Decent start for locals
Siddikur Rahman led the local charge with a three-under-par in the opening round of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open yesterday. The two-time Asian Tour winner traded six birdies for three bogeys to finish the day with 68, alongside compatriots Jamal Hossain Mollah, Jibon Ali and Abdul Motin, at tied- 14 position while Japan's Shunya Takeyasu and Korea's Soomin Lee took joint lead with seven-under-par (64).
Takeyashu, who won his first Asian Development Tour title last week, put in a flawless performance nailing seven birdies at the Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday.
"I played solid today, especially my putting. I sank a long putt on the first hole and that was kind of the highlight for me today. This is a challenging golf course. The fairways are tight so you got to drive the ball really well and put the ball in good positions," Takeyashu said after wrapping up a flawless day's work.
The leading duo hold a one-shot lead over Thitiphun Chuayprakong of Thailand who took third place on his own while Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka, Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Shubhankar Sharma of India shared fourth following identical 66s.
Siddikur, the most celebrated Bangladeshi golfer, started the day on the wrong foot as he bogeyed on the very first hole. The 31-year-old failed to keep his approach shot on the green as it landed at the end of a slope, some fifteen yards from the hole. His chip shot landed about ten yards down the hole, and then he failed to make the putter, earning the first of the three bogeys for the day. But he went on drive six birdies alongside two more bogeys to finish the day at tied-14th.
"I am quite happy with my performance. It's true I missed quite a few close putters, but that's okay considering the fact that I can't practice for long time on the short game due to my troublesome back. But the conditions here are perfect this time. The weather is excellent and the course is fantastic, so there is no reason for us to complain," the two-time Asian Tour winner said at the end of day's play.
Jamal, a one-time PGTI champion and winner of number of professional events at this course, felt the day could have been better had two of his shots not gone awry.
"I had started strongly with three bogeys inside the first five holes. But I missed an easy putter by two feet for a bogey and then dropped a tee-shot into the lake for another bogey. But I hope things will be better in the next few days," said Jamal.
While Siddikur and Jamal are two names who are almost always expected to do well at this course, there were a couple of surprise packages from the home country who put in commendable performances on the opening day. Matin and Jibon, both former ball-boys of the KGC and similar in age, played three-under-pars to match their more illustrious compatriots. While Jibon rued late double bogey which denied him a top-five stay, Matin managed to overcame an indifferent start by chipping in five birdies after two bogeys inside the first three holes.
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