Siddikur clinches inaugural Dhaka Open Golf

Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman cruised to a four-shot victory at the inaugural $60,000 City Bank American Express Dhaka Open Saturday. The 33-year-old took advantage of his home course knowledge as he shot a two-under-par 70 to win his second Asian Development Tour title at Kurmitola Golf Club where he had also won his first ADT event in 2011. Sweden's Malcolm Kokocinski finished a distant second at 10-under-par 278 at the event tri-sanctioned by the ADT, Professional Golf Tour of India and Bangladesh Professional Golfers Association. “I’m very excited with this win because it was a great week and my short game was really good,” said Siddikur, who totalled 14-under-par 274. “This win will definitely help me in 2018 and I look forward to a busy season on the Asian Tour.” The win will be a huge confidence booster for Siddikur, who had never lost the lead after the second round. He did not drop a single bogey the entire week and was hardly challenged on the final day after posting four birdies against two bogeys.

---

Also read: Bangladeshi golfer Siddikur skips Myanmar Open over Rohingya crisis

---

“Honestly I was very comfortable on the back nine. I made two birdies on the first nine and that helped a lot. Overall it has been a great two weeks and I’m feeling healthy which is very important,” said Siddikur, who won $10,500. Siddikur ended a five-year title drought following his second AT win at the 2013 Hero Indian Open. Since then, he has struggled with a serious back injury but believes this victory will provide an extra spring in his step ahead of a busy 2018 AT schedule. “My goal is to stay fit in 2018. If I can do that, I will continue to work hard on my game. I couldn’t practice much in the last few years because of the injury but my health is slowly improving so I hope I can play and practice without pain,” he added. Siddikur will leave Sunday for Malaysia to participate in the upcoming $3m AT tournament, Maybank Championship to be held in Sujana Golf and Country Club from February 1-4.