Asian Tour from May 9 to 12
AB Bank comes forward to sponsor the 300,000-dollar event
Uncertainty over the Bangladesh Open, the only Asian Tour event in the country, has ended after AB Bank came forward to sponsor the tournament for this year.
The 300,000-dollar event will be held from May 9 to 12, confirmed Bangladesh Golf Federation (BGF) coordinator and Kurmitola Golf Club general manager of golf operations Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Abdul Bari (retd) yesterday.
"The Asian Tour, titled AB Bank Bangladesh Open 2018, will be held at the KGC from May 9 to 12. Like the previous years, this will be a 300,000-dollar competition, with close to a hundred foreign golfers and 40 local golfers taking part," Colonel Bari told The Daily Star.
"The Asian Tour authorities have already started sending invitations to golfers. Their representatives will come to Dhaka soon to officially finalise everything regarding the event," he added.
The Asian Tour began its journey in Bangladesh in 2015, with two subsequent editions held in the following two years and all three editions were sponsored by Bashundhara Group.
However, since Bashundhara Group refused to extend its three-year contract, the fate of the national open became uncertain. The last of the three editions was held in February 2017, with Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond winning the title and Bangladesh's Siddikur Rahman finishing second.