India’s Aditi Ashok got the nation talking with her performance on day 2 at the Rio Olympics. While she managed the same total that she had in the first day, a -3 under par 68, there were patches of the day when the 18 year old was sitting on top of the leaderboard. It got people’s attention and suddenly, India’s chances of winning a medal in golf had become the talking point.
Bangalore based Aditi finished her round with a bogey on the 18th hole, the only blip in her journey so far. If not for the bogey, she would have finished the day tied for 4th place. Now, at -6 under par for the event, she is at 8th place, 3 shots behind the leader and very much in the fray going into the final two rounds.
Korea’s Inbee Park has the lead at the halfway stage. She started her round much later than her opponents and timed her birdies to perfection, mounting a late charge to the top of the leaderboard. She matched her -5 under par round from day 1 and has the lead at -10 under par after two days.
America’s Stacy Lewis had the best round on day 2. She had to produce an incredible round to merit a position close to the top and that’s exactly what she did, stringing together a number of birdies to sign off with a total of -8 under par 63. On day 1, she had only managed a -1 under par and is currently in second place at -9 under par.
Stacy Lewis holds a one stroke lead over Charley Hull of Great Britain. Hull has had two very solid days at the Olympic Golf Course. She followed up a commendable -3 under par 68 in the first round with a -5 under par 66 to finish in 3rd place at the halfway stage. Brooke Henderson of Canada was to last to finish on day 2, she finished with a birdie. Her round of -7 under par nearly eclipsed Stacy Lewis’ from earlier in the day. She’s now tied with Hull for 3rd place.
All eyes will be on India’s teenage sensation Aditi Ashok as she tees off tomorrow. She will look to maintain the consistency she showed so far, but to truly make a push towards a medal, she needs one special day, maybe day 3 will be that day.
