Tokyo Olympics: Indian golfer Aditi Ashok finishes 4th, misses bronze by a stroke

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok finished fourth at Olympic Games after carding 3-under 68 in final round. She ended with a total of 15-under 269, just two strokes off the pace. 

It was a heartbreaking end to the 23-year-old’s campaign considering she started the day at 2nd. But it was nonetheless a major improvement as she had finished tied 41st in the 2016 edition where golf made a comeback to the Olympics.

The Bengalurean fired five birdies in the final round – on the 5th, 6th, 8th, 13th and 14th holes. She also had two bogeys, on hole 9 and 11.

Aditi kept her smile intact even as her 25-foot birdie attempt ball slid past the cup on the 18th and final hole. With that she knew that her final chance of a shot at the medal in the Olympic women’s golf had gone.

Also read: ‘Hard to be happy’ for Aditi Ashok after missing out on Olympic medal

Nelly Korda of the USA, the overnight leader and world number one, won the gold medal with a 2-under 69. She ended with a 17-under overall. 

Japan’s Mone Inami won the silver medal, while New Zealand’s Lydia Ko clinched the bronze medal.

Of her play on the final day, Aditi admitted, “I think today I didn’t really drive the ball very good and then it’s hard to get birdie putts or hit greens when you’re not in the fairway. So, yeah, that was definitely the hardest part to make a score today.” Talking of her par on the 15th which Ko birdied, Aditi said, “I mean 15th was okay, it was nothing, I was just scrambling, I was in between clubs so I hit one more and it went over.

“But I don’t think it was that bad. I still made a par, so it’s fine. I was just missing so many fairways. So that was what was bad today, kind of put me out of position so I couldn’t get close to the flag.” Her putting was outstanding over the week, yet she had narrow misses on the 17th and 18th.

“Yeah, 17th was perfect. I hit it exactly the speed I wanted, the line I wanted. Maybe (because) I made too many through the four rounds, golfing gods were like, okay, we’re not going to give her this one.

“But no, I just tried my best. Even on the last hole, although it was really out of range (25 feet), it was almost a long putt, but I still tried to give it a chance. So yeah, I think I gave it my best attempt.”

Play was disrupted for a while by a tropical storm after the leading pack had completed 16 holes but soon resumed at the par-71 Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Aditi was in medal contention for a major part of the day but the two bogeys pulled her back while Ko surged ahead with a sensational nine birdies against just three dropped shots in her final round.