Written by: Manvi Singh

Aditi Ashok started the desert slam with a bang as she tied 10 at 3 under 69 followed by Tvesa Malik who tied 16 at 2 under 70. Diksha Dagar closed Round 1 at par 72 as she tied 32 on the leaderboard at the Dubai Moonlight Classic.

Aditi Ashok at Round 1

Aditi Ashok closed the day with three birdies and luckily no bogeys by the end of the day bringing her upscale on the leaderboard along with Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou, Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn and Moriya Jutanugarn, Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz and  Scotland’s Alison Muirhead. 

Last year, Aditi tied 6th on the leaderboard considering the desert wonder to be a lucky play for herself. “The last round last season I shot 64. I hit a lot of good shots and holed a lot of putts which was fun. Obviously winning means a lot, but winning in Dubai, when I’ve come so close (3 top 6 finishes) would mean a lot.”
 

Tvesa Malik played the game with three birdies and a bogey tied along with Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, Belgium’s Manon De Roey, Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall and France’s Agathe Sauzon. 

Tvesa Malik

Diksha Dagar tied 32 with two birdies and two bogeys along with France’s Emma Grechi, Czech’s Kristyna Napoleaova, Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson and Germany’s Esther Henseleit.

Mexico’s Maria Fassi fired an exceptional round of 63 which equalled the course record on the first day at the Dubai Moonlight Classic presented by EGA. The Olympian began her round on hole 17 alongside Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn and Germany’s Esther Henseleit.

Maria Fassi

After back-to-back birdies on 18 and the first, she dropped a shot on the third before three birdies in a row on holes four through six. Fassi dropped another shot on the eighth but made up for it with four birdies in her next seven holes and she finished with an eagle on the par-five 16th to equal the course record of 63 (-9).