The two-time Olympian had an impressive week where she improved round by round at Real Club de Golf Las Brisas.

After rounds of 69-68-68 on the first three days, Ashok carded an excellent bogey-free 66 on the final day to win with a total of 17-under-par.

“It started out slow, I was missing a lot of birdies for the first six to eight holes,” said Ashok. “I hit it close on seven, after that I felt like I still had a chance. Initially, it felt like I was two shots away the whole time. I’m glad it picked up on the back nine.

“It was a great battle. Anne [Van Dam], when she’s playing good, she can blow the field away and win by five to 10 shots. I knew I had to not stop making birdies and to keep trying.

“Her par when she hit the trees on 15 and my long putt, that switched the momentum a little bit. She is a great player and kept me honest out there.”

????? ??? ???? ?? ???????Í? ?@aditigolf wins the season ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España ?#RaiseOurGame | #OpenDeEspaña pic.twitter.com/xQdWAMeZqy

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 26, 2023

Ashok, who was in a tie for second place overnight, didn’t make her first birdie until the seventh but that kickstarted her momentum.

She added two more on the 10th and 13th but it was her three birdies on the trot on 15, 16 and 17 to seal her fifth LET title and her second of the season, after she also won the season-opening event in Kenya.

Ashok continued: “On the front nine I wasn’t hitting it as good, somewhere on the back on 13 when I hit that 8-iron close I feel I made a good swing and it just picked up from there. I made three or four good swings and all of those were in holeable range. I guess the 16th tee shot was the shot of the day.

“One 18, I have struggled with that tee shot and missed it right almost all four days. It was a weird lie in the rough, I didn’t know if it would go left on me, and it did. I was just trying to make sure I had a good look at par.”

Dutch star Anne Van Dam ended the week in second place on 15-under-par after a final round of 68 (-4).

Van Dam, who has won this tournament twice previously, went toe-to-toe with Ashok throughout the final round and had five birdies and one bogey on her scorecard.

“It was a tough day,” said the five-time LET winner. “I was in there all day and it was super close. Aditi just came out and played unbelievably and she definitely deserved to win this week.

“I’m very pleased with my season overall. I came close six times now, I just need to keep working hard and the wins are right around the corner.”

AVD applying the pressure with a stunning approach into the 18th ?#RaiseOurGame | #OpenDeEspaña pic.twitter.com/R0IlfLuRwu

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 26, 2023

Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino ended the week in third place after a final round of 68 (-4) which included five birdies and one bogey.

“It was a special week,” said the Malaga native. “I felt like I was ready to compete this week with more passion and calmness than ever. I think I did a really good job on that. Also, a really good week to go into LPGA Q-Series next week. I’m happy overall.

“There were lots of positives, I was very consistent. I’m very thankful for the all the learning experiences that I have had and I’m looking forward to next season.“

Sweden’s Linn Grant and Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley finished in a tie for fourth place on 12-under-par in Spain with Belgium’s Manon De Roey in outright sixth.

Defending champion Caroline Hedwall, India’s Diksha Dagar, Norway’s Madelene Stavnar, France’s Celine Boutier and Spanish amateur Andrea Revuelta ended the week in a share of seventh place on 10-under-par.

In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, it was Trichat Cheenglab who came away with the trophy with a tally of 1,966.52 points ahead of Boutier and Dagar.

Cheenglab follows in the footsteps of compatriot Atthaya Thitikul and becomes the sixth player to win both the Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year titles in the same season.

For those who haven’t kept their cards this season it’s off to Q School in Morocco. Pre Qualifier of the Lalla Aicha Marrakech Q School is at Golf Club Rotana & Samanah Golf by Nicklaus & Noria Golf Club between the 10th – 12th December 2023. Followed by the Final Stage at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech & Royal Golf De Marrakech between the 16th – 20th December 2023.

