Siddikur will be the main home hope in this month’s Bashundhara Bangladesh Open.
Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Bashundhara Bangladesh Open will be launched this month.
To be held from May 27-30, the Asian Tour event will offer a prize fund of US$300,000 at the Kurmitola Golf Club, with local hero
Siddikur Rahman headlining the tournament.
The Asian Tour has signed a three-year agreement with the Bangladesh Golf Federation to stage the Bangladesh Open. Title sponsor Bashundhara Group is one of the country’s largest industrial conglomerates.
Officials believe the introduction of the Bangladesh Open on the Asian Tour will provide a catalyst for the expansion of golf in Bangladesh.
General
Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, President of the Bangladesh Golf Federation, said: “Our partnership with the Asian Tour is a massive development for the sport in Bangladesh and we hope it will herald the dawning of a new era for golf in our country.
“Siddikur Rahman has played a massive role for the game to gain greater recognition here and I believe the staging of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open on the Asian Tour will propel golf onto the next level. This timely development will also play a big role in our bid to have other homegrown talents join Siddikur in the Olympic Games next year.”
The Kurmitola Golf Club is more than 60 years old and has hosted many domestic and regional golf tournaments, including the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Tour. It also held an Asian Development Tour event in 2011.
Siddikur became the first Bangladeshi champion on the Asian Tour when he won the 2010 Brunei Open and subsequently added a victory at the 2013 Hero Indian Open. The 30-year-old finished in the top 10 on the Order of Merit in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and was 36th last season after his year was curtailed by a back injury.