Dhaka, Bangladesh, 10-05-2018
Md Zamal Hossain Mollah holds joint clubhouse lead on day two, Divyanshu Bajaj highest-placed Indian in tied fourth
Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah raised local hopes when he signed for a commendable six-under-65 to share the halfway clubhouse lead with Malcolm Kokocinski of Sweden at the weather-disrupted AB Bank Bangladesh Open on Thursday.
Starting the day four shots off the pace, Zamal fired eight birdies against a double-bogey under windy conditions to move atop the leaderboard with Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader Kokocinski, who returned with a 66, at the Kurmitola Golf Club.
The leading duo holds a one-shot advantage on matching eight-under-134s while Thailand’s Suttijet Kooratanapisan, who carded a flawless 64, sat in second place at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.
Divyanshu Bajaj was the highest-placed Indian in tied fourth at six-under-136 following a second round of two-under-69.
PGTI member Zamal Hossain Mollah (69-65) is playing on his home course at the Kurmitola Golf Club this week. He enjoyed a tied-seventh place finish in January and came in runner-up two weeks ago when he played on the same course for the two Asian Development Tour (ADT) events.
Zamal, who navigated his way around the greens in only 23 putts, said “I hit the ball really good today. My putting was good too. I made only one mistake on the second hole for double-bogey. I hit my tee shot to the left and hit my second shot with a seven-iron into the rough. I sent my third shot into the bunker from there, chipped out to greenside and then two-putted there.
“After that, I calmed myself down and told myself that this is golf, anything can happen. I tried to forget about what happened and was able to restart on the next hole. I managed to bounce back with three birdies on the way home. Left a few birdies out there but it’s alright.
“This is my home course and I am very familiar with it. It always feels good to be playing here. I finished well when I played the two ADT events here earlier this season. Tee shots are the key to play well on this course. Putting has to be consistent too.
“It feels good to be in a share of the lead. I have had some good results in the Bangladesh Open before. It is my National Open so I will try and do my best for the next two days. Hopefully, I can continue to play like how I did today.”
Divyanshu Bajaj (67-69), making his debut at the Bangladesh Open this week, had come in tied-eighth when he played the ADT event on the same course at the Kurmitola Golf Club two weeks ago. The 28-year-old Bajaj mixed four birdies with two bogeys in round two.
Divyanshu said, “The conditions were really tough out there. The winds were swirling but I managed to stay composed and had a good finish with two straight birdies on the eighth and ninth. I am putting well. I hope I can continue to putt the way I did for the next two rounds. We will see how it goes.
“I am really tired. It has been a long day but I will head back and get some good rest for tomorrow. I just need to play my own game for the next two days and I should be fine.”
Play was suspended at 10.27am local time due to thunderstorm before resuming two and a half hours later. It was later called off for the day at 6.13pm due to fading light.
A total of 72 players will resume their second rounds at 6.20am on Friday with the third and penultimate round slated to start not earlier than 10.15am.
Source: Asian Tour
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Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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