Image: Ladies European Tour

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Ko made it career win No. 26 and a second Aramco Saudi Ladies International, thanks to a steady four-under final round of 68 which gave her a 21-under total of 267, one better than Ashok. The world No. 1 ended the day two strokes ahead of Vu, who finished T3 alongside Lexi Thompson of America and Belgium’s Manon De Roey.

Ko, who also triumphed in the tournament in 2021, said: “I’m two for two on this golf course, so clearly something is going for me. In the end, it’s definitely nice to get the win this week.”

Loaded field

It certainly was a statement from Ko in her first event of the year as she came out on top in a field that included 13 major winners including In Gee Chun, Anna Nordqvist, Thompson and defending champion Georgia Hall.
“I’m playing with the world’s best,” she said. “The field this week was really good, so I knew it was going to be a challenge. The first one of the year, it’s really hard because you don’t have anything to base yourself off.
“You don’t know if you’re going to play well or bad. But the start definitely helped, and I think I stayed really patient and I was not as nervous as I thought I would be, which is definitely good.”

Blown away

As ever on the famous Royal Greens fairways, the wind was one of the week’s biggest talking points as the players struggled to come to terms with the breezes off the Red Sea, especially in the afternoon, when gusts can regularly whip up to 30mph. Almost every player mentioned the wind in their post-round interviews, with Lilia Vu perhaps best summing it up when she had to resort to some unusual tactics on the par-4 sixth hole on Sunday.
“I hit my driver and it went 200 yards,” she said. “And I was still left with a 4-iron to the green. It was crazy.”

Ashok primed

While Aditi Ashok came up just short at the Saudi International, the India star boosted her credentials for a stellar season with her second-place finish. The two-time Olympian, at only the age of 24, is in the form of her life and has now gone win (Kenya), third (Morocco), second (Saudi) in her three starts this season, and this just might be the year when she finally makes a statement in the majors.

Chiara continues

Following her victory in the Aramco Team Series — Jeddah last November, 16-year-old Dubai-based star Chiara Noja has hit the ground running in her first full year on the Ladies European Tour. Following a T11 in Morocco at the Lalla Meryem Cup the German schoolkid notched up a 12th-place finish at Royal Greens, and picked up $102,000 for her efforts.
“What an experience,” she wrote on Twitter. The strongest field I’ve ever played in, and making history with equal prize money for the women and men. Feeling incredibly blessed, and love seeing this growth of the women’s game.”

T12th this week! What an experience! The strongest field I’ve ever played in, and making history with equal prize money for the women and men. Feeling incredibly blessed, and love seeing this growth of the women’s game. Thank you @LETgolf @Golf_Saudi @AramcoLadiesInt pic.twitter.com/ORAq6bZ5wP

— Chiara Noja (@thechiaranoja) February 19, 2023

There certainly will be more to come from Chiara in the near future, too.

Records tumble

Along with the record prize money at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, there was also a remarkable double-header on the course as Lexi Thompson shot a course record-equalling 63 to surge into contention on Saturday. Not to be outdone, Manon De Roey matched the feat in the final round, ensuring she secured a share of third spot with Thompson and her fellow American Lilia Vu.

The post Ko underlines her status as world’s best, Ashok and Noja shine — Aramco Saudi Ladies International takeaways appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Vu, a three-time winner last season on the Symetra Tour, the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour, put herself in touch of glory on her first outing this season after the eagle on the par-five 18 gave her a seven-under round of 65, one better than Ko’s six-under 66.

She now sits on 18-under with Ko one back and overnight leader Aditi Ashok on 16-under after a three-under 69, alongside former champion Emily Kristine Pedersen, who carded a seven-under 65.

Vu is eager to take the pressure off by adopting a fun approach on the course. She said: “I find I play my best when I’m having fun, so I’m just going to try and do that tomorrow. I was actually a little nervous coming here because it’s the start of my season, first tournament of the year for me. I felt kind of rusty coming through. Then once I started to trust myself the game just got better on its own.”

