Of the 60 players in the field for the Olympic women’s golf tournament, only one played last week’s LPGA event: India’s Aditi Ashok.
Not only did she make a pre-Paris competitive start, but she did so in Portland, Oregon, nine time zones away.
Asked why she made that decision, Ashok said in a Golf Digest article, “I planned to play this, and I like the golf course. I feel like it’s a good week for me. And I think it would be good prep for the Olympics anyway.”
Ashok tied for 22nd on Sunday in the Portland Classic and then made her extended journey. It’s been quite the stretch for the 26-year-old as this will mark her fifth event in as many weeks, with French bookends.
After competing in the Amudi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France, she played the Dana Open in Ohio, the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada and then Portland.
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“I don’t think [the travel] affects me too much,” Ashok said to Digest. “I just do my thing and try to keep each week separate from the other.”
This will be Ashok’s third consecutive Olympic experience. She first made a name for herself in the 2016 Rio Games, where she was four shots off the 36-hole lead before tying for 41st. She then finished fourth in the 2020 Tokyo Games, one shot back of bronze medal winner Lydia Ko, and received praise from India’s president.
While Ashok will have limited preparation this year, she has before seen Le Golf National, having played it a couple of times ahead of the Evian.
Ashok tees off in the third group out Wednesday morning at 3:22 a.m. ET (9:22 a.m. local). After competing in her first two Games as India’s lone representative, she will be joined by Diksha Dagar this year.
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