Aditi Ashok misses halfway cut in Boca Raton; Swede Madalene leads

Boca Raton, US, Jan 25: Aditi Ashok missed the cut in her first appearance of her fourth season on the LPGA as she shot 77-72 in the first two rounds of the Gainbridge LPGA.

Aditi, who was two-over through 15 holes when play was stopped due to darkness on the first day, ended her first round at 77 and added 72 in the second to exit early.

Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, 27, birdied seven of the first nine holes and shot a 10-under 62 on Friday to take the second-round lead. She shot 72 in the first round. She birdied the first two holes, parred the next two and made five birdies in a row for 7-under 29.

Sagstrom has a one-shot lead over Spaniard Carlota Ciganda (66) as Cydney Clanton, Nasa Hataoka and Jennifer Song carded 64 each to get to 8 under. Sei Young Kim was 7 under after a 69, and Celine Boutier had a 67 to reach 6 under.

First-round leader Jessica Korda followed her opening 66 with a 73 to drop to T8 at 5-under.

Aditi two-over in incomplete first round in Boca Raton

Boca Raton, US, Jan 24: Aditi Ashok playing her first event of the 2020 was happy to see play being called off due to darkness soon after back-to-back bogeys in her first round of the Gainbridge LPGA.

Teeing off at the tour’s first full-field event of the season, the Bengaluru golfer Aditi was two-over through 15 holes, and she was coming off bogeys on 14^thand 15^thholes, when darkness forced a stoppage in play on a day which saw high winds and heavy rain delaying play for nearly 40 minutes late in the afternoon.

Twelve players were unable to finish the round.

Aditi, who was 88^thon the Tour last season, bogeyed third and fifth, but picked birdies on sixth and 11th.

The 26-year-old Jessica Korda shot a 6-under 66 to take the first-round lead in the first official event in Boca Raton in more than 30 years. Korda birdied her final two holes, finishing with a 25-foot putt on the par-4 ninth at Boca Rio Golf Club. The Florida player had eight birdies, including all four par-5 holes, and two bogeys.

Tour rookies Yui Kawamoto of Japan and Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand were two strokes back with South Korea’s Sei Young Kim. They shot 68 each. Tavatanakit won three times last year on the Symetra Tour.

Carlota Ciganda, Xiyu Lin and Lindsey Weaver shot 69. Hometown players Jaye Marie Green and Morgan Pressel struggled  as Green shot 73 and Pressel failed to make a birdie in a 75.

Playing alongside Pressel, Lexi Thompson and Gaby Lopez also got off to slow starts. Thompson had an eagle, a birdie and four bogeys in a 73. Mexican Lopez is coming off a playoff victory Monday morning in the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. She had two double bogeys in a 78.