Went to watch Siddikur play at the Royal Melbourne Golf Course (as his guest) and enjoyed watching him play amongst other international attendees. A friend who accompanied me, summarised the days proceeding as under : You will be pleased to know that our golfing hero Siddikur Rahman was not alone at the Royal Melbourne golf course. There were eight of us, staying with him all the way from tee off to the 18th hole, trudging through lush green fairways for more than 5 hours. Siddikur started off brilliantly with a birdie on the very first hole, par 3. Soon he had another birdie and at 2 under his name was at the top of the leaderboard. Our hearts swelled up with expectations of a miracle in the making, however irrational our exuberance might be. As an experienced golfer you are more than aware of the fickleness of being at the top of the leaderboard. Fortunes change quickly and can come crashing down in the course of attempting to negotiate just one seemingly benign hole which all of a sudden turns treacherous. Siddikur lost his mojo at the 9th hole, starting off his tee shot into the woods and ending up with an unplayable ball. He managed to scrape through with a triple bogey. With his confidence down he played the next 2 holes badly, a bogey and another double bogey. From 2 under at the top of the leaderboard, he sank to 4 over within the space of 3 holes. Our small band of cheer squad lost its cheerful demeanour and suddenly the walk-about the fairways seemed to require a little more energy. The sun also came up finally, after playing peekaboo with the clouds all morning, and we had to take off layers of clothing. The General, who came all the way from Bangladesh just to watch Siddikur at the Royal Melbourne, was fuming mad at Siddikur squandering his lead and depriving him (and us) of vicarious pleasure. He had travelled to Melbourne specifically for this tournament. It was obvious his mild military tantrums were more a mark of affection for the young golfer than anything else. The back 9 holes were uneventful, par after par. One of the three in Siddikurs group, a Welshman, was at the top of the leaderboard at 4 under. Adam Scott, Australias # 1, and breathing down Tiger Woodss neck for the top world ranking, was not having a great day either. Siddikur clawed back some lost ground with a birdie at the 14th (or 15th). Finally, the par-4 18th hole arrived and by now we were exhausted, having walked about 8 km in 5 hours. Siddikur started with an average tee shot which landed just outside the fairway on a rough grassy surface and we sighed about the possibility of yet another bogey! But like a maestro showing his hand at the very last moment, he showed his talent by hitting a spectacular shot which almost earned him an eagle. The ball swooped down the skies straight in front of the flagstick, gently bouncing off the pin and stopping within a few inches of the hole for a simple tap-in birdie. It was a great way to finish even if he was 2-over for the day. As we made our way out of the golf course we went past the clubhouse which was festooned with the flags of 37 countries whose players were playing at this prestigious tournament by invitation. The red and green Bangladesh flag flew alongside other flags, fluttering in the breeze, with an understated declaration that golf had finally arrived in Bangladesh big time - thanks to Siddikur Rahman, a poor ball boy once loitering around one of Dhakas exclusive golf clubs. Through sheer grit and determination he showed that dreams can sometimes come true. Three cheers for Siddikur. Hip hip hurrah.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 10:50:27 +0000