NEWS DAL MONDO DEL GOLF  Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course -By@Patrizia Pierbattista, By@Mirella Pierbattista, By@EXIBI, By@Avv.Elisa Nardocci,

By@Redazione

India’s Aditi Ashok sits in a tie for fourth place following a 2-under 70 in the third round of the Blue Bay LPGA.

The 27-year-old carded five birdies and three bogeys on yet another windy day at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course to sit at 8-under total with defending champion Rio Takeda (67) and major winner A Lim Kim (71).

“I think it takes a lot of patience to play in the wind because usually I feel like when I’m playing well, you can birdie any hole, but in the wind, even if you’re playing well, some holes you just can’t get at those flags,” said the two-time Olympian on Saturday. “You have to take the chances that you get, and it makes those birdie putts that much more important.”

Ashok also highlighted how the wind changes the mental challenge of a round. Instead of just focusing on the execution of a shot, she explains that the environment forces her to constantly calculate risk.

“The weather is pretty good; just really windy,” Ashok said. “You’re thinking on every golf shot. Here it’s every single time you’re looking at where the wind is going to be stronger or what’s the miss, and golfers don’t like to think about the miss.”

Rather than trying to ignore potential errors, Ashok has leaned into them as a necessary part of her strategy to avoid the “impossible” recovery shots that Jian Lake Bay Golf Course can demand, something that has paid off through 54 holes in China.

“I feel like on this course I’m thinking about the miss a lot. It’s not a negative thing,” she said. “You just have to plan for your misses, because otherwise, the golf course gets hard.”

But heading into the final round of the 2026 Blue Bay LPGA, Ashok plans to ignore the leaderboard and intends to stick to her game plan to handle the pressure faced by many athletes when they are contending for their first LPGA Tour titles.

“I don’t really focus on what everyone else is doing,” said Ashok. “I think for me, when I’m in that position, I need to stick to my game plan. Hopefully, keep that tighter tomorrow and do what I know I can do, and hopefully, it works out.”