Bangladesh’s top professional golfer, Siddikur Rahman, is set to make history at the World Cup of Golf at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia from November 21-24.
Siddik, ranked 251st in the world and ninth in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, will be the first Bangladeshi golfer to ever participate in the $8 million ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf.
He is hopeful that his consistent performance in the last five tournaments, as well as the experience of playing with world top golfers like Ernie Els and Scott Hend at the Venetian Macau Open last month, will help him perform in Melbourne.
‘I am working hard to overcome the mistakes I committed in the previous tournaments, so I am confident that I will perform better in the World Cup,’ Siddikur said at a press conference on Friday.
‘It’s true that I failed to perform consistently after winning the Brunei Open in 2010, but if you see my last few performances you will see the improvement.’
‘To avoid errors I have been consulting a swing coach recently. I am consulting a psychologist and nutritionist for mental calmness and to maintain the nutrition routine.
‘Personally, I’m trying my best so I am very confident about achieving success,’ he added.
The 29-year-old Siddik, who will depart from Dhaka for the Hero Indian Open on Monday, also spoke about his ambitions to reach the top tier of the golf world.
‘If I will perform well in the upcoming six tournaments, including World Cup, then I will get the chance to play in the European circuit regularly. When I reach my preliminary target, then I will think about the PGA tour, and I’m confident that if I try my best I will play in the PGA tour in the future.’
Siddik also expressed hope for the future of golf in Bangladesh but admitted that it was difficult to participate in international tournaments regularly due to the high expenses.
‘Nowadays, golf is the most expensive game in the world, but you know that most of the golfers in Bangladesh come from a humble background so they cannot afford the expenses. If sponsors give their support to golf then I’m confident that our youngsters will perform better than me in the future,’ he said.
-With New Age input
