The wait for a home winner at the Asian Tour was extended for one more year as the Bangladeshi golfers yet again failed to meet expectations at the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open, 2019 – the fifth consecutive time the continent’s leading golf event was held in Bangladesh.
Although the local golfers made a promising start this time – a total of 12 out of 47 locals making the cut which was the highest number in five editions – they eventually did not manage to pose a threat to the title of the 350,000-dollar event.
Unheralded Muaj Mohammad sprang an early surprise with a six-under in the opening round to take the joint-second position.
“I just stayed in it and kept the good momentum going. Everything was good for me today. I managed to hit it close. All my birdies were from within six feet. I putted very well today as well,” Muaj said after his surprise feat at in the first round.
However, the 21-year-old from Savar could not cope up with the pressure of international golf as he dropped off the chart with a three-over-par in the second round.
Bangladesh’s best hope in Asian Tour, the two-time winner Siddikur Rahman, made a cautious start, taking a share of the fourth position going into the final two rounds. The 34-year-old from Kurmitola held the same position in the next round before eventually managing a 12th-place finish following a three-over-par in the final round.
“It was disappointing for me really. I would call it bad luck after having played so well in the first three rounds. I hit three shots into the trees, which was very wayward for me,” Siddikur told reporters after the final day’s play.
Akbar Hossain stayed in contention in seventh place after the second round, with Mohammad Nazim and Sajib Ali reaching 11th position with six-unders. However, eventually both Akbar and Sajib finished well outside the top 10 – finishing with matching seven-under at 15th position.
The best performer among the locals was Zamal Hossain Mollah, who also achieved the same feat in the previous year. Although Zamal made a poor start to the campaign, he kept improving right through the four days before eventually finishing 10th with an overall score of nine-under-par.
The 34-year-old golfer, who had recently won a PGTI event in Kolkata, had a flawless last round with six birdies.
“I played for the title. I had two good days and two bad days. If I didn’t make mistakes on the other two days, I might have been close to the top,” Jamal said after the event.
