Aditi Ashok (born 29 March 1998) is an Indian professional golfer from Bangalore. She plays on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. She made her Olympic Games debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, representing India in golf and finished 4th.[1][2]

Aditi Ashok
Aditi at the 2015 Qatar Ladies Open
Personal information
Born (1998-03-29) 29 March 1998 (age 26)
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Sporting nationality India
ResidenceBangalore, Karnataka, India
Career
Turned professional2016
Current tour(s)Ladies European Tour
LPGA Tour
Professional wins7
Number of wins by tour
Ladies European Tour5
Other2
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipT42: 2017
Women's PGA C'shipT29: 2017
U.S. Women's OpenT26: 2024
Women's British OpenT22: 2018
Evian ChampionshipT17: 2024
Achievements and awards
LET Rookie of the Year2016
Medal record
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou Individual

Personal life

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Aditi was born in Bangalore to Ashok Gudlamani and Maheshwari.[3] She was educated at The Frank Anthony Public School, Bangalore and graduated in 2016 and did her undergrad at Jain University.[4] When she started playing golf at the age of 5, there were only three golf courses in Bangalore. When she expressed an interest, her father took her to the Karnataka Golf Association driving range. Her father Ashok was her caddie in the 2016 Olympics,[5] while her mother Maheshwari Ashok was her caddie for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.[6][7][8]

Career

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Aditi at the age of 12, played in the Asia Pacific Invitation tournament. When Aditi was 13, she became victorious in her first professional tour. She won the National Junior Championship three times in a row in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2014 she held junior and senior titles at the same time. She was the only Indian golfer, who played at Asian Youth Games of 2013, Youth Olympics and Asian Games - both in 2014.[9]

After winning the Ladies British Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2015 she turned pro on 1 January 2016.[10]

She became the youngest and first Indian to win the Lalla Aicha Tour School and secured her Ladies European Tour card for the 2016 season.[11] This win also made her the youngest winner of a Q School for an international tour.[12]

Aditi won the 2016 Hero Women's Indian Open with a score of 3-under-par 213, and in the process became the first Indian to win a Ladies European Tour title.[13][14][15] In a country normally focused on cricket, her win garnered outsized attention for the sport of golf. Her win made the front page of the country's largest English-language newspaper, the Times of India and she was featured nationally on television.[3] She picked up a second win two weeks later at the Qatar Ladies Open[16] and finished the season second on the Order of Merit. She won the Rookie of the Year award.[17] She also gained a LPGA Tour card for 2017 via the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

In 2017, Aditi became the second LPGA player from India after Simi Mehra[18][19] and finished eighth in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings.

In 2018, she made 17 cuts at 24 events, with two top-10 finishes. She recorded a career-best T6 result at the Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic (formerly Volunteers of America LPGA North Dallas Classic) and tied her career-low score of 64 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She ended the year with the second-lowest putting average on the LPGA.[20]

In 2019, Aditi made 13 cut out of 22 LPGA Tour events, with best season finish of T13 at CP Women's Open. She ended the year with back-to-back second-place finishes on the Ladies European Tour.[21]

2016 Olympic Games

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At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Aditi was the youngest participant among all golfers. She finished in 41st place.[22]

2020 Olympic Games

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In 2021, Aditi represented India at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's individual stroke play event, in which she was ranked 200th in the world.[23] Aditi finished fourth with a score of 269 and 15-under par, two shots behind gold medal winner Nelly Korda of the United States.[24] After 54 holes, she was in the silver medal position, and was in medal contention for most of the fourth round.[25]

Amateur wins

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  • 2011 USHA Karnataka Junior, Southern India Junior, Faldo Series Asia - India, East India Tolly Ladies, All India Championship
  • 2012 USHA Delhi Ladies, USHA Army Championship, All India Junior
  • 2013 Asia Pacific Junior Championship
  • 2014 Eastern India Ladies Amateur, USHA IGU All India Ladies & Girls Championship
  • 2015 Army Ladies & Junior Championship, St Rule Trophy, Southern India Ladies & Junior Girls Championship, Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, Thailand Amateur Open

Source:[26]

