Siddikur relief on Dulal's day

When Siddikur Rahman putted the 18th hole for a par, a big sigh of relief emanated from those sitting in the make-shift gallery and those inside the big clubhouse. The star attraction of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open (BBO) had all but squeezed into the weekend rounds, albeit after giving his fans and well-wishers some nervous moments.

The two-time Asian Tour winner finished the day on one-under (71) like the previous round for an aggregate of two-under (144), just one shot clear of projected cut. The whole of the second round was not completed due to a weather interruption, but there is hardly any chance of the star golfer to miss out on the cut. Siddikur is rather confident of turning around and make a push for the top ten.

"That that my putting has let me down over the last two days, but there are other factors like heavy win and rain interruptions which we are not used to on this course. And then there has been some alterations made to the green regulation, which made it more challenging for us," said Siddikur after the day's play.

While Siddikur was happy to have just survived, another Bangladeshi golfer of a supposedly lesser light grabbed the limelight. Dulal Hossain, the 25-year-old golfer from the same golf club and a similar background, shot a mind-boggling eight-under (63) for an aggregate of six-under (136) to grab the fifth position, three strokes behind leader Mardan Mamat.

The 2010 South Asian Games gold medalist golfer turned the heat on the leaderboard late in the morning after a disappointing two-over-par (73) in the first round, having completed the last six holes of that round earlier in the morning.

Dulal's start to the second round wasn't positive either as he bogeyed the first hole on the front nine, but since then the day only got better for him as he racked up eight birdies. However, the highlight of his day was a when he converted a 20-ft putter for an eagle on the par-five 14th hole. 

Apart from Dulal and Siddikur, four other Bangladeshi golfers -- Young Sajib Ali, veteran Nur Jamal, Shakhawat Hossain Sohel and amateur Dil Mohammed -- stayed well above the projected cut mark, which will be confirmed after the end of the second round early this morning when five golfers return to finish their remaining holes. Among the 25 other Bangladeshi golfer who look likely to miss out are Jamal Hossain Mollah and Jibon Ali closest to the projected cut mark at four-over (146).