Vu felt she was at an advantage playing alongside world No. 1 Ko in the penultimate round, saying: “I have a lot of fun playing with her. I mean, when you play with good players you tend to play better, and she just hits the ball so well. It’s been fun.”

Of her eagle putt on 18 to leapfrog Ko and take the outright lead, she added: “I had a really long putt from the front the green, back left pin. It was about 24 paces, and I just hit and hope on that one.”

Lydia Ko. LET

A par on the last gave Ko a six-under 66, and a one-shot deficit going into the final round. She admitted she is looking to emulate Vu on Sunday and hopes that an aggressive approach alongside the American and Pederson in the final group will help her to career win no 26, an astonishing return for a 25-year-old.

She said: “We played for the first time on tour at the Scottish Open last year. I just really liked how she went about her business, really fast and really aggressive when it comes to play. So that’s something that I’m trying to work on — to be a little bit more aggressive and just commit to my shots and just let it rip. That kind of seems like the way she plays. It was fun to play alongside her and Aditi.

“It’s going to be a great showdown, especially if the wind is not as breezy as yesterday afternoon. I don’t know how many shots back is actually back, because you could possibly make a stretch of birdies and put yourself up there.”

Ashok couldn’t follow up her sensational first two rounds of 65 and 66 but was philosophical after three birdies in the final four holes kept her in touch, two off leader Vu. She said: “I think I hit it good today, created a lot of birdie chances. I just didn’t hole as many putts as the first two days, but I’m still happy with my game. Hopefully I can hit it as good but hole more putts.”

The Indian admitted words of encouragement from her dad, who is caddying for her in Saudi, helped her to stay positive. She said: “It was good actually. I was not holing many birdie putts, so halfway around he was like, stay patient; you’re hitting the ball really good. Just hearing that from your caddie, because I’m getting disappointed through the round, it was just nice to get a bit of pick-me-up and then finish with a couple birdies.”

Lexi Thompson put herself in with a shout thanks to an astonishing nine-under 63 which equalled the course record and left her five off the lead.

The American, who hasn’t dropped a shot in the second or third rounds of the tournament, said: “It was just overall a solid day out there. I chipped in on one. I guess kind of set the mood. I was just overall steady day. I just tried to stay in the moment, focus on what I did yesterday, because yesterday was a pretty solid round, too. I just tried to build off that and take it into today.”

Thompson, a major winner at the Chevron Championship in 2014, was another to benefit from some family encouragement — her brother is on the bag at King Abdullah Economic City. She said: “We just talk about the most random things or get deep into a conversation that just goes nowhere. But it’s amazing. He knows me so well and knows my game probably better than I do because we play together every day back home. I’m very lucky and blessed to have him out here.”

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Aditi Ashok is the one to catch as we head into the weekend of the fourth Aramco Saudi Ladies International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

The Indian star leads by one from world No. 1 Lydia Ko and American Lilia Vu in the star-studded field. That trio go out together last on Saturday at 10.45am.

Here is your full Round 3 groupings and timings.

