Stalwarts converge at Kurmitola

The stalwarts of golf from Asia and beyond have started to arrive in Dhaka for the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open, the first ever Asian Tour (AT) event to be hosted here, which starts on Wednesday.

The 300,000-dollar event to be held at the Kurmitola Golf Club will host a stellar field of 150-plus golfers including 31 golfers from host Bangladesh.

Among the doyens of Asian golf, Thaworn Wiratchant, an 18-time AT winner will be arriving today along with his compatriot and four-time winner Chapchai Nirat. Mardan Mamat, the Singaporean four-time winner who is red-hot form currently, has already arrived. Among others who are already here are David Gleeson of Australia and Rahil Gangjee of India. The foreign golfers will be staying at a number of city hotels including the Radisson Blue Hotel and the Dhaka Regency Hotel.

Despite the awe-inspiring list of foreign golfers, many believe that there is a great chance of a Bangladeshi golfer winning this title since it will be held at the Kurmitola Golf Club, which they know like the back of their hands. Among the Bangladeshi golfers, Siddikur is undoubtedly in the forefront of contenders' list, having won numerous amateur and professional titles at this golf course to go with two AT titles, four PGTI titles and an ASEAN PGA Tour title.

"With the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open, other Bangladeshi golfers might have a chance to play their way into the Asian Tour and the Olympics as well. This new tournament opens up a lot of opportunities," Siddikur said in an interview with the Asian Tour website recently.

Among the other contenders from Bangladesh are Jamal Hossain Mollah and Shakhawat Hossain Sohel, both of whom have experience of participating in AT events, apart from Dulal Hossain, Jakiruzzaman and young Shajib Ali, who only recently won an amateur event here with a score of 18-under before turning pro.