Two-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur Rahman rediscovered some of his best form after returning with a bogey-free round to share the third spot with a score of five-under 67 after the first day of the Panasonic Open India Thursday.
The Bangladesh golfer carded five birdies at the Delhi Golf Club where he won his second Asian Tour title in 2013, finished inside the top-10 in four of his five attempts at the Panasonic Open India and secured six top-10s in the other Asian Tour events.
Thailand teenager Suradit Yongcharoenchai broke clear of the tight leaderboard after firing two birdies in his closing three holes for an opening six-under-par 66 at the $400,000 showcase event.
The 19-year old, in his second appearance at the popular event, nailed seven birdies against a lone bogey to lead by one shot over Delhi expert Siddikur, as well as Indian duo Ajeetesh Sandhu and Tapy Ghai at the Delhi Golf Club.
"DGC is without a doubt my favourite course and I have such great memories of it. Those memories and the fact that I have decided not to put any pressure on myself, despite a not-too-good season helped me today," @GolfRahman said | by @SwingGolfSwamy https://t.co/I7xUqDUDu9
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 25, 2018
“It was an excellent day out there. I hit the ball good and my putting was great as well. I am really happy with my round. I have a lot of great memories on this golf course. I won on this course five years ago and I have played well here on several other occasions. I always think about all these good memories whenever I come to play here. It always inspires me. I don’t think there will be any changes in my game plan moving forward. I hope to continue playing the same way I did [Thursday],” said Siddikur.
The 33-year old now has a good chance to return to form position at his favorite ground.
“I feel really excited now. I missed the last two editions so it’s been a while since I last played here. To come back here and shoot such a good score, I feel really excited now. I am always happy to come and play here. It’s one of my favourite courses on Tour. I finished tied-12th in Pakistan two weeks ago and that’s my best result this year. I was a little bit under pressure because I haven’t been playing well since the start of the year and I needed to keep my card for 2019,” he concluded.
Panasonic Open India
Day 1
Player To par Total
Yongcharoenchai (THA) -6 66
Ajeetesh (IND) -5 67
Siddikur (BAN) -5 67
Tapy (IND) -5 67
Rashid (IND) -4 68
Panyathanasedh (THA) -4 68
Ahlawat (IND) -4 68
Janewattananond (THA) -4 6
• Siddikur Rahman holds an impeccable track record at the Delhi Golf Club. He won his second Asian Tour title in 2013, finished inside top-10 in four of his five attempts at the Panasonic Open India and has secured six top-10s in other Asian Tour events there.
• Siddikur enjoyed his career-best season in 2013 when he came in fourth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He has not finished outside top-60 on the money list in his last eight consecutive seasons on Tour since 2010.
• The 33-year old Siddikur wrote a slice of history in 2010 when he became the first player from Bangladesh to win on the Asian Tour at the Brunei Open.
• Placed 97th on the money list, Siddikur needs a strong showing to boost his ranking and hopefully break into top-60 by the end of the season to keep his Asian Tour card for 2019.
• Siddikur missed only three fairways and needed only 26 putts around the greens for his commendable 67.