Abu Dhabi: India’s teen sensation Aditi Ashok’s meteoric rise as a golf professional received another huge boost as she held her nerves to win her third title on the Ladies European Tour (LET) by clinching the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies’ Open by one stroke at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Course on Saturday.
England’s Georgia Hall was runner-up for the second year in a row while Sweden’s Camilla Lennarth with a round of 67 finished third — two strokes behind leader.
Aditi was cruising at 20-under par with two strokes to go, when a double bogey on the 17th threatened to undo all her hard work over the week. Hall was on 18th hole by then while the drama was unfolding behind. With the 21-year-old Briton finishing off with par on the last hole — Aditi just had to make sure she didn’t goof up again.
“It wasn’t really nerves, I think I lapsed for a bit and missed the putt. I was playing okay all day but wasn’t making as many birdie putts as I wanted to but I’m happy I came out on top,” said the 19-year-old who had produced a whirlwind performance on her debut campaign with back-to-back wins at the Hero Women’s Indian Open and the Qatar Ladies Open last year.
“On the tee box, I actually watched Georgia [Hall] hit the second shot but then the clap went and that was for a par putt. I figured out I only had a one-shot lead and I was kind of in between two clubs, whether I should go over the waters or go from the left. I decided to go from the left and it worked,” said Aditi, who had ended the 2016 season placed-second on the Order of Merit while earning the LET’s Rookie of the Year award.
Aditi said she was in control of her game from the start and her game plan was not to be that aggressive. “Just kept giving myself birdie putts. It was the plan on 17th as well but I don’t know how I ended up missing the putt. I did the same on 18th, gave myself a birdie chance and it just didn’t go in. That was the story of my putting. I guess the birdies in the middle did it,” said Aditi.
Switching to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour this year, Aditi played in 20 events, making the cut in 12, with a best finish of tied eighth at The Marathon Classic, in Sylvania, Ohio.
“Being a rookie on the LPGA was of huge help. It has been a lot of travel and little hard at times. I didn’t play as well as I expected to or the way I wanted. Having said that, being in that position and playing against the best of the world was a huge experience. You can say, it helped me here as well,” said Aditi, who will be defending her title in front of home fans in the Indian Open next.
“Yes, this title will do a world of good going into the Indian Open. I played well in Malaysia also. To have a win before going there is always great and I’m defending my title there. It will be fun too. Just knowing that my game is in good shape and I have a chance to win there and not just to compete is good,” said Aditi, who also hailed the support she got from her father and caddie Pandit Gudlamani Ashok.
“His presence was great as he has helped a lot in the last four days, especially when I had to play aggressive but also be smart not to throw away the lead. Yes, having him on my bag was always good,” said Aditi, adding that she would love to return to the UAE for the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.
