Melbourne: Two poor swings cost Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman from a sweeter debut at the $8 million World Cup of Golf as he opened with a two-over-par 73 at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club here Thursday.
Siddikur ran up a triple bogey and double bogey on the 12th and 13th holes but fought back with birdies on 14 and 18 to end the day in tied 32nd position. American Kevin Streelman and Dane Thomas Bjorn share the first round lead with 66s in the individual category.
The first player from Bangladesh to qualify for the tournament, Siddikur said he was happy with his comeback after dropping five shots over two holes.
"I had two bad shots which cost me. Pushed my driver on 12 for a triple bogey and then hit another bad shot on 13 for a double. After that, I had a good come back. I just have to make sure I don't make the same mistakes tomorrow. My hitting and putting were good, except for those two shots," said Siddikur.
He arrived here in good form after winning his second Asian Tour title at the Indian Open a fortnight ago. But a first experience at Royal Melbourne, rated as one of the best sandbelt courses in Australia, has proven to be a real challenge.
The lightning quick putting surfaces have thrown him off balance but Siddikur reckons he is slowly coming to grips with the slick greens.
"My putts were good. I felt comfortable on the greens after learning more on the greens. This morning when we started, there was not much wind but it has kind of picked up. Here you need to hit it to the centre of the green and hit a lot of fairways. You can't play for the pins as it rolls some 15 or 20 yards. You have to respect the course, otherwise you won't be able to make a score," said Siddikur.
He nearly pulled off a grandstand finish when an approach shot into the par four 18th green stopped just short of falling into the cup for eagle.
"Best shot of the day was on 18. I had 205 yards to the pin and it almost went in for eagle. It stopped six inches short. I hit my rescue club straight at the pin. It was the best shot of the day."
