Aditi Ashok of India on the sixth tee throughout the first spherical of the LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup golf event, on May 11, 2023, in Clifton, New Jersey
| Photo Credit: AP
Aditi Ashok, profiting from the hotter climate, moved as much as tied third and inside one shot of the lead at the 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup as she bids to turn out to be the first Indian to win on the LPGA Tour.
Following up on her first spherical 3-under 68, Aditi, enjoying her seventh yr on the Tour, added 4-under 67 to get to 7-under 137 and one shot behind co-leaders, Australian Sara Kemp (65) and Korea’s Jin Young Ko (68).
Aditi is the winner of one Ladies European Tour occasion this season and runner-up at the JM Eagle LA Championship, the place she misplaced in a play-off.
Among these lacking the minimize are Rolex Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda, two-time 2023 LPGA Tour winner Lilia Vu and 2023 JM Eagle LA Championship winner Hannah Green.
Aditi, who had six birdies towards two bogeys, mentioned, “I think it was obviously windier playing the afternoon round, so that was a factor to deal with. I think the greens got really firm and obviously not soft, but hard and firm, so the putts felt quicker and it was harder to get the ball close to the hole, even with short irons sometimes.
“Yeah, I feel I putted a bit higher than yesterday. Yesterday I felt like I hit the ball nearly as good as immediately, however simply did not gap some putts. Today, perhaps, I holed a pair extra, which at all times helps.” On the weather, she added, “Yeah, positively from final yr, I bear in mind it being chilly and the ball wasn’t travelling as far. Yeah, positively feels a bit completely different with the agency fairways, agency greens, enjoying a lot shorter than final yr. Yeah, heat climate is at all times good.” As Kemp and Ko lead, Aditi is tied third with the defending Founders champion Minjee Lee and 2023 rookie Hae Ran Ryu. Aditi will play the third round with Minjee Lee.
Aditi, starting the day at 3-under, opened birdie-birdie to go to 5-under. A bogey on the fifth was followed by birdies on eight and then back-to-back birdies on 11th-12th. A bogey on 17th saw her fall back a bit, but she closed with a solid birdie on the 18th.
On her current position, she said, “If you are not up in the high perhaps 10, 15 in the first couple days, I really feel prefer it’s actually exhausting to have a very good end. So that is what I’ve been making an attempt to focus on the previous few weeks, particularly after the first three missed cuts. I simply wished to be close to the high of the leaderboard or at the high in the early rounds of the event. Hopefully, I can have a very good weekend and perhaps capitalise on the good begin.
Aditi was a bit upset about the bogey on seventeenth, however made up on the 18th. She added, “(On the 17th) I think I was a bit distracted with the wind off the tee and we were on the clock, so maybe that played with my mind a little bit. So, yeah, I definitely wanted to get that shot back, and yeah, I’m happy that I stayed composed to hit a good tee shot, good wedge, and hole a good putt, too.” Kemp, with eight birdies and one bogey, jumped from a tie for thirtieth after spherical one to joint lead with a second-round 65. The 37-year-old Australian carded a 31 on her entrance 9 and then added three birdies and one bogey on the again 9.
Sharing the lead with Kemp is the Korean celebrity Jin Young Ko, at present No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
