India’s Aditi Ashok is once again in contention, this time at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. The 25-year-old fired a 4-under, 68 on Saturday to sit at 9-under and two back of the lead held by Rose Zhang, a round that was highlighted by five birdies, including a bunker hole out on the par-3, 4th hole. It’s the third time this season that Ashok has been within five of the lead entering the final round, with the previous two instances being at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, where she finished T2 after losing in a playoff, and the Cognizant Founders Cup, where she ultimately finished in a tie for fifth. While the four-time Ladies European Tour winner said that she always knew her short game was good enough to compete, Ashok believed it was her long game that could use the most improvement, and that’s what she worked on the most ahead of her seventh season on the LPGA Tour.
“I think for me I always believed I could do it, because I knew I had the short game and the putting, but I just didn't hit it far enough. My first year I used to hit it a bit further than I did last year, but still in the last five, six seasons I felt like to be a better player I needed some length, so I worked on that in the offseason,” said Ashok, who has a win already this season at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. “I feel like that 20, 30 yards extra has just been helping me look at the flag on some holes as opposed to playing middle of the green. The closer I get, it helps that my putting is good, too, so creates more birdies.”
Ashok’s two top-five finishes earlier this season added to her career top 10 count, bringing her total to eight, but she’s still looking for that first LPGA Tour title. With another Sunday in the mix on tap and with plenty of lessons learned from her recent experiences being in contention, Ashok is worried about nothing more than putting up a low number and managing her mistakes, something that can be a challenge depending on the conditions at Liberty National.
“This golf course makes you think a lot. If you get the right angles and if you play it smart, I think it's easier to not drop shots. At least that's what I felt when I played the first round, so that's what I tried to stick to. I think three bogeys so far is not too bad and hopefully I can keep that going,” Ashok said. “I think I just have to shoot a good round. I feel like every week ten or fifteen girls play the best golf, but one of them ends up winning. I think I really have to shoot a good round. Hopefully go make more birdies than I made today. Try not to drop shots.”
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