August 18, 2016: The incredible adventures of Aditi Ashok continue unabated, as the 18 year old from Bengaluru stormed into a tie for second in the Rio Olympics. The young golfer is betraying her wet behind the ears pedigree with the poise and consistency that is normally the preserve of seasoned champions. Aditi shot a second straight 68 to surge into medal contention at 6-under 136. Stacy Lewis with a 63 and Charley Hull, 66 soared to the top a little after that. Aditi was lying T6 at the time of this report, with the second round still in progress.
Aditi produced yet another round of solid golf, surviving a pair of bogeys to produce another three under effort. The second round 68 helped Aditi to six under overall, just three shy of the mark set by Lewis.
Aditi kept her sheet clean through the front nine, making it 27 holes without a bogey on a challenging Olympic Golf Course.
At the first hole, Aditi carried the ball 482 yards with her first two shots, before nearly navigating the distance to the pin with her third shot.
At the relatively short par-3 fourth hole, Aditi fired an accurate tee shot to within 3 feet of the pin to produce her second birdie of the round.
It seemed at the ninth hole that Aditi may have left her approach a tad short, but she made up for it with a brilliant birdie putt from 12 feet. That birdie helped Aditi make the turn at 3-under through the day, mirroring her score from the first round.
Aditi’s first bogey of the Olympics came at the 10th hole. She played conservative trying to navigate the par-5 without damage, but a three putt from 42 feet left her scratching a six on the card.
Aditi made a strong recovery when she collected four pars and birdies at the 15th and 16th holes to reach seven under, gaining a share of the lead.
The Indian golfer conceded another shot at the 18th hole, another par-5 on the Olympic Golf Course. She played her approach short, firing just 68 yards. It left her 49 yards from the pin, from where she took three shots to complete her round.
