On a challenging day at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., it was India’s Aditi Ashok who rose to the occasion at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, grinding out a 1-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over the field, the first overnight lead/co-lead of her LPGA Tour career. Starting the day on the par-4 10th, Ashok came out of the gate quietly, making three pars on her first three holes. But she caught fire on No. 13, making birdie on the reachable par 5, and then backed that up with another birdie on the 14th hole. The highlight of Ashok’s day came on the par-5, 15th when she holed a sand wedge from 85 yards for eagle, a shot that she and her caddie, who is also her father, couldn’t seem to agree on.
“Actually me and my dad, we were talking, like going back and forth because it was kind of an in-between number, so we were almost trying to hit the next wedge because there's water short of the green,” said Ashok, who has one worldwide win this season, the Magical Kenya Ladies Open on the LET. “But I decided to hit that one a little more full, and we got the number exactly right because it landed in the hole, so we're like, okay, maybe it's not a bad number.”
Ashok cooled after her eagle, making five bogeys and just two birdies on her way back to the clubhouse, but she was pleased with how she managed her mistakes on Friday. “I just know I made a couple bad swings, and you drop shots when you do that,” she said. “Making no worse than bogey was good. I still feel like a couple other bogeys on the back nine, which was the front nine for me, that was not really ideal. I feel like I bogeyed 7 with a wedge. With wedge you're looking at birdie, so that was I guess giving away a shot, but apart from that, it was good.”
Three LPGA Tour winners sit one shot back of Ashok at 5-under, including major champions Pernilla Lindberg and Hannah Green as well as 2019 Ascendant LPGA benefitting Volunteers of America winner Cheyenne Knight. Green has two top-five finishes in her last five starts at Wilshire Country Club and she and Knight are the only two players that have carded back-to-back rounds in the 60s this week.
“I think because I've had good history here, that definitely helps with my confidence, as it probably hasn't been as high since the start of the year. So it's nice to come back to a familiar place,” said Green, who shot a second-round 69 with four birdies and two bogeys on the card. “I think the golf course is really good. The food is great in LA. I have a lovely host family that I've been with the last six years. It's just a really nice environment to be in.”
A trio of players are in a tie for fifth at 4-under, including Epson Tour graduate Linnea Strom, UCLA alum Alison Lee and Australian Sarah Kemp. Rounding out the top 10, a foursome of players are tied for eighth at 3-under, most notably 2022 LPGA Tour winner Ayaka Furue. Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda is T12 alongside nine other players, including former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko. A total of 67 players made the cut at 1-over. Notable players that missed the cut are past champions at Wilshire, Brooke Henderson (+2) and Moriya Jutanugarn (+11), as well as last week’s Chevron Championship winner Lilia Vu (+2).
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