DHAKA: Veteran Singapore golfer Mardan Mamat shot a final-round two-under 69 on Saturday to win the US$300,000 (S$404,000) Bashundhara Bangladesh Open-2015 by two strokes.
Mardan Mamat secured the top position on the leaderboard from the first round for his fifth Asian Tour title at Kurmitola Golf Course in city.
Khalin Joshi of India and Lee Soon-min of South Korea jointly placed second in the tournament.
Mamat, who started the round with two birdies, seemed visibly affected by the heat and high humidity, but still managed to find a 10-foot birdie on the last hole.
Despite finding only nine of 14 fairways at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka, the overnight leader's good iron play saw him reach 15 of the 18 greens in regulation, his only hiccup being a bogey at the par-four third hole.
The 47-year-old totaled 270 and took home US$54,000 to bring his season's earnings to US$138,269 and sit eighth on the Order of Merit.
Birdies at the par-four fifth and par-three sixth and 12th holes steadied his game and he held off a charging Lee Soo Min, who eagled the 17th en route to a round of 67.
No Bangladeshi golfer was in the top 10. Among the local golfers, Shakhawat Hossain Nayan jointly placed 19. Siddiqur Rahman jointly placed 38th.
Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, as chief guest, handed over the trophy to Mardan Mamat.
Chairman of Bashundhara Group, country’s leading business conglomerate, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, as special guest, handed over a cheque of 54,000 USD to Mardan Mamat as prize money.
Additional Managing Director of Bashundhara Group Safwan Sobhan was also present in the prize giving ceremony.
Besides, Associate Director (Business Development) of Asian Tour Irfan Hamid, Chairman of Bangladesh Foundation for Tourism Development HM Hakim Ali, Junior Division Golf President Major General Masud Razzaq and the high ups of Bashundhara Group were also present in the ceremony.
Secretary General of Bangladesh Golf Federation Brigadier General Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah anchored the program.
Dil Mohammad won the best amateur golfer of Bangladesh while Sakhawat Hossain Sohel won the prize of best Bangladeshi Professional Golfer.
BDST: 2040 HRS, MAY 30, 2015
SR/RS/SMS
