Siddikur third heading into final round

Ever since the introduction of the Bangladesh Open two years ago, no local player has managed to feature in the final round. Siddikur will be the first ever local participant to do so and if he maintains his current position in the final round today, it will be the best ever result for a Bangladeshi in an Asian Tour event at home. Following an average tee-off, Siddikur bounced back in the second round to move into the top 10. However, it was not the best start to the third round as he stumbled with two straight bogeys in the opening two rounds. Siddikur though returned in style, carding six birdies against only one bogey in the rest of the day. “I got off to a disappointing start but I told myself that I still have a chance to fight back. I still have many holes to do. I just need to stay focused. That helped me immediately on the third hole. I hit three shots but didn’t get on the green. Then I chipped it in from greenside for par. It was a good save and I picked up some momentum and confidence from there,” said Siddikur. The two-time Asian Tour winner carded three-under-par 68 yesterday to post a total of eight-under-par 205 after the end of the penultimate round. He jumped two steps up to joint third place, along with USA golfer Dodge Kemmer. “I made long putts on the 11th and 13th holes. I had a memorable shot on the 18th. My tee shot was about 142 yards short and I hit a nine-iron less than two feet from the hole. It was a nice finish. My fans were cheering for me too. It was a huge boost in confidence for me,” he added. Other local participants also had a fine day. Dulal Hossain climbed to 12th place from his previous position of 22nd after playing three-under-par 68 with five birdies while Zamal Hossain Molla moved three steps up to 28th, carding par 71. Sajib Ali remained 31st with one-over-par 72 while Robin Mia climbed 17 places up to 47th. At the top of the chart, overnight leader Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand extended his lead to four shots after signing for a third round two-under-par 69. The Thai golfer is five shots ahead of Siddikur. India’s Shubhankar Sharma remained second with one-over-par 72.