Mardan Mamat birdied the last hole to pull three shots clear at the top after shooting a three-under-par 68 in the third round of the inaugural Bangladesh Open at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka yesterday.
The 47-year old Singapore veteran, a winner of four Asian Tour titles, continued his dominant form with a combined score of 12-under-par 201 in the $300,000 event.
Khalin Joshi of India, who shot a 65 on the third day, goes into today’s final round in second place at 204, with Lee Soon-min of South Korea on 205 and Janne Kaske of Finland on 206.
Mamat, who started the round with two birdies, seemed visibly affected by the heat and high humidity, but still managed to find a 10-foot birdie on the last hole.
“I lost my concentration on the back nine because of the heat,” he said. “I drank a lot of water to regain my focus. It was a long day and I was exhausted in the last three holes.”
Mamat however, refused to take victory for granted today despite the three-shot advantage.
“I feel I’m getting closer to another win, but I will not take whatever lead I have for granted,” he said. “I have an advantage but I must focus and make sure I do what I’m supposed to do.”
Joshi, 22, had an eagle on the 14th hole and closed with two birdies to bring himself into contention for a maiden Asian Tour title.
“I am really excited because I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he said. “I had put myself in position to win an Asian Tour title before, but was unable to close. Hope my putter holds up.”
Dulal Hossain was the most impressive among the 31 Bangladesh golfers in action as the 25-year old ended the penultimate round at seventh, tied with two others. Dulal carded one-over-par 72, made the cut easily and was one of six Bangladesh golfers - Shakhawat Sohel (joint 25th), Dil Mohammad (joint 48th), Mohammad Nur Jamal (joint 54th), Mohammad Sajib Ali (joint 64th) and Siddikur Rahman (joint 64th) – who survived the second round.
Dulal, who hit two double bogeys and as many bogeys against five birdies, overshadowed Bangladesh’s best hope, Siddikur, who continued to disappoint the home fans. Siddikur shot four-over-par 75 and has very little chance of upsetting the established order as the 30-year old golfer from Madaripur is trailing leader Mamat by 18 shots.
