Fine start for Aditi as she closes with 66, finishes eighth in Abu Dhabi

Aditi Ashok opened the New Year with a fine tied-eighth place at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open, the opening event of the 2019 Ladies European Tour, here Saturday.

Aditi, who has three LET wins had also won the Abu Dhabi meet in 2017, closed the week with a superb six-under that had four birdies and a bogey on either side of the turn.

It was a particularly satisfying finish after a start that saw her card 76 on the first day. She made the cut safely with a 72 on second day and zoomed up the leaderboard with a 66 on the final day.

Charlie Hull (69) held her nerve and kept Marianne Skarpnord (68) and won by a shot to take the first title of the season. Hull finished the week at eight-under, while Skarpnord was seven-under.

Aditi birdied third, fifth, sixth and ninth on the front nine and 10th, 11th, 16th and 17th. She, however, dropped a shot on 18th, but for which she would have been tied-third.

Five players including Caroline Hedwall (67), Anne Van Damm (68), Nicole Broch-Larsen (71), Luna Sobron (72) and Jodi Ewart Shadoff (73), who had two bogeys in last three holes, were all tied at 3-under and in tied fourth place.

Aditi at two-under was Tied-eighth alongside Jenny Haglun and Nanna Koertsz and Madsen.