The 23-year-old Bengalurean ended two strokes off the pace with a total of 15-under 269, which was just one stroke below the medal bracket. In the final round, she managed a 3-under 68
It was a heartbreaking end to Aditi’s campaign considering she started the day in sole second position.
But it was nonetheless a massive improvement as she had finished 41st in the 2016 edition where golf made a comeback to the Olympics after over 100 years.
This birdie showed us how @aditigolf – the world no. 200 went toe-to-toe with the champions till the last shot and… https://t.co/ZxLTejFZk3
— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) 1628313300000
In the final round, she fired five birdies — on the 5th, 6th, 8th, 13th and 14th holes — against two bogeys on the 9th and 11th. The world number 200 Indian had her mother Maheshwari as her caddie.
Aditi kept her smile intact even as her 25-foot birdie attempt ball slid past the cup on the 18th and final hole. With that she knew that her final chance of a shot at the medal in the Olympic women’s golf had gone.
Well played, Aditi Ashok! One more daughter of India makes her mark! You have taken Indian golfing to new heights… https://t.co/pIPbXo6Ccx
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) 1628312478000
Overnight leader and world number one Nelly Korda clinched the gold medal with a 2-under 69 that left her 17-under overall and a shot ahead of Japan’s Mone Inami (65) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (65).
Inami and Ko competed in a play-off to decide the silver and bronze medal winners in which the former emerged triumphant.
On the play-off hole (par-4 18th), Ko dropped a bogey, while Inami managed to hold on for a par in overcast and damp conditions.
The other Indian in fray, Diksha Dagar, finished her campaign at tied 50th after managing her first sub-par round of the week, a one-under 70, which left her with an aggregate total of 6-over 290.
The New Zealander Ko, with her bronze medal, became the first double medallist in golf since its return to the Olympic programme in 2016. She had silver in Rio.
Shout-out to Aditi Ashok:🔸 200th player in the world🔸 Her caddie at #Tokyo2020 was her mother 🥰🔸 Fought until th… https://t.co/hxixYDv4JR
— Olympics (@Olympics) 1628312888000
Interestingly Aditi was one of the only three players in the field who had all three rounds in the 60s with 67-66-68-68 for a total of 269.
As the finish approached but before the medals were decided there was a lot of drama over whether the final round could be completed on Saturday.
Late on Friday there was talk of a tropical storm which might mean no play on Saturday and push the action to Sunday.
Well played @aditigolf! You have shown tremendous skill and resolve during #Tokyo2020. A medal was narrowly missed… https://t.co/aPnjChmokY
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1628314414000
The organisers found a way with a 6.30 am early start on Saturday but then there was threat of lightning with the final group on 17th hole.
Luckily little over half an hour later, weather cleared for a while and play resumed for the medals to be decided.
If there had been no play, Aditi would have got a silver medal behind Korda on the basis of three rounds.
Of her play on the final day, Aditi admitted, “I think today I didn’t really drive the ball very good and then it’s hard to get birdie putts or hit greens when you’re not in the fairway. So, yeah, that was definitely the hardest part to make a score today.”
Talking of her par on the 15th which Ko birdied, Aditi said, “I mean 15th was okay, it was nothing, I was just scrambling, I was in between clubs so I hit one more and it went over.
“But I don’t think it was that bad. I still made a par, so it’s fine. I was just missing so many fairways. So that was what was bad today, kind of put me out of position so I couldn’t get close to the flag.”
India’s 🇮🇳 1st woman golferto finish 4th at Olympics Games!Aditi Ashok, deserves a standing ovation for her exem… https://t.co/9FEWe3Gbz2
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) 1628312807000
Her putting was outstanding over the week, yet she had narrow misses on the 17th and 18th.
“Yeah, 17th was perfect. I hit it exactly the speed I wanted, the line I wanted. Maybe (because) I made too many through the four rounds, golfing gods were like, okay, we’re not going to give her this one.
“But no, I just tried my best. Even on the last hole, although it was really out of range (25 feet), it was almost a long putt, but I still tried to give it a chance. So yeah, I think I gave it my best attempt.”
A 4️⃣th place finish to end a stellar #Tokyo2020 performance from @aditigolf, so close to a medal finish! 💔Well d… https://t.co/i9OueEQ1YX
— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) 1628311852000
Korda, who at one time led by as many as three shots on the back nine, needed two putts from just inside 30 feet on the 18th hole for par and a 2-under 69 which sufficed for the top prize.
For the 23-year-old Korda, who won her first major championship six weeks ago and rose to No. 1 in the world for the first time, this Olympic gold was another glitzy finish.
Inami, who was tied for first with Korda after 17 holes, bogeyed the 18th hole to fall into a playoff against Ko for the silver medal. Inami then managed to win the play-off for silver.