Professional wins

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Ladies European Tour wins (5)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 13 Nov 2016 Hero Women's Indian Open 72-69-72=213 −3 1 stroke   Brittany Lincicome
  Belén Mozo
2 26 Nov 2016 Qatar Ladies Open 70-66-68-69=273 −15 3 strokes   Lydia Hall
  Caroline Hedwall
3 4 Nov 2017 Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open 67-66-68-69=270 −18 1 stroke   Georgia Hall
4 5 Feb 2023 Magical Kenya Ladies Open 67-70-69-74=280 −12 9 strokes   April Angurasaranee
  Alice Hewson
5 26 Nov 2023 Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De España 69-68-68-66=271 −17 2 strokes   Anne Van Dam

Other wins

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  • 2011 Hero Professional Tour Leg 1, Hero Professional Tour Leg 3 (both as an amateur)[26]

Playoff record

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LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2023 JM Eagle LA Championship   Hannah Green
  Lin Xiyu
Green won with par on second extra hole

Results in LPGA majors

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Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Chevron Championship T42 CUT CUT T67 T71 T62
U.S. Women's Open CUT T39 T33 T26
Women's PGA Championship T29 T63 CUT CUT T40 76 T35
Evian Championship CUT CUT 69 NT CUT CUT T42 T17
Women's British Open CUT CUT T22 CUT CUT CUT T40 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Chevron Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4
U.S. Women's Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
Women's PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 5
The Evian Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 3
Women's British Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 2
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 2 32 17
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (2023 Women's PGA – 2024 Evian)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 0

World ranking

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Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year Ranking Source
2013 613 [27]
2014 540 [28]
2015 469 [29]
2016 111 [30]
2017 82 [31]
2018 99 [32]
2019 143 [33]
2020 172 [34]
2021 126 [35]
2022 193 [36]
2023 42 [37]

Team appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Aditi Ashok qualifies for Tokyo Olympics, India golfer 'beyond excited' for 2nd Games appearance". India Today. 29 June 2021. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Tokyo Olympics 2020 Live Updates, Day 15: Heartbreak for Aditi Ashok as She Finishes 4th In Women's Individual Golf". News 18. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b Mell, Randall (28 November 2016). "India's Ashok riding the wave of stardom". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Meet Aditi Ashok, India's future in women's golf". The Hindu. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Who is Aditi Ashok - Five things to know about the Tokyo-bound Indian golfer". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Olympics 2016: 5 Things To Know About Indian Golfer Aditi Ashok". Golf.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Know Your Indian Olympian: 10 things to know about Aditi Ashok". Yahoo News. 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Thanks to Aditi Ashok, India is watching Golf at 4am - Fans rejoice young golfer's show". India Today. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: With Her Mother by Her Side, Aditi Ashok Successfully 'Putts' Golf on the Map in India". News18. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Aditi Ashok Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. ^ "India's Aditi Ashok becomes youngest ever LET Tour School winner". Sky Sports. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Aditi Ashok looking to qualify for Rio Olympics". Times of India. 26 December 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Aditi Ashok makes history by winning the Women's Indian Open". ESPN. 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Aditi Ashok wins in Abu Dhabi for her third Ladies European Tour title". The Indian Express. 4 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Aditi Ashok creates history, wins Indian Open". India Today. 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  16. ^ Mittal, Shobhit Kumar (28 November 2016). "Career-high for teen golf sensation Aditi Ashok". India Today. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Aditi Ashok named Rookie of the Year". Ladies European Tour. 10 December 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  18. ^ Mickey, Lisa D. (4 February 2017). "Indian Teenager Begins a Lonely Climb in Women's Golf". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  19. ^ Barnett, Hope (15 June 2021). "Trailblazer Mehra Reflects On Greatest Time In Her Life". LPGA. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Aditi Ashok – Bio". LPGA. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Aditi Ashok finish Second at Ladies European tour". Sportstalk24. 8 December 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Aditi Ashok: Rio was all about the experience, but I'm here in Tokyo to win a medal". ESPN. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Aditi Ashok: Everything you need to know about India's lion-hearted golfer Aditi Ashok". The Times of India. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Golfer Aditi Ashok Misses Medal By A Whisker, Finishes 4th In Women's Individual Stroke Play". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  25. ^ "One of the greatest Olympic performances: India salutes golfer Aditi Ashok for stunning show at Tokyo 2020". India Today. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  26. ^ a b c "Aditi Ashok". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  31. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2017. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  32. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018. Archived from the original on 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  36. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2023.
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