7:10
Angel Yin (USA)
Jana Melichova (CZE)
Olivia Cowan (GER)
7:20
Jinhee Im (KOR)
Nicole Broch Estrup (DEN)
Morgane Metraux (SUI)
7:30
Becky Brewerton (WAL)
Carlota Ciganda (ESP)
Anna Nordqvist (SWE)
7:40
Esther Henseleit (GER)
Carmen Alonso (ESP)
Jeong Mee Hwang (KOR)
7:50
Gemma Dryburgh (SCO)
Alexa Pano (USA)
In Gee Chun (KOR)
8:00
A Lim Kim (KOR)
Yujin Sung (KOR)
Pajaree Anannarukarn (THA)
8:15
Jung Min Hong (KOR)
Yuka Saso (JPN)
Jenny Shin (KOR)
8:25
Tiia Koivisto (FIN)
Chloe Williams (WAL)
Wichanee Meechai (THA)
8:35
Annie Park (USA)
Lee-Anne Pace (RSA)
Alison Lee (USA)
8:45
Andrea Lee (USA)
Hae Ran Ryu (KOR)
Chiara Noja (GER)
8:55
Stephanie Kyriacou (AUS)
Nicole Garcia (RSA)
Xi Yu Lin (CHN)
9:05
Ryann O’Toole (USA)
Celine Boutier (FRA)
Klara Davidson Spilkova (CZE)
9:20
Pauline Roussin (FRA)
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (DEN)
Charley Hull (ENG)
9:30
Danielle Kang (USA)
Leona Maguire (IRL)
Lexi Thompson (USA)
9:40
Alice Hewson (ENG)
Aline Krauter (GER)
Jennifer Chang (USA)
9:50
Nasa Hataoka (JPN)
So Mi Lee (KOR)
HeeJeong Lim (KOR)
10:00
Ashleigh Buhai (RSA)
Maria Fassi (MEX)
Georgia Hall (ENG)
10:15
Manon De Roey (BEL)
Hyo-Joo Kim (KOR)
Atthaya Thitikul (THA)
10:25
Lisa Pettersson (SWE)
Cara Gainer (ENG)
Johanna Gustavsson (SWE)
10:35
Emily Kristine Pedersen (DEN)
Gaby Lopez (MEX)
Albane Valenzuela (SUI)
10:45
Lilia Vu (USA)
Lydia Ko (NZL)
Aditi Ashok (IND)

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The 24-year-old has already got a win and a third spot in two outings this year in Kenya and Morocco respectively, and she followed her opening 65 with an impressive 66 in the famously breezy afternoon conditions at King Abdullah Economic City outside Jeddah.

Trailing world No. 1 Lydia Ko by one after Round 1, Ashok blasted out of the blocks on Friday. Starting on hole 10, she rattled in five birdies and a sensational eagle on the 18th to reach the turn in 29.

ASHOK WITH THE HOLE OUT EAGLE! ?@aditigolf posts the most outrageous back nine you'll ever see to take her to -14! ?#RaiseOurGame | #AramcoSaudiLadiesIntl pic.twitter.com/F5cISpKIt5

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) February 17, 2023

Two bogeys followed on the back-nine as the winds picked up further, but they failed to take the gloss off yet another impressive round by the youngster, who birdied the ninth (her 18th) for a 13-under total to open up a two-shot lead Ko and American Lilia Vu with 36 holes to go in the race for the title and the $750,000 top prize from the record $5 million purse.

Following her round, Ashok was at a loss to explain her success in the wind where other faltered.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just get on it, read the line, and try and putt it on this line. It’s not that complicated. Doesn’t work too sometimes, but today worked.

“I think I worked a lot on my driving, just hitting balls in general during my time off ahead of Kenya. And I went to the gym a lot. Last year, I travelled so much I lost some weight, so I was trying to gain that weight back.

“I’m nowhere near what I want to be on the course. It’s a work in progress.

“Today, just whenever I stepped to the ball I just knew the ball was going in. It was just one of those days where everything worked in your favour.”

For her part, Kiwi Ko — also out in the afternoon on Friday, but starting from the first hole rather than the 10th — is certainly putting up a fight to regain the crown she won her in 2021, posting a 69 that included six birdies, while Vu signed for a 66.

Ko admitted the wind was pretty tricky, to say the least. “I think it’s pretty windy when I just saw the birdies go sideways,” she said with a laugh. “I felt like on a few shots, the ball just took the blinkers, and with any sort of spin going with the wind it was gone. So it’s pretty safe to say that the Red Sea plus the wind makes it extra difficult for us golfers out there trying to get the ball in the hole in the shortest amount of shots.”

Albane Valenzuela, the 25-year-old Swiss star, is alone in fourth spot on 10-under, with Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and another former Saudi Ladies champ, Emily Kristine Pedersen, tied in fifth on nine-under.

“It’s been really fun,” said Valenzuela. “I mean, my game was solid and today was definitely challenging in the back nine with the wind, but I just stayed very present.

