BTI Open brings back PGTI

The BTI Open gets underway today at the Kurmitola Golf Club (KGC), with 120 golfers from across the subcontinent taking part in the 72-strokeplay event. Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and Bangladesh Professional Golfers' Association (BPGA), the 35-lakh-rupee event will feature a total of 120 golfers, including 60 Indians, 57 Bangladeshis, and three Sri Lankan golfers.

The local charge in the four-day event at the KGC will be led by the likes of two-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur Rahman, two-time PGTI winner Jamal Hossain Mollah, Shakhawat Hossain Sohel, Dulal Hossain and Sajib Ali while the Indian contingent will feature household names such as Ajeetesh Sandhu, Sujjan Singh, Udayan Mane and Shamim Khan. Sri Lanka will be well-represented by the trio of N Thangaraja, Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran.

Being held a month after the Asian Tour's Bashundhara Bangladesh Open, the BTI Open brings back PGTI to Bangladesh for the third time and after a gap of four years. PGTI director Uttam Singh Mundy hoped that the event will further expedite the growing popularity of the game in the country.

“PGTI is returning to Bangladesh after a gap of four years. Bangladesh has emerged as an important centre for golf in recent years which is reflected in the rise of Siddikur Rahman as one of Asia's leading players. We are delighted to have BTI on board. The beginning of our new partnership with BTI provides us a great opportunity to give further impetus to professional golf in Bangladesh,” Mundy said during the official pre-tournament press conference at the KGC yesterday.

BPGA president Arshi Haider, who is also chairman of BTI Holdings Ltd, hoped the bonding between the company and the game would continue to grow in the coming days.

Jamal Hossain Mollah, who won a PGTI event first as an amateur before winning it as a pro, said he was looking forward to the challenge of this prestigious event. “Since I did well in the Asian Tour event last month, I'm hoping to do well in this event too. My target would be to do the best of my abilities,” said Jamal.