Aditi Ashok finishes 24th at Australian Ladies Classic

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok carded an even par 72 in the final round to sign off Tied 24th at the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic Bonville on Sunday. Though she had a 69 on the first day, Aditi rounded off the week with even par 72, which contained two birdies and as many bogeys, to finish with a total of three-under 285. She played rounds of 69-75-69-72. Australian amateur Stephanie Kyriacou, who started the final day with a two-shot cushion, completed a commanding eight-shot win as she produced a 65 in the final round to get to 22-under 266, while her nearest rival was Ayeon Cho (73) a 14-under. 

Aditi Ashok finishes 24th

Among other Indians, Diksha Dagar shot 71 and finished T-32nd at one-under 287, while Tvesa Malik (76) was four-over 292 and T-57. Aditi and five other Indians -- Diksha Dagar, Tvesa Malik, Ridhima Dilawari, Astha Madan and Gaurika Bishnoi will play the New South Wales Open next week. Kyriacou, the 19-year-old from Sydney, took charge of the final round early enough and never allowed the grip to slacken. She played rounds of 69-63-69-65.

Aditi opened with a bogey, but got the stroke back with a birdie on fourth, the first time she birdied that par-5 this week.  She again dropped a shot on sixth but made up on seventh with a birdie. She had pars on the remaining 11 holes, though there were some birdies chances on some. Sweden's Linnea Strom finished third on 13-under, Scotland's Gemma Dryburgh ended fourth on 11-under, while halfway leader Lauren Stephenson from the United States was tied for fifth with the Netherlands' Anne van Dam.

Kyriacou birdied the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes to make the turn in six-under 29 and led by nine strokes at that stage.  Another birdie at the 10th took her to 22-under-par and she extended her lead to 11 with an eighth birdie on the 15th. There was heavy shower in between and she had a bogey on 16th. "I'm lost for words and still on cloud nine. I think everything was going my way today. I was pretty confident going into the last round," said Kyriacou.

Kyriacou will now have the opportunity to turn professional and take up a winner's category of membership on the LET and ALPG Tours, but she said that she would discuss it with her father Nick, who was caddying for her, before making a decision. Cho stormed into second place with an eagle and two birdies in her last five holes for a final round of 70. Meanwhile, a shot back in third, Strom took the early lead in the LET's Race to Costa Del Sol with a six-under-par 66. The shot of the day belonged to LET rookie Linette Littau Durr Holmslykke of Denmark, who aced the par-3 17th using a 5-iron and with it claimed the major hole-in-one prize on offer from Geoff King Motors, an AUD 30,000 Mitsubishi ASX. The Tour moves to Dubbo Golf Club for the Women's New South Wales Open.