Dulal's finest hour

On a day when 26 Bangladeshi golfers dropped out of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open (BBO) race and Siddikur Rahman only narrowly made the cut, a somewhat unheralded Dulal Hossain grabbed the limelight by shooting a scintillating eight-under (63) yesterday.

With fourth place on the leaderboard three shots behind the leader, Dulal remains within contention of the title of the 300,000-dollar Asian Tour event, which would mean a lot for his career.

The chance to play on the Asian Tour circuit does not come easy for Bangladeshi golfers. Only Siddikur has so far earned this right by dint of multiple wins while Jamal Hossain Mollah and Shakhawat Hossain Sohel played in some events previously by going through the qualifying school, which is both very expensive and competitive.

But if Dulal or any of his Bangladeshi colleagues can win the title of the BBO, which offers 30 players 'local spots', he will get exemption for playing in all Asian Tour events for the remainder of this season and the whole of the next season.

Like most of his peers, Dulal had to rise up the ranks. The son of a tea-seller at the Kurmitola Golf Club canteen, Dulal became a ball boy in his father's insistence at the age of 9 before becoming a caddie at 12 and finally picked up to become a golfer by a federation official at 15.

"When I was a caddie I used to have time in the morning and I would learn how to swing by using a tree branch," says the 25-year-old golfer. "One day, a member at Kurmitola saw my swing and he sponsored a golf set."

But success on a bigger scale eluded this golfer for the next five years when he made the headlines by winning the individual and team gold medals in the 2010 South Asian Games. And even after he became a pro in 2013, Dulal has not been able to transform his talent into consistent success, thanks the lack of financial support that blights most of these golfers. Probably that is why Dulal brushed off his usual careful approach, and opt for a very aggressive game yesterday, which earned him an unprecedented feat. 

"This is my home course and I know it very well. I'm confident I will have a big chance to win," hoped Dulal.