Brunei and Bangladesh bid for World Cup glory

Golfing minnows Brunei and Bangladesh are ready to battle their way into the history books when they tee off at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup Asian Qualifier on Wednesday.

Brunei, represented by Pengiran Hassanal and Faiz Damit, and Bangladeshis Siddikur Rahman and Milon Ahmed will be dreaming of a World Cup appearance when they vie for three available spots at the Seri Selangor Golf Club.

A total of 14 teams will be playing at the par-71 course and among the top contenders are Malaysia (Iain Steel, Danny Chia), Singapore (Lam Chih Bing, Mardan Mamat), Philippines (Mars Pucay, Angelo Que) and Myanmar (Zaw Moe, Soe Kyaw Naing).

Pengiran and Faiz made their debuts at the World Cup qualifier last year and were on unfamiliar grounds as they tried to adapt to the tournament format. This year, they return with more experience and are determined to put up a better showing.

“For us to be here is a great thing and it will be a great feeling if we could see Brunei on top of the leaderboard. My motive to turn pro was to break the ice for more Bruneians to break through the ranks and with us being here shows that Brunei can participate in more international tournaments,” said Pengiran, the sultanate’s first professional golfer.

“Last year, we were trying our luck and still had doubts about doing well. This year we will definitely work harder and perform better,” added the 35-year-old.

Faiz, 23, who turned pro in January, is also delighted to be able to represent his country and is eyeing a spot to play against the best in the world at Mission Hills in November.

“I am more experienced now after playing with the Asian Tour players at the Brunei Open. We learned a lot from last year’s qualifying round and after playing with each other for two years, we know our game better and are ready for the challenges ahead,” said Faiz.

Siddikur’s dream of playing on the Asian Tour became a reality when he earned his tour card at the Qualifying School in Thailand this year and he is hoping to sweeten his year with a ticket to China.

“Nobody knows there is a golf player from Bangladesh so we want to raise our country’s flag and show the world what Bangladesh is capable of achieving,” said Siddikur whose best finish this year is tied 18th at the Brunei Open.

“My expectations and confidence are higher this year because I am more prepared after playing on the Asian Tour. I played on this course at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters earlier this month and that will be my plus point. I hope to pass my course knowledge to my partner (Milon),” added Siddikur.

The Asian Tour is organising the qualifier on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours. The format of competition at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup Asian Qualifier will be the same as the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, with fourball (better ball) being played in the first and third rounds and foursomes (alternate shot) used in the second and final rounds.

Teams:

Ghana (Emos Korblah, Theophilus Kodjo)
Hong Kong (Wong Woon Man, David Freeman)
Indonesia (Maan Nasim, Sarmilih)
Myanmar (Zaw Moe, Soe Kyaw Naing)
Malaysia (Iain Steel, Danny Chia)
Nigeria (Christian Godfrey Utubor, Edet Michael Umoh)
Pakistan (Muhammad Shabbir, Muhammad Munir)
Philippines (Angelo Que, Mars Pucay)
Singapore (Mardan Mamat, Lam Chih Bing)
Swaziland (Maswazi Mkonta, Thulane Mkhaliphi)
Sri Lanka (Anura Rohana, Lalith Kumara)
Brunei (Pengiran Hassanal, Faiz Damit)
Mauritius (Jocelyn Savrimootoo, Rajesh Mohun)
Bangladesh (Siddikur Rahman, Shahid Khan)
Nepal (Pashupati Sharma, Ramesh Nagarkoti)

August 24 , 2009

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