Published July 17, 2008 on May 7, 2018

Siddikur Hoping for Turn of Fortunes at AB Bank Bangladesh Open

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Local hero Siddikur Rahman will aim to bounce back from an uncharacteristic lackluster season on the Asian Tour when he headlines the AB Bank Bangladesh Open which gets underway on Wednesday.

Siddikur, a two-time Asian Tour winner, made only one cut in four starts on the region’s premier Tour this season but kept up his hopes of putting up a good showing as he relishes home course advantage at the Kurmitola Golf Club.

The 33-year-old Siddikur will also draw confidence from his recent success on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) where he claimed his second title at the Kurmitola Golf Club in January before securing another tied-sixth place finish on the same venue two weeks ago.

Siddikur will headline the US$300,000 Asian Tour event alongside Tour winners Rattanon Wannasrichan and Poom Saksansin of Thailand, two-time Order of Merit champion Jeev Milkha Singh of India, as well as Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat, who won the tournament in 2015.

Siddikur said, “I am really excited for this week. This is the fourth consecutive edition of the Bangladesh Open and I am very happy to see the tournament back on the Asian Tour schedule. I think the other professional golfers in the country are equally happy too.

“I am feeling confident for this week because I won on this course again for my second ADT title earlier in January. I am looking forward to this week. The game’s feeling pretty good. I prepared myself nicely for this event.

“I took a good rest last week. I skipped the Korean event last week and just did some practice to prepare myself for this week. The course is in a great shape. It’s a little soft because of the rain over the last few days.

“I had a good finish last year. It was a great memory. I birdied the last hole to finish second. Hopefully, I can bank on those good memories to win the tournament this year. I have the home advantage and I know if I can play my own game, I won’t have any problems winning this tournament.

“The golf scene in Bangladesh has really improved over the last few years, especially with the addition of two events on the ADT this season. I would like to thank all sponsors for their support and commitment.

“I have been trying to work on my mental game and my fitness this season. These two things are really important if you want to do well, especially mental strength. I will keep working on these and hopefully, some good results will show.”

Qualifying school graduates Kurt Kitayama of the United States, Shohei Hasegawa of Japan, Australian Steven Jeffress and Miguel Carballo of Argentina will all be vying for top honours at the AB Bank Bangladesh Open.

Other notable players in the 144-man field include India’s Chiragh Kumar, Masahiro Kawamura of Japan, Thammanoon Sriroj of Thailand and China’s Yanwei Liu, who enjoyed a top-10 finish last year.