Golf: Aditi Ashok finished third in Lalla Meryem Cup but leading the Order of Merit

Rabat, Feb 12 (IANS) Indian golfer Aditi Ashok finished third in the Lalla Meryem Cup with an overall score of 7 under. She finished the final round with 1 under (4 Birdie & 1 Bogey).

Despite finishing third on Saturday the Magical Kenya Ladies Open winner, Aditi, still lead the way in the 2023 Race to Costa Del Sol (Order of Merit) after receiving 230 points to take her overall tally to 730. Grant collected 320 points to position herself in third.

Sweden's Maja Stark saw off a star-studded leaderboard to win by four shots and land a sixth Ladies European Tour (LET) title. Her compatriot Linn Grant finished in solo second with 8-under.

Aditi was two shots behind Stark, things got interesting early on when last week's Magical Kenya Open winner birdied the opening hole to draw level with Stark after the Swede made bogey.

But Stark soon took control on the front nine, rebounding with birdies on two, five, and nine to steer four clear of the Indian as they approached the turn.

On to the back nine and the drama quickly unfolded. Playing in the group ahead, Linn Grant - who started the day five shots adrift - carded birdies on 12, 14 and15 after going out in 34 (-3) to close the gap to two on her Race to Costa Del Sol rival.

Stark responded with a birdie of her own on 14 before Grant's momentum ended after she bogeyed the par-4 16th for a third consecutive day. Three shots clear of Ashok and Grant with four holes to play, Stark then birdied 17 before closing out the win with an excellent par save on 18 to finish on -12.

The victory was Stark's sixth on the LET and marks an exceptional start to 2023 after finishing T2 at the LPGA Tour's Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Championship last month.