Siddikur starts strongly on return to ‘second home’
NEW DELHI: The pressure of saving his Asian Tour card weighing him down for most of the season, Siddikur Rahman decided to focus elsewhere, like playing good golf for instance. “When I am happy, I play well,” he said. The effect was to be seen as he finished one shot off the lead, five-under 67, at the Panasonic Open on Thursday.
That he is at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) is a source of joy, given his regular visits here since 2000. It was at Dhaka’s Kurmitola Golf Club that Siddikur hit his first shot with a broken seven-iron; DGC is where he recorded two landmark wins, the 2004 All-india Amateur Championship and 2013 Hero Indian Open.
Though on different platforms, the results created an affinity that the 33-year-old cherishes even after a pro career that’s crossed a decade and taken him across the world.
Happy to be at his “second home” after three years — he attributed the absence to his schedule, Siddikur showed no rust.
Fearless as always on the tight fairways, the driver was used liberally, and a “good allround” game ensured a bogeyfree round on the opening day.
Though early days, a turnaround could be in the offing, and if that’s the case, Sunday could be as critical as the week of the Indian Open five years ago that ended a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour. Without a win on Tour since then, hope floats for Siddikur, especially with the “course playing easier” compared to earlier visits.
Siddikur admitted the fear of losing his card was “killing him” and trying not to think about it is a tactic since the UMA CNS Open in Karachi at the start of the month. The T12 finish was his best this season, and with it the confidence is up.
It isn’t just the fear of going to Q-school that’s troubled him. The effects of an old lower-back injury have lingered and the slip on the order of merit is a result of “holding myself back”.
“The fear of aggravating it is on the mind,” said Siddikur. After being treated in the US, Siddikur now knows a thing or two about keeping the pain at bay. Playing in warmer climes is one, and if he could mix it with his record at DGC (12 top-10s across events), another exciting finish beckons.
LEADERBOARD
66: Suradit Yongcharoenchai
67: Siddikur Rahman, Tapy Ghai, Ajeetesh Sandhu
68: Veer Ahlawat, Rashid Khan, Peradol Panyathanasedh, Jazz Janewattananond