Abu Dhabi: Golfer Aditi Ashok made a triumphant return to the Ladies European Tour by clinching the Fatima Bin Mubarak Ladies Open after surviving a few anxious moments in the closing stages.
The 19-year-old sounded a warning to her competitors ahead of the Hero Indian Open, where she will defend her title next week. It is Aditi’s third LET win in less than 12 months. India’s other player, Vani Kapoor (70) finished in a tied 57th spot.
Aditi, who also won the Qatar Ladies Open last year, survived a late scare when she double bogeyed the par-3 17th hole. But she held her nerve to par the 18th and final hole for a one-shot win over Georgia Hall (66).
Aditi, who started the day at 15-under and led American Cheyenne Woods by two shots, bogeyed the fourth, but six birdies between the fifth and 15th holes saw her open a big gap over her rivals.
While Woods fell behind, Georgia Hall and Camilla Lennarth made a strong bid to catch up with the Indian. Aditi was 20-under when she came to the 17th tee, by which time Georgia playing one group ahead had finished and was 17-under while Lennarth was at 16-under. When Aditi double bogeyed the 17th, she was just one ahead of Hall and needed to par the final hole to ensure she won outright. A bogey would have sent the contest into a play-off. But she played a round of solid golf to clinch the title.
Press Trust of India
