Thitiphun strolls to maiden title
In the end, the race for the title of the second Bashundhara Bangladesh Open had turned into a battle between two unheralded Thai golfers. Thitiphun Chuayprakong and Sutijet Kooratanapisan -- both out of media attention prior to the event and having never won an Asian Tour event, produced some high-quality golf and took the game right down the wire to richly entertain the holiday crowd at the Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday.
Eventually Thitiphun, who led the 300,000-dollar event from the second round onwards, held his nerve under the challenge from his compatriot and came out on top with a course record of 21-under-par (263).
Having enjoyed a three-shot overnight lead, the 23-year-old Bangkok native traded five birdies for a single bogey to always keep his nose in front of the chasing pack. And once he calmly putted the last hole from about eight feet, the young Thai was visibly elated for having broken his duck at the Asian Tour circuit.
"I am really very happy with this victory. I thank my parents, my team and my friends back in Thailand," Thitiphun said at the post-tournament press conference.
"I know Sutijet is a really good golfer and he was playing well. So I did feel a bit of pressure, but I was concentrating on my own game and I think I did really well," Thitiphun added.
Sutijet, who twice moved to within one shot of his compatriot, buckled on the last hole and had to be content with a second-placed finish at 19-under-par (265), which happens to be his best ever score and finish. The 28-year-old Thai managed eight birdies in the day, but three bogeys including the last one, extinguished his chances of a maiden victory.
Meanwhile, Shakhawat Hossain Sohel finished as the best local performer, like in the previous edition, in sixth position and with an aggregate score of 11-under-par (273), while Jamal Hossain Mollah finished seventh, one stroke behind Sohel.
Sohel was pretty satisfied with the fact that he retained his position as the best local performer with a neat performance. The 31-year-old golfer returned a card of three-under-par for the day to complete two bogey-free rounds in the event.
"I would say I am happy with my performance. Being the best performer from the last edition didn't add any extra pressure on me, because we are used to facing these sorts of situations. I think the more these international events will take place in our country and the more golf courses will stage these events, we will gradually see our local golfers doing better," Sohel said at the end of his day's play.
Jamal, who started the round with a bogey and ended it with another one, having carded four birdies in between, felt he could have gotten a much better score had his putting not gone cold since the end of the first round.
"I was hitting the ball really well all through the week, but I missed quite a number of close opportunities as my putting was not even close to perfect. With a bit of luck, I might have got even closer to 20-under," said the one-time PGTI champion.
Abdul Matin, despite dropping a shot on the 15th and two shots on the 17th, finished 14th, thanks to five birdies in the day, the last of which was a 20-feet putter on the final hole. Bangladesh's to-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur Rahman finished at joint 35th position while Mohammad Sayum ended at 49th position.