Jamshedpur: Shrugging aside the jetlag and tiredness of having just traveled from Turkey, where she played in the World Amateur Team Championships, Aditi Ashok turned in a brilliant even par 71 that carried her to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the second round of the Usha Eastern India Ladies Golf Championships on Saturday. She shares the lead with overnight leader, Amandeep Drall (74) at 148.
The stage is set for a very close and tight finish at the Golmuri Golf Club, as the lead is share and close behind them are Millie Saroha (75, 75) in third place, just two shots adrift. Another one shot behind is Raksha Phadke (75, 76), also a member of the National Squad like the top three.
The 14-year-old Aditi, who also leads the Ladies Order of Merit, but is still eligible for Category B, was actually two-under for the day when she came to the 18th tee. She had earlier bogeyed the par-5 seventh, but picked up birdies on the par-3 10th and par-3 16th. Then she again bogeyed the par-5 18th, the distance clearly not being to her liking.
Meanwhile, overnight leader, Amandeep Drall added a second straight 74 and she had one birdie on the par-4 sixth. She was done in by a double bogey on par-5 seventh.
Gurbani Singh (76, 77) was fifth at 153, while Nanaki Chadha (73) made up for her lacklustre first day round of 82 with a good round of two-over to move to sixth place at 155.
This season, Gurbani has won the Usha Southern India Ladies title, while Millie Saroha won the Usha Northern India Ladies title and Aditi is the reigning All India Ladies Amateur champion, so the competition will be really keen in the final stages of the tournament.
Millie Saroha leads Category A with a total of 150 and Raksha Phadke is right behind her at 151, but in Category, as also combined A-B, Aditi Ashok moved into the lead position at 148.
In Category C, Riya Ahuja maintained the lead with rounds of 83 and 85 and she was followed by Arshia Mahant (89, 88).
The lead was unchanged even in Category D, where Tanishka Kumar (84, 91) led second-placed Vasundhara Tihara (89, 91) by seven shots.
Usha, a major supporter of Indian golf, is proud of its long-term association with the sport, covering the entire spectrum of the game. Usha has been associated with ladies golf for over 25 years, and today is the nationwide sponsor of the entire Indian Golf Union (IGU) Ladies Tour. In addition, Usha is committed to supporting golf at the Juniors level, sponsoring IGU Junior tournaments in Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh, and is closely associated with the Junior Training Program (JTP) at the Delhi Golf Club.
Usha sponsored the 33rd Queen Sirikit Cup Championship in New Delhi in 2011 – the most important women’s amateur golf event in the Asia Pacific region. Usha sponsored the Honda Siel PGA Championship from 1991 - 2000. Usha’s Co-Chairman, Mr. Siddharth Shriram, was President of the Professional Golf Association for 8 years and writes on golf for leading newspapers.
With golf being included in the 2016 Olympics for the first time, Usha’s aim is to assist in bringing home a medal!
Usha International Limited markets the following products under the USHA brand name: kitchen appliances, cooktops, hoods and hobs, water coolers and water dispensers, inverters, fans, sewing machines, engines and pumpsets, electrical motors and pumps and auto components.
By Indian Sports News Network
