a little irrelevant.
Unusual company
Aditi was accompanied by a pair of giraffes part of the way on Sunday.
“That was cool to have the giraffes there, it’s definitely different and part of the experience of playing in Kenya. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that close before.
“It was good to have my dad on the bag – three of my wins have been with him caddying, but not just him there’s my mum back home and I have worked a lot with my coach and my fitness team.”
Aditi finished second on her last visit to Vipingo Ridge three years ago and the dominant performance by the two-time Olympian would have been very satisfying.
“All of us have put in a lot of work over two months just to get back to my original strength level and this is the first week I’ve felt like I’ve been back to where I was a couple of years ago which is pretty good.”
The result on Sunday also gave Aditi top spot in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol rankings with 500 points while Hewson and Angurasaranee picked up 275 points each.
Also read: Aditi Ashok extends her lead at Magical Kenya Ladies Open
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