India’s Shankar Das (73) finished third at nine-under-279, while Shamim Khan took the fifth place at six-under-282 at the inaugural City Bank American Express Dhaka Open, a US$ 60,000 event held at the Kurmitola Golf Club, Dhaka. The tournament was won by Bangladesh’s Md Siddikur Rahman, who fired fired a final round of two-under-70 to end the week with a total of 14-under-274 on Saturday.

Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski (67) finished a distant second at 10-under-278 at the event tri-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT), Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and Bangladesh Professional Golfers Association (BPGA).

Advertisement

Siddikur Rahman (68-66-70-70), the overnight leader by two shots, put up a consistent display on the final day making four birdies and two bogeys. The 33-year-old was in no mood to yield an inch to his rivals from the very start as was evident from his three birdies over the first 10 holes.

Rahman, who was in the lead since round two, did suffer a couple of setbacks with bogeys on the 11th and 13th but was solid through the final stretch thanks to a birdie and  four pars on the last five holes that saw him sail home with a comfortable margin.

It was Siddikur’s fourth international win and second triumph on the ADT. Siddikur had also won his first event on the ADT, the 2011 Grameenphone Bangladesh Masters, at the same venue, the Kurmitola Golf Club.

Siddikur, a two-time Asian Tour winner, said, “I was really hungry for a win this week. I’m delighted that I could live up to the expectations of the fans here in Bangladesh.

“My putting form was back today as I sank some long putts including a 15-footer on the ninth and a 35-footer on the 10th. Those two putts really lifted my confidence. I had a great week with the putter and made a lot of long putts except for the third round.

“This win is a huge boost for me ahead of the long Asian Tour season. I’ll look to build on the gains from this victory.”

Malcolm Kokocinski (70-70-71-67) posted the day’s best score of five-under-67 to rise from overnight tied third to second place. The Swede registered six birdies and a bogey on Saturday. He enjoyed a run of four straight birdies from the 11th to the 14th.