The perks of being a pro golfer

Berry Henson is a golfer with a difference or, at least it would seem so, from his laidback attitude and carefree approach. While most golfers here were focusing on their personal expectations during the pre-event press conference of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open, this American golfer was more interested speaking about how excited he was to add a new destination in his golfing repertoire.

The 36-year-old California native, who moved to Thailand after making his Asian Tour debut in 2011, says he likes to explore new places and cultures and that he has been very excited about coming to Bangladesh.

"I've kind of made Thailand my home and have made new friends there," said Berry while waiting for his car to drive him to hotel after his first round's play.

Born into a well-to-do family in California, Berry was introduced to this game by his grandfather at the age of five. "I was very athletic; I played basketball and baseball too. But golf kept getting better for me and got me a scholarship to go to school. I felt like I had a future in golf." A future which he feels offered more perks than a career in baseball or basketball or even in business, which he had pursued for a while as a student.

"I go on vacations every now and then. I try to go somewhere I've never been before. I've enjoyed so far here and Siddikur (Rahman) has been very kind as he took a few of us to dinner for two nights," said Berry, who has been to most of the golf destinations under the Asian Tour, USA PGA Tour and European Tour circuits apart from his well-earned vacations to many holiday destinations around the world.

On the golf course, though, Berry hasn't enjoyed the best of times in recent years.

And things didn't start on the right note yesterday either as Berry double bogeyed twice in the first four holes before rain intervened and returned to the clubhouse with a sombre look. But his usual charming smile returned by the end of the day as he successfully managed to wipe out the deficit with four birdies later on. After all making the cut and being among the top on the leaderboard matters a lot to any golfer because the paycheque that comes at the end of it is the biggest perk of all.