Local golfers Zamal Hossain Molla and Shakhawat Sohel continued their surge in the 2nd Bashundhara Bangladesh Open while golf sensation Siddikur Rahman’s fortunes refused to improve in the penultimate round of the $300,000 event yesterday.
Overnight leader Thitiphun Chuayprakong maintained his stay at the summit, leading by three shots with the final round to be played today. The Thai golfer carded six-under-par 65 at Kurmitola Golf Club in the capital yesterday.
Siddikur, meanwhile, continued to slide down the leaderboard while his compatriots – Zamal, Sohel and Abdul Matin – carried on their calm and consistent displays.
Zamal was the top performer among the Bangladeshi golfers yesterday, carding three-under-par 68 to be placed jointly at 7th, along with Sohel, who played 69. A resolute Zamal traded four birdies for a single bogey while Sohel hit seven birdies against five bogeys.
Matin’s one-under-par 70 saw him slip to joint 11th place.
After 69 and 71 in the first two rounds, Siddikur struck two-over-par 73 to move down to 47th place from his previous round position of 27th and is now 16 shots behind the Thai leader. The Bangladesh golf ace experienced the ignominy of smashing three bogeys in his first four holes and was unable to improve as the day wore on, blasting two more bogeys and only three birdies.
Meanwhile, Sutijet Kooratanapisan of Thailand matched Thitiphun’s efforts yesterday, sharing second place on 199 while India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar settled one shot back in fourth following a 66.
Japan’s Shunya Takeyasu signed off the third round with a 68 to take fifth place on 203 while young Thai Phachara Khongwatmai stayed eight shots behind in sixth after a 67.
Thitiphun, chasing his maiden win in the region’s premier Tour, expressed his delight with his splendid run so far this week but knows he has to keep himself grounded and not get ahead of himself.
“I stayed focused out there. I felt very confident. I was a little bit excited when I started out but I played with no pressure. I had fun out there. I just want to keep playing the same [today]. I will stick to my own game-plan,” said Thitiphun, whose highlight of the day came on par-five seven where he sank a 10-footer eagle putt from the fringe of the greens.