“I think I just enjoyed a little bit lowering my expectations and just trying my best in the conditions. You know, like the ball is just not going to get right bounces and it’s going to be tougher out there for everyone.”

Defending champion Georgia Hall is not too far away, in a group on six-under, and with so many big names in the pack, there is a long way to go..

The post Keep up the good work: India’s Aditi Ashok tames the winds at Royal Greens to go clear at the top in Aramco Saudi Ladies International appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The two-time Olympian clocked up a sensational runaway victory in the Ladies European Tour 2023 opener in Kenya, and followed that up with another stellar performance, finishing third behind Swedish duo Maja Stark and Linn Grant in Morocco.

On her third outing  of the season this week at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, she showed no signs of letting up as she opened with an impressive seven-under 65 to sit one back from joint-leaders Pajaree Anannarukarn and world No. 1 Lydia Ko.

“Today was a good day,” the modest 24-year-old said just outside Jeddah in the Kingdom on Thursday. “I think early on I hit a couple bad drives, but I managed to save par on those holes. I think I knew it was one of those days, that, even if you don’t hit a good shot, things were working out for me today, so glad I was able to capitalise on that.”

From Kenya to Morocco to Saudi Arabia — Aditi has clocked up the miles and performed outstandingly over three very different courses so far this season.

“I am not sure why it is all clicking,” she admitted. “Possibly the two months off and practising a lot, rather than competing has helped. I think I have played here three times before, so I know the golf course a little bit, and maybe that familiarity helps me feel comfortable here.

The confidence keeps growing each week for Ashok, too.

“I wasn’t even in the field this week until I won in Kenya,” she said. So definitely having that win and even third place last week on a tough golf course, I feel that was pretty good.

“This week the field is really strong, so I was excited to see how my game was. As I said, today was a great day, but there are still three more rounds to go.”

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The two-time Olympian produced the wire-to-wire victory at Vipingo Ridge where a round of 74 on the final day was enough for the win.

It was a tough afternoon for the 24-year-old as she made three bogeys and two birdies on day four, but Ashok had put in the hard work in earlier in the week to win.    

“It has been a great week, it’s proof to myself that my off-season and hard work has paid off,” said Ashok.

“It’s definitely different and part of the experience of playing in Kenya. It was cool to see giraffes — I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that close before.”

It is Ashok’s first trip to the winner’s circle on the LET since the 2017 Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi and she paid tribute to father Gudlamani, who was on the bag once again, as well as to her team back at home.

She added: “It was good to have my dad on the bag — three of my wins have been with him caddieing, but not just him there’s my mum back home and I have worked a lot with my coach and my fitness team.

“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.”

England’s Alice Hewson and Thailand’s April Angurasaranee finished in a tie for second place on three-under-par in the LET season-opener.

The post Aditi Ashok storms to victory at 2023 Kenya Ladies Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On the third day of action at Vipingo Ridge, the two-time Olympian had a steady start before rolling in back-to-back birdies on the fifth and six holes.

It wasn’t long before the Indian star made another birdie on the eighth hole, and she made her final one on 12 to have a total of 13-under-par and extend her advantage at the top of the leaderboard.

“It was really good,” said Ashok. “The first couple of holes, I was actually looking at bogeys. I almost hit out of bounds on the first hole, but after that my round was more steady and bogey-free is always a positive.

“I think when the wind is up sometimes you hole putts but sometimes you don’t, so you have to make sure you’re always hitting the greens and taking the big numbers out of play. Then you’re always there looking at birdie even if you don’t make it.”

Ashok, who was runner-up at Vipingo Ridge in 2019, is looking for her fourth victory on the LET and it would be her first since she triumphed at the 2017 Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open.

But despite having a six-shot advantage, the 24-year-old is putting that to the back of her mind and focusing on small goals.

She added: “I have never actually played with such a lead. I’m trying not to think about it too much and just set some small goals for each hole or each six holes and every nine. Being bogey-free has been one of my goals every day and I’m glad I got there today and hopefully I can do some of that tomorrow.”

