The year 2012 is a tale of two halves for Siddikur Rahman, Bangladesh’s flag bearer in international golf. The man who became the first and only Bangladeshi to win an
Asian Tour tile back in 2010 has produced some brilliant performances, threatened to win another title, but in the end fell to disappointing depths.
Siddikur finished the season as number 17 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, the first time in three years he failed to feature in the top ten. His earnings have dropped too, as well as his world ranking. From the 158th which he held at the start of the season, Siddikur dropped to 206th at the end of 2012.
But the beginning was so different from the way it ended and it had promised so much. Siddikur finished three times in the top five in the first half of the season, came second twice and racked up as many as 8 under-par scores in ten events he participated. He was touted as the Asian Tour’s Mr. Consistent. At that point it seemed like a second Asian Tour title was just around the corner.
Then came the two-month break and he never really rediscovered that form. He took part in nine more Asian Tour events after that, only twice making it to the top five, whilst most of the times he failed pretty badly. He missed as many as four cuts in this period and finished over-par 7 times out of nine.
A couple of things might have coincided here which resulted in his dip in form and confidence. He was suffering from a lingering back pain, which he sort of played through. He showed a specific weakness in coping with rainy and windy conditions. And the events that he took part in the latter part of the season featured bigger stars and more treacherous courses to deal with.
But then again, Siddikur remains the best person to judge as to what went wrong. It is the golfer’s own decision and precision, his technical skill and mental strength that ultimately decides how successful he will be on the field. So, Siddikur himself needs to identify his lapses and rectify them as soon as he can, because a whole nation looks up to him with great expectations.
-With The Daily Star input
