Golfer Aditi Ashok’s putting skills at the Tokyo Games draw praise

Aditi Ashok may not quite bomb her drives off the tee like most of her rivals on the LPGA. Distance, or the lack of it, has spurred the Indian to go shoulder to shoulder with the best in the business, or subdue them, with her short-game wizardry, more so with her putter.


The 23-year-old’s prowess on the slick greens at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo was on display en route to her stunning fourth-place finish at the Olympic Games over the last four days.

The Indian’s brilliance on the greens had the golfing world in awe and the worldwide audience in disbelief. None more so than Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, who caddied for

Phil Mickelson

for 25 years and is a golf commentator at the

Olympics

.

Having watched some of the best golfers at close quarters for over three decades, Aditi’s flawless five-under 66 on the second day, with a couple of long putts for birdies and par saves, and immaculate reading of the greens had Mackay spellbound. “I have never seen anybody putt like Aditi Ashok, man or woman,” he said on air. Some praise this.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda, Aditi’s playing partner over the last two rounds in Tokyo, seconded that. “She’s really a solid putter,” said the American gold medallist. “She putts incredibly well, rolls it really nicely and there’s this kind of confidence, some kind of swagger on the putting green. She owns it,” she added.

One of the reasons Aditi is proficient on the greens — which is where a golf game is won or lost — is that she learnt the game backwards. Pitted against older boys on the South Zone circuit as a youngster, she often struggled with distance off the tee. To make up for the handicap, she concentrated on putting and her short game. And soon enough, she was beating the boys with ease.

“I used to keep going back to the golf course to putt. That was one part of the game that fascinated me,” Aditi had said earlier. No wonder she is ranked No. 11 in putting average on the LPGA and No. 166 in average driving distance. Her prowess on the greens helps her hold her own against the very best.