Thailand’s April Angurasaranee sits in second place on seven-underafter shooting a round of 70 on day three.

The teenager dropped two shots during her round but made up for it with a birdie on the seventh plus two eagles on the par-five 11th and 15th holes.

“I was very nervous on the first tee and I pulled my shot left for the first few holes with my driver and I’ve never done that, but I was excited,” she said.

“The front nine was just steady with not many birdies or bogeys. On the back nine I was lucky enough to get two eagles on both of the par-fives, and that really hyped me up. It was a great day today and I had so much fun.”

Three shots back in third place is England’s Cara Gainer on four-under, while Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels sits in outright fourth place on three-under.

England’s Alice Hewson sits in solo fifth place on two-under-par with America’s Gurleen Kaur and Germany’s Esther Henseleit one shot further back in T7.

Rounding out the top 10 are Finland’s Noora Komulainen, Scotland’s Kylie Henry and Denmark’s Amalie Leth-Nissen who sit in a share of eighth place on level par.

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The Indian star followed up her first round of 67 with another consistent day at Vipingo Ridge to sit at the top of the leaderboard on nine-under-par after 36 holes at Vipingo Ridge.

Three-time LET winner Ashok only dropped one shot during the second day and rolled in four birdies on the Baobab Course.

“It was good I think for the most part I played pretty consistent today,” said Ashok. “There was just one dropped shot which was good.

“I feel I could have driven it a bit better and hit it closer than I did but overall, it was a good day. I don’t know why my driving was a little off. Maybe I didn’t warm up as well this morning or I guess when the wind picked up, I couldn’t find my rhythm.

“It’s easy on this course to hit 3-woods as well so that kind of helped me a bit, but the drives I couldn’t get good angles into some of the holes and some of the par-fives, I didn’t drive it long enough because I wasn’t driving it as good. It’s something to work on for the weekend.”

Thailand’s April Angurasaranee sits in second place on four-under-par after carding a second consecutive round of 71 in Kenya.

The 18-year-old, who earned Category 16 status at LET Q-School in December, made four birdies and two bogeys on day two at Vipingo Ridge and is aiming to finish in the top 10 this week.

“I would say my start has been very good,” said the rookie. “I want to finish in the top 10 this week, so that I get to play in Morocco next week. This is definitely on the right track.”

The post India’s Ashok stretches lead at Kenya Ladies Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 24-year-old made the most of the windy afternoon conditions to put herself at the top of the leaderboard at Vipingo Ridge.

An eagle, six birdies and two bogeys propelled the Indian star to top spot as she made light work of the Baobab Course.

“It was a great day,” said the three-time LET winner. “I made a lot of putts. I had a lot of birdie chances, but I converted them too, which is good.

“I missed a two-footer on one hole but apart from that, I think played well all day. I hit some really great shots, I hit a couple of hybrids inside five feet which is better than you expect. Hopefully I can carry that momentum into the morning.

“Playing in the wind is generally something I’m not used to so I maybe I went with the wrong club or went at some pins that I maybe shouldn’t have. I will maybe focus on that and play conservative a few times when the shot doesn’t suit my eye.”

Ashok had a good time in Kenya back in 2019 when she finished in second place at Vipingo Ridge, just one shot behind eventual winner Esther Henseleit.

The two-time Olympian is trying to feed off the happy memories that she has around the course and all the birdies she made.

She explained: “I just focus on the positive that I made a lot of birdies last time when I played here and I will try to do the same even though I feel like the conditions are a bit tougher.

“It’s windier and the greens are firm so it’s hard to get the ball close, I still try and feed off those memories of making birdies three years ago.”

Seven players sit in a share of second place on two-under, including Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta, Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino and Scotland’s Kylie, Sweden’s Isabella Deilert, Spain’s Marta Sanz Barrio, England’s Alice Hewson and Thailand’s April Angurasaranee

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