The list of winners of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España has an Indian player in its outstanding list of winners since the current edition of 2023. Aditi Ashok has achieved the feat based on a lot of patience and many hits, an exercise of brilliant regularity embodied in cards of 69, 68, 68 and 66 that more than neutralized the fierce competition of the Dutch Anne Van Dam and the Spanish Ana Pelaez, next classified in a tournament full of spectacle.
25 year old Aditi Ashok has added her fifth victory in the Ladies European Tour, the second of the season after the victory in Kenya at the beginning of February, a triumphant start and end of the year that makes her a player to follow with enormous present and future potential.
The Indian golfer took seven holes to make her presence felt, a discreetness generated by the lack of hits during the first part of the round, and was part of the star party along with the Dutch Anne Van Dam and the Australian Kirsten Rudgeley.
The leading role was barely held by Kirsten Rudgeley, who maintained her status as provisional leader until the 8th hole, when Dutch Anne Van Dam took a step forward after accumulating her second consecutive birdie.
The classification had soon generated tissue, with five players tied to a single stroke of the Australian, an extreme equality that was gradually unraveling based on hits and punctual errors of each other. Spain’s Ana Pelaez also joined the intense party, whose brilliant first round allowed her to equal the lead of the three members of the main match, with a whole world ahead still to be played.
The eyes of those who witnessed such a vibrant duel had to focus on Anne Van Dam during the next part of the round. Two birdies on holes 10 and 12 led her to lead alone with two strokes ahead of Ana Pelaez and to feed the idea that she was on her way to what would have been her third victory in a Spanish Open after those achieved in 2018 and 2019.
The feat, which would have distinguished her as the player with the highest number of victories in the history of this important tournament, however, met the growing resistance of India’s Aditi Ashok, with a simply impressive second round, where four birdies in five holes between the 13th and 17th, a devastating accumulation of successes, stood out.
A very long putt on the 10th hole; a second shot that left the ball just short of the flag on the 13th; another putt of almost ten meters on the 15th; a spectacular tee shot on the 16th that placed the ball barely 40 centimeters from the target; the second shot on the 17th and a providential bunker exit on the 18th constituted a series of successful actions that undermined the morale of his main rivals.
Anne Van Dam, out of gas on the last stretch of the course, had no choice but to give in to the festival of play of India’s Aditi Ashok, while Ana Pelaez, third place, left with the satisfaction of a job well done, with an impressive putt from 10 meters on the 18th hole that generated a well-deserved ovation from the large audience in attendance.
Special mention should also be made of the outstanding performance of amateurs Andrea Revuelta and Julia Lopez. The former, outstanding during the four rounds, managed to do wonders among the professionals. Always under par, for a total of -10, the Madrilenian finished in seventh position, a record that highlights her quality and future potential.
For her part, Julia Lopez, a local player from Malaga, also received a resounding ovation in recognition of her good performance, awarded with the 18th place. In between, two professionals of more than recognized prestige, Carlota Ciganda and Maria Hernandez, among the most outstanding Spanish players of a tournament that this time headed to India.
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CLASSIFICATION
1 Aditi Ashok (IND) 97,500.00 -17 271 69 68 68 68 66
2 Anne Van Dam (NED) 58,500.00 -15 273 69 71 65 68
3 Ana Pelaez Trivino (ESP) 39,000.00 -13 275 69 68 68 70 68
4 Linn Grant (SWE) 26,325.00 -12 276 65 72 72 71 68
4 Kirsten Rudgeley (AUS) 26,325.00 -12 276 66 69 68 73
6 Manon De Roey (BEL) 20,150.00 -11 277 68 72 67 67 70
7 Caroline Hedwall (SWE) 16,250.00 -10 278 73 69 70 66
7 Diksha Dagar (IND) 16,250.00 -10 278 72 71 68 67
7 Madelene Stavnar (NOR) 16,250.00 -10 278 69 68 72 72 69
7 Andrea Revuelta (ESP) (a) Amateur -10 278 69 70 70 69 70
7 Celine Boutier (FRA) 16,250.00 -10 278 67 72 68 68 71
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AT THE MICROPHONE
Ana Peláez, 275 strokes, 68 today, third place.
“It has been a very special week. I feel very happy, I feel very good, I get to enjoy the course and for me it’s like a victory. I saw myself with a chance to win, but in the end I play my golf, I try to do as little as possible and what happens around me does not depend on me. I tried until the last hole and it was not possible this time, but I am very happy in general. The support of the Spanish public is very valuable. Playing at home always makes me very happy”.
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Andrea Revuelta, 278 strokes, 70 today, seventh place.
“I’ve enjoyed a lot during the whole week, I’ve had a great time and I’ve been lucky to play with all the good golfers except Carlota. I am very pleased and very happy. It’s an honor to play with good players and do well, and to see yourself in a ranking compared to the professionals, which in the end is what you aspire to, it’s amazing. I finish the year happy, these last months have been amazing. PING Junior Solheim Cup, Junior Ryder Cup, the World Cup… and this tournament to top it off. Next year? I hope to play some international tournaments, but above all I hope to play Augusta, which is the goal I set myself and I think it’s going to come true.
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AROUND THE GREEN
The Race to Costa del Sol, heading to Thailand
The other great duel that was settled this week at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España was the Race to Costa del Sol, the Order of Merit of the Ladies European Tour. In the end, the trophy that rewards the most regular player of the year went to Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab, with a total of 1,956.62 points. Behind the Asian golfer, who will also win the “Rookie of the Year” award, were France’s Céline Boutier and India’s Diksha Dakar, while Ana Peláez recovered one place with respect to the start of the tournament at the Real Club de Golf Las Brisas and finished fifth.
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Three Spanish victories in the LET 2023
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España has closed the season of the Ladies European Tour 2023, so it is time to make some recapitulations. As for the Spanish representatives, three have managed to finish at the top of the ranking: Carmen Alonso (Ladies Open by Pickala), Carlota Ciganda (Aramco Team Series presented by PIF) and Nuria Iturrioz (La Sella Open).
In the 28 tournaments played, only two
players have repeated their victories: Celine Boutier (Amundi Evian Championship and FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open) and Alexandra Försterling (VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open and Mallorca Ladies Golf Open).
Finally, the average age of the winners was 26.93 years. The youngest was the American Alexa Pano, with 19 years, and the oldest Carmen Alonso, with almost 39 years (38 years and 351 days exactly).
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Andrea Revuelta, winner of the Celia Barquín Trophy
The second edition of the Celia Barquín Trophy, which rewards the best amateur player of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, went to Andrea Revuelta. The player from Madrid finished in seventh place, with a total of 278 strokes (-10), and was also the second best Spanish player of the tournament behind Ana Pelaez. The other two amateurs in the competition, Julia López and Cayetana Fernández, finished in 18th and 40th place, respectively.
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María Hernández, in the LET statistics
María Hernández is the only Spanish player who appears in the main statistics of the Ladies European Tour, specifically in the “Greens in regulation” section, which highlights the greens reached with birdie option. The numbers of the player from Navarre this season have been 82.80% greens in regulation. In other statistics, such as the average number of strokes, the most outstanding has been the French Céline Boutier (69.58), and who has made more birdies has been the Thai Trichat Cheenglab, with a total of 269. The South African Casandra Alexander has been the one who has achieved more eagles (11). And the one who achieved the longest average distance with the driver was the Dutch Anne Van Dam, with 272.02 meters.
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