Aditi Ashok finishes Tied-2 at LA Championship, achieves career-best finish on LPGA Tour

Aditi Ashok finishes Tied-2 at LA Championship, achieves career-best finish on LPGA Tour (Image Source: Google)

Indian professional golfer Aditi Ashok came away with her career-best result on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, finishing tied-2 along with Chinese Xiyu Lin with 9 under at the LA Championship.

After seven years on the LPGA Tour, Aditi finally found her way into a playoff and for the first time ever she finished as runner-up while Australian golfer Hannah Green emerged victorious on Sunday.

It took a three-person playoff to determine the winner at Wilshire Country Club, where Ashok and Lin, each chasing a first win on the LPGA Tour, went to extra holes with Green, a two-time winner and major champion, who was searching for her first win in four years.

The trio returned to the par 3 18th hole, a hole they each birdied in regulation to force a playoff. Aditi was eliminated on the first extra hole when she failed to make birdie to match Lin and Green, who comfortably advanced to the second playoff hole and returned once more to the 18th tee.

On the second trip to the par 3, Lin's tee shot caught the greenside bunker to the right of the green and she left her second shot from the sand well short of the hole, while Green two-putted for par to capture her third career win on the LPGA Tour and first win since 2019.

The 25-year-old Indian got off to a great start, carding a bogey-free 5-under, her low round of the event. Her best statistical round came the next day, when she shot a 1-under 70 to take the 36-hole lead and make her first cut of 2023.

Aditi hit 252.5 yards off the tee, didn't miss a fairway and needed just 27 putts to get through the Wilshire Country Club. Her hot streak cooled on Saturday, but she quickly bounced back on Sunday. She shot 4-under, carding five birdies and a lone bogey on 17, to move to 9-under overall.

Her final scorecard also served as her ticket to a playoff with Hannah Green and Xiyu Lin, where she was eliminated on the first hole after making par.

"I think overall it's a good week. I've never played in this position on the LPGA, to be near the lead on the first day and stay there the whole tournament. The competition is just so deep out here. Ten people have a good tournament but only one can win. I'm happy with the way I played," Aditi was quoted as saying by LPGA website.

While Aditi has just made her first splash on the LPGA Tour this season, she has long been making waves across the pond. With her win at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February, the Indian found her first LET win in five years and now leads the Race to Costa Del Sol.