New Delhi: Indian golfer Aditi Ashok entered history books on Sunday by clinching the Indian Open title with which she also became the first Indian to win a Ladies European Tour event.
Aditi shot a level par 72 in the final round, taking her total score to 3-under 213, one stroke clear of Brittany Lincicome (USA) and Belen Mozo (Spain), who finished tied second.
India's Vani Kapoor shot 3-over 75, and finished T-28 with an overall score of 9-over 225. Of the rest of the Indians, Amandeep Drall, Diksha Dagar and Gaurika Bishnoi finished tied-34, tied-44 and tied-55 respectively.
On Saturday, Aditi, who started her day tied in ninth position, had an indifferent front nine. She carded a birdie on the second hole. However, a dropped shot on the sixth and a miss-hit into the water on the ninth, which resulted in a double bogey, added to her woes.
But the 18-year-old stayed unfazed by the initial setbacks and fired five birdies in her back nine to finish with a total score of 141 after the second round. She was tied for second position after the 17th hole, still needing a birdie on the final hole to take the lead.
The youngster showed great composure and produced a brilliant approach shot which landed three feet from the pin, which she holed comfortably, much to the joy of a cheering crowd.
Summing up her day, she said, "I think I had a really sharp back nine. I hit all nine greens, so had nine good chances of a birdie and I made five of them. So it was very good. It could have been better in the front nine but I had a double bogey on the ninth hole, but apart from that it was good."
When asked about her approach on the final day, she said, "I think I am going to play the way I played the first two days, try and create as many chances as I can and keep myself in play off the tee and while hitting my approaches and it should be good."
