Young Indian golfer Aditi Ashok overcame another rough start to close at a modest two-over 74 in the first round of the Euros 600,000 Buick Championship here.
Aditi, who has turned professional only this season, and made the cut last week at Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, had three bogeys in first seven holes, but she gathered herself to finish at two-over.
She birdied the eighth and closing hole 18th, but dropped shots at the first, 4th, 7th on 13th holes saw her finish the opening day at Tied-39th at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club in China.
In the second round, which was still in progress, Aditi had one birdie and two bogeys in her first seven holes after starting from the 10th.
Thereafter she parred 11 holes in a row to finish 73 and total three-over 147 for two rounds to be well in track to make second successive cut on the LET.
Aditi has had her best result in LET as an amateur in Hero Women’s Indian Open, twice finishing in Top-15, and as a pro her T-21 in Morocco was the best.
In the first round, Britons Melissa Reid and Becky Morgan and South African Nicole Garcia shared the first round lead after shooting opening rounds of four-under 68 in warm and breezy conditions in the Buick Championship.
Last year’s ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters winner Beth Allen is in a group a stroke back along with England’s Liz Young, South African Stacy Lee Bregman, South Korean Na Yeon Choi, Sweden’s Lina Boqvist, Russian Maria Verchenova, Chinese professional Tao Li Yang and a 15-year-old amateur called Yifan Ji.
Defending champion Shanshan Feng of China opened with a one-under-par 71.
Reid played without a practise round and fired three straight birdies from the 12th.
She bogeyed 16 and birdied 18 before carding three more birdies against two bogeys on the front nine. “I actually felt a little bit uncomfortable out there, it was weird, but I tried to play every shot quite clear and I’m very happy with my 68,” said the 28-year-old from Derbyshire, who has earned five titles on the LET.
