Siddikur in 25th

Bangladesh's prmier golfer Siddikur Rahman got off to a fine start at the Manila Masters yesterday, finishing the first round in joint 25th place with a score of three-under-par (69).

The 33-year-old was in fine fettle at the Southwoods Golf and Country Club and played no false shots till the 16th hole, when he carded his first bogey.

However, he was already at three-under before then, and regained that score on the 17th hole by putting another birdie in the US $1,000,000 event.

However, Siddikur was well behind joint-leaders Scott Barr of Australia and USA's Micah Lauren, who both carded eight-under-par (64) on the opening day. Barr had a remarkable outing which looked like falling away when he carded a double-bogey on the 11th, but he made up for that in dramatic fashion by carding an eagle on the final hole.