Aditi Ashok back after second in '23; Green: Korda "deserves a break"
Aditi Ashok had a breakthrough week at J.M. Eagle in 2023, shooting 4-under on Sunday and making her way into a three-way playoff in search of her first LPGA victory. Through 36 holes, she led the tournament, and though she eventually ran second to Hannah Green (along with Janet Lin), it was a great learning experience for her.
The one hole that she might have wanted back would be the 17th on Sunday, where she dropped a shot by making bogey. But the week overall was terrific, as she hovered in and around the lead from the very first day in her quest to become the first player from India to win on the LPGA.
Ashok’s best finish in 2024 is 21st (HSBC), but she is no stranger to winning, having won twice on the Ladies European Tour. In the last Olympic Games in Tokyo four years ago, she barely missed a medal, finishing fourth. Should she get herself in position to win this week, she feels as if she has the experience to do it.
“The competition is just so deep out here,” Ashok said after her close loss in 2023. “Ten people have a good tournament, but only one can win. I’m happy with the way I played.”
Green: Korda “deserves a break”
Count Australia’s Hannah Green, this week’s defending champion, among those who have been mightily impressed by the masterful work of World No. 1 Nelly Korda this season. On Sunday, Korda won at Chevron, the first major of the season. She has won in five consecutive starts, tying an LPGA record, and made the call on Monday to pull out of the JM Eagle, wanting to rest up and not be worn out mentally for all that lies ahead on her schedule.
Green played alongside Korda for the first two rounds of her recent victory at Palos Verdes, contested not far from this week’s LPGA tour stop. What Green noticed over two those particular rounds was that Korda’s play did not seem as sharp as it usually is – and yet she still managed to win, “which is kind of scary for the rest of us,” Green said.
Green can appreciate Korda needing a little time off considering how she has been in the spotlight for weeks.
“So I think she's probably just so tired from everything she's been doing,” Green said on Tuesday in L.A. “Obviously won five events, so playing great and not hitting as many shots as perhaps the rest of us. But being the face of the LPGA right now and women's golf and just golf in general up with Scottie (Scheffler, a winner in four of his last five starts on the PGA Tour), it's tough.
“She definitely deserves to have a break and get ready for the next event.”
