Newly-wed Bangladeshi professional golfer Siddikur Rahman hopes wedding bliss will drive him towards a victory in the Maybank Malaysian Open, the season’s opening tournament of Asian Tour’2015, which begins on Thursday at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
In the ensuing tournament scheduled for February 5-8, Siddikur will face a stellar cast including defending champion Lee Westwood of England, three-time Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Major champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland among 156 contestants, according to Asia Tour.
Newly crowned Asian Tour Order of Merit champion David Lipsky of the United States, second-ranked Anirban Lahiri of India and double champion Rashid Khan of India will also feature in the prestigious tournament alongside 18-time Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, 2013 Maybank Malaysian Open champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Liang Wen-chong of China, Asia’s number one in 2007.
Siddikur’s best performance in the Maybank Malaysian Open was the 8th place in the 2011 edition and the Bangladeshi ace is hoping to launch a title charge.
The celebrated Bangladeshi golfer is still on the way to recovery from a back injury which curtailed his campaign last year. The double Asian Tour winner is feeling confident after focusing on meditation and yoga in his pre-season preparation.
“I couldn’t practice too much because of my injury. But I did a lot of yoga, swimming and meditation to try and recover physically and to make myself mentally strong. Now I feel prepared for my upcoming tournaments,” Siddikur said to Asian Tour.
The Bangladeshi pioneer golfer, who recently married sweetheart Samaun Anjum Auroni in Dhaka, is gunning for a fast start to the new season at the US$ 3 million showpiece which is co-sanctioned with The European Tour.
