Golf-Bangladesh to host its first Asian tournament in January

Bangladesh will host its first professional golf tournament on the Asian Development Tour when it stages the Bangladesh Masters in Dhaka from Jan. 26-29.

The Asian Development Tour, which follows the structure of the Nationwide Tour in America and the European Challenge Tour, is a stepping stone to the prestigious Asian Tour.

Wednesday's announcement by the Bangladesh Golf Federation comes nearly two months after Siddikur Rahman became the first Bangladeshi to win on the Asian Tour at the Brunei Open.

Grameenphone, the country's leading cellular operator, which has been a patron of Siddikur's since 2003, has come forward to sponsor the event which will have $75,000 prize money.

The tournament will feature 150 golfers from 20 countries and the leading three players will gain entry to the Asian Tour.

"We hope that the launching of this Asian Development Golf Tournament will raise the profile of the sport in Bangladesh," said federation general-secretary Mirza Baker Sarwar Ahmed.

Bangladesh, which has about 35 professional golfers, has hosted an event on the Indian circuit for the last two years but this will be the country's first regional tournament.

The Asian Development Tour was launched this year to help professional golfers progress to the Asian Tour.