Ocala, Florida, March 7: Aditi Ashok carded a tidy 2-under 70 to make a smart upward move into Top-25 at the LPGA Tour’s Drive On Championship. With rounds of 72-73-70, she is now one-under for three rounds and placed T-24, as she showed glimpses of her expected form.
Jennifer Kupcho made a 12-foot eagle putt on the final hole to cut
Austin Ernst (69) stayed in the lead, but it was cut to one as Jennifer Kupcho shot a 2-under 70 with an eagle at the end at the rainy Golden Ocala. Kupcho set up the eagle with a fairway wood from 215 yards. Ernst parred the last six holes in a 69.
On a day when it was rainy, the greens were really slow and called for a lot of careful putting, Aditi did not have a great start as she bogeyed the Par-4 second for the second day running. She got back with back-to-back birdies on fourth and fifth. She got pars on the next eight hole before picking a birdie on Par- 4 14th but dropped a shot on par-4 17th. She closed with a birdie on 18th for the second successive day and set herself up to make a charge in the final round.
Ernst, a two-time LPGA Tour winner, chipped in for birdie on the par-4 ninth. She was at 13-under 203. Kupcho is winless on the tour and is the 2018 NCAA title and the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019.
Albane Valenzuela (66), Patty Tavatanakit (69) and Jenny Coleman (70) were tied for third at 7 under, while Nelly Korda had a 76 to drop to 3-under in T-11 alongside her sister, Jessica, Lydia Ko and four others.
Laura Davies, 57, bounced back from an opening 75 with a 69 on Friday to advance to the weekend at even par. She added a 76.
Aditi makes cut at Drive On Champs; Kupcho recovers from migraine to lead
Aditi starts with even par 72, lies 41st as Nelly Korda leads again on LPGA
