| Peerless Aditi Ashok proves to be a giraffe among the zebras  Source: Ladies European Tour There could not have been a better recognition of Aditi Ashok’s extraordinary week than the Giraffe Trophy presented to her by the First lady of Kenya. After all, she was head and shoulders above the rest in winning the Magical Kenya Women’s Open at Vipingo Ridge. A nine-shot victory is jaw-dropping good. But the fact that she was one of only four players in the field to break par – the second-best player in the field finished at three-under par – shows how well she handled the conditions. Clearly, it wasn’t as easy out there as she made it look. A win always tastes great and thank you Aditi for giving us one so early in the new season. Her victory is a rare one for India in international golf, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19. The only title we have had in individual events since 2020 is Gaganjeet Bhullar at the Mandiri Indonesia Open. That came last year on August 7. Otherwise, we just had a slew of runner-up finishes to derive our pleasures from – Shubhankar Sharma at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and Anirban Lahiri at the Players Championship, LIV International – Boston and BNI Indonesian Masters. The win will come as a great morale-booster for the Bengaluru player. Year 2022 was not the best for her. She managed to retain her LPGA card by the skin of her teeth – finishing 99th in the Race to CME Globe Points List. The top 100 players kept their cards. And her Rolex Ranking fell to 194. Aditi mentioned the hard work she put in during the off-season with her coach and fitness team, and it was brilliant to see her coming out all guns blazing. It will now be paramount that she carries this form into her LPGA season. She is far too good a talent to be scraping through a season. An early win secures her a two-year exemption on the Ladies European Tour, so that should now free up her mind and allow her to concentrate solely on the LPGA. Overshadowed by Aditi’s terrific show was a phenomenal performance by India’s No1 amateur, 16-year-old Avani Prashanth. A top-10 finish was an excellent result. Also hailing from the same town of Bengaluru, her single-mindedness to make it to the 2024 Paris Olympics by gaining as many Rolex Ranking points as she can, reminds me of how Aditi and how she went about securing her spot in the Rio Olympics as a 17-year-old. You look at these two young ladies, and you feel that Indian golf is in good hands. AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm is struggling to attract stars The AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm, once an avant garde event on the PGA Tour which attracted the biggest stars in the sport, is struggling massively these days. Even the presence of Hollywood A-listers and corporate honchos is not making a difference. In the past, the tournament has been won by names like Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. There was a time when it used to be a must-play in the schedule for all top professionals. This year, the only players of note in the field were Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland and Seamus Power. And the problem is going to persist in the coming years, compounded by the formation of the ‘elevated’ events. A few things have gone against the tournament – the biggest factor being the weather in the Monterey Peninsula area at this time that causes inordinate delays, and the pace of play is so slow that many players have been cheesed off. You should read about… Rahm finally blinks… Jon Rahm lost a great opportunity to finally claim the No1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking that he so thoroughly deserves. Having put himself in a great position to win his third title on the PGA Tour in one month – and a fifth win in his last seven worldwide starts – the Spaniard could only shoot a two-over par 74 in the final round of Farmers Insurance Classic at Torrey Pines. A win, regardless of Rory McIlroy’s finish in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, would have elevated him to No1. Instead, he finished tied seventh and will remain at No3. Stunning growth numbers for golf… Given the inherent nature of golf, the pandemic benefited a non-contact and outdoor sport like golf significantly.The participation numbers are at an all-time high. And now come the news that golf equipment and apparel sales jumped more than 30% compared to 2019, reaching over $20 billion in 2021 and $19.96 billion at the end of 2022. The US continues to be the biggest market at approximately $7.7 billion in 2022, followed by Korea and Japan at No2 and 3. | 
