Siddikur swings 4-under
Bangladesh's golfing sensation Siddikur Rahman carded a decent 4-under-par 68 in the first round of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Wednesday, when all the limelight was stolen by Finnish rookie Joonas Granberg who set a new course record of 10-under-par 62 at the at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.
Granberg took a three-shot lead over second placed South African Tjaart Van Der Walt while Siddikur was on joint seventh position with seven more alongside him at the end of the opening day in the 400,000-dollar event.
Siddikur, fresh off his triumph in Sembilan Masters Invitational last week, said he was satisfied with his day's work despite being bothered by a neck injury.
“I'm very happy with it as I'm not feeling well with my neck problem. Shot one bogey on the card through some bad shots but managed some good up and downs for pars. I couldn't hit it too well today (Wednesday) but the putter was excellent. I'm satisfied with my round.
“I had a good start. Birdied the 12th hole which was a given. I then chipped in on the 13th. On two, I hit it to four feet, on four I rolled in a 20-footer and on five, I hit it to three feet,” Siddikur told the Asian Tour website after the day's play.
Praising the rookie leader Granberg, Siddikur said he was keeping a close eye on the Finn.
“10-under is a great score. I saw him turn in seven under. It's good but let's see what happens in the next three rounds.”
The Finn himself knows his quest for a maiden Asian Tour title is far from over. "This is my first time leading. I'm going to take it easy. It's only the first round. I have to play very good in the next three rounds," said Granberg.
Leading scores after Round One:
62 Joonas Granberg (FIN), 65 Tjaart Van Der Walt (RSA), 66 Berry Henson (USA), 67 Jyoti Randhawa (IND), Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA), Mo Joong-Kyung (KOR), 68 Kalle Samooja (FIN), Siddikur (BAN), Panuwat Muenlek (THA), Ashok Kumar (IND), Artemio Murakami (PHI), Lam Chih Bing (SIN), Lin Wen-tang (TPE), Adam Groom (AUS).
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