Aditi Ashok, an Indian golfer, got off to a flying start at the Olympic Games, carding a four-under 67 in the first round to tie for second place at the Kasumigaseki country club on Wednesday.
Aditi, who captured the attention of the golfing world five years ago at the Rio Olympics, shared the position with World No. 1 Nelly Korda.
She was one shot behind the leader, Madalene of Sweden, who shot 66.
"I think I played better than I expected today because I had a lot of hybrids into the greens, so I didn't really expect to be like 5-under through 17," Aditi said.
Aditi could have had a share of the lead if she hadn't bogeyed the 18th hole.
While Sagstrom shot a bogey-free five-under 66, Aditi had five birdies to one bogey, which came on the final hole.
She was ranked well ahead of some of the game's biggest names, including the defending champion, Inbee Park (69).
On the back nine, she added birdies from 15 feet on the 13th and nearly 18 feet on the 17th.
In the meantime, she had another birdie on the 14th from under three feet after a fantastic approach. She finished at 5-under after bogeying the last after missing a par from within seven feet.
"But, I kind of holed some (good) putts and holed important par putts as well which kept the momentum. So, yeah, it was a good day," she said.
Aditi's father, Ashok, was on the bag five years ago when she got into the Olympics, but this time it was her mother, Maheshwari, who has been a big influence on her.
"Yeah, my mom, she's caddying for me. Last time I had my dad in the bag, so the experience was just so incredible. I was like I want to have my mom next time and I made good on that promise," Aditi said.
Aditi stated that she was a rookie the first time, but she now has a wealth of experience.
The 23-year-old Bengaluru native, who has played in 18 Majors, drew international attention with a 68-68 start in the first two rounds at Rio, but then faded to T-41st.
