Bangladesh’s top golfer Siddikur eyes top slot in the Indonesian Masters
Among the many promising stars participating in the Indonesian Open, Bangladesh’s Siddikur will surely be one of the top contenders to clinch the top slot. The sturdy Bangladeshi is coming out of the Maybank Malaysian Open after a stellar performance. Siddikur
ended up eighth in the star studded event, overtaking the likes of World number 1, Martin Kaymer, and last week’s Masters winner Charl Schwartzel.
The 26-year-old rewrote history when he won at the Brunei Open in 2010 beating Jbe Kruger in a tight playoff, becoming the only player from Bangladesh to win on the Asian Tour. Siddikur is currently ranked second on the Order of Merit, after SSP Chowrasia,
owning to his finish at the Maybank Malaysian Open where he earned $62,500 for the eighth position.
“I’m happy to finish in the top-10 and show the world that a player from Bangladesh can perform in such a big event,” said Siddikur, “I’m getting better and my confidence level is high.”
Siddikur discovered the fondness for the sport when he used to work as a ball boy at Kurmitola Golf Club in Bangladesh to support his studies. Coming from a humble background, it was once almost impossible for Siddikur to break into the “sports of the rich”.
To quench his thirst for the sport, Siddikur made his first golf club tying up a seven iron head with a metal rod. Impressed with his dedication and talent for the game, the club organizers picked him up among the 100 boys to train for the Asian Games. Siddikur
dominated the amateur scene back at home before making his debut in the professional circle.
Finishing second in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, he went ahead to post two more Top ten finishes. He won the 2010 American Express Bangladesh open, 2009 Global Green Bangalore Open, 2008 HUDA-GTPL-Unitech Haryana Open and 2008 PGTI Players Championship.
Siddikur will be featuring in the Asian Tour’s newly designed tournament, the Indonesian Masters, which will be teeing off from Thursday, April 21. Top 15 players from the top 20 Asian Order of Merit will be pitched in a battle to grab the coveted inaugural
title.
World number 2, Lee Westwood, three-times Asian Tour Order of Merit Champion Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Weng-tang will be taking part in the $750,000 event. Asian Tour’s former number one Jyoti Randhawa, Australian Rick Kulacz and
Darren Beck, who are the current champions in their region as well as Indian Anirban Lahiri, who has just come out triumphant in last week’s Panasonic Open in Delhi Golf Club, will also be part of the challenging field.
The Asian Tour has come a long way in creating new tournaments on the tour and gathering lucrative sponsorships for the promotion of sport in the continent. The four day proceedings will be broadcasted in 20 countries around the world and will be viewed
in some 400 million homes through the Asian Tour’s Television platform.
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