Sadom, playing in his first Asian Tour start this season, extended his overnight two-shot lead to four with two opening birdies but had to fend off the spirited challenge from India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu after dropping three consecutive bogeys from the 13th to blow the title race wide open.

“Winning in my first start on the Asian Tour, I feel very happy. I will take a lot of positives from this week and this win will give me a lot of confidence in my game as well. It’s been an unbelievable journey since turning professional last December,” said Sadom.

The 20-year-old Thai, however, fought back gallantly with successive birdies on 16 and 17 to give himself a one-shot advantage over Sandhu, who dropped his first bogey in 63 holes on the par-five 17, heading into the last at the Kurmitola Golf Club.

After hitting his tee shot on the par-four 18 to behind the tree on the left, Sadom chipped it back to the middle of the fairway before hitting to about eight feet. He would eventually nail that par putt to close with a one-under-par 70 and a winning total of 19-under-par 265.

“My putter, however, went cold after the first three holes but thankfully I got it back in my closing three holes. I wasn’t feeling the nerves actually. I was just thinking about making birdies, especially after dropping three bogeys in-a-row. I told myself I need to make birdies to get it back. I am glad I did it,” he added.

Sadom, who joined the play-for-pay ranks last December, was thrilled to produce a dramatic turnaround in the closing stage to claim his first Asian Tour victory and a second win as a professional after breaking through on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in February.

With this win, he would also become the third Thai after Thitiphun Chuayprakong (2016) and Jazz Janewattananond (2017) to win the National Open of Bangladesh, which is celebrating its fifth consecutive edition on the Asian Tour this week.

“My initial goal was just to keep my Asian Tour card for the next season but now I have won on both the Asian Development Tour and the Asian Tour. I am really happy. I didn’t expect to do so well,” the Thai said.

Sandhu, a one-time Asian Tour winner, closed with a second straight 65 to take second place while his compatriot Rashid Khan capped a second straight top-10 finish on the region’s premier Tour after battling to a 70 to settle two shots back in third.

Australia’s Maverick Antcliff posted a 70 to finish in fourth place on 272 while Jazz, highest-ranked player in the field this week, settled a further shot back in tied-fifth after closing with a 69.

Zamal Hossain Mollah emerged as the best-placed Bangladeshi for the second year straight after closing with a 65 to finish in tied-10th place.

Sadom will take home a winner’s prize purse of US$63,000 and receive 14 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, thanks to his victory.

The Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open 2019 welcomed a new title sponsor in the National Bank Ltd, a public limited bank in Bangladesh. The tournament has been named in honour of the father of the nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The former tournament runner-up birdied the 18th hole to finish with a sizzling seven-under 65 and a three-shot lead in the second round of first major championship of the LPGA Tour season.

The South Korean’s round included eight birdies and one bogey to take her total to eight-under 136 on the Mission Hills Country Club course near Palm Springs, California.

“I knew my game was getting better,” said Kim, who has seven LPGA titles. “I have been training a lot and improving every day.

“The ball was playing shorter than yesterday so I had to adjust.

“Out here you get what you see. You can’t really expect everything to go in. I was seeing some lines today and put some good speed on it.”

The 30-year-old Kim is hoping to redeem herself after missing a 35 centimetre (14 inch) putt on the 18th hole of the 2012 tournament that would have delivered her the championship.

Instead she went into a playoff with compatriot Yoo Sun-young where she lost on the first extra hole.

Katherine Kirk of Australia is alone in second after shooting a 68 to reach five-under 139.

Ko Jin-young and Ally McDonald are tied for third at four-under 140, four strokes back of Kim.

Tied for fifth is China’s Yan Jing, England’s Charley Hull, South Korean Park Sung-hyun and Americans Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang who are all at three-under after two rounds.

Kim got off to a roaring start by making birdie on three of her first five holes. He only blemish of the round came on the par-four seventh where she made bogey.

She then finished strong on the back nine with birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 18. She birdied all four par-fives en route to recording the third lowest scoring round of her career.

Despite her final hole stumble in 2012, Kim is not without a major victory. In 2017, she captured the Women’s British Open, in a season that saw her win three times on the Tour.

Kim didn’t want to talk about her playoff loss seven years ago.

“Sometimes it is difficult to take outcomes. I don’t have control over it, that’s the truth,” she said.

Kirk, of Brisbane, birdied six of her first 11 holes. She was tied with Kim on the tee at 17 but back-to-back closing bogeys and Kim’s blazing finish dropped her into solo second.

“Sometimes you get the breaks and sometimes you don’t,” said Kirk. “I made a club error on 17 and that is part of golf unfortunately.

“On 18 it was a bad tee shot and so I didn’t have much of a second shot. But overall I am happy with my score.”

A potential 13 more games lie between Pep Guardiola’s men and a clean sweep of FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League to add to the League Cup they lifted in February.

However, with another seven matches to come before the end of April, Guardiola faces a headache in a familiar problem position.

Oleksandr Zinchenko suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday’s routine 2-0 win over Cardiff that restored City to the top of the Premier League.

The Ukrainian has deputised ably at left-back, despite being a midfielder by trade prior to Guardiola’s arrival, while £52 million ($68 million) World Cup winner Benjamin Mendy has been sidelined for much of the past two seasons due to knee injuries.

Guardiola’s patience with Mendy has worn thin and was tested again this week when the defender was filmed in a nightclub at 3.30am last Saturday morning, hours before the English champions travelled to Fulham.

Mendy was not in the matchday squad, but was due in training the next day to continue his rehabilitation.

“They are old enough to know what they have to do, I’m not his father,” said Guardiola when asked if he was angered by Mendy’s late night.

“I would prefer him to go home earlier but I don’t control the players in that situation.”

Mendy has played just 27 minutes in a League Cup tie at third-tier Burton Albion since November and Guardiola has previously spoken about reinforcing his left-back options for next season, suggesting the Frenchman’s future at the club is far from assured.

Yet, with Fabian Delph also out injured, he could now be thrown back into the action for the most crucial stretch of City’s season with Guardiola admitting “we don’t have many options.”

After facing a Brighton side hoping to reach their first FA Cup final for 36 years, City face Tottenham three times in 10 days in their Champions League quarter-final tie and the Premier League with trips to Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Burnley also to come before the end of the month.

If Mendy is to play a big part, he will need minutes at Wembley this weekend to get up to match sharpness with Guardiola unconvinced by right-back Danilo’s ability to switch sides as he did for the final hour against Cardiff.

“He (Zinchenko) is important for us. He knows the way we want to play,” added Guardiola.

“Danilo fought a lot in that position, but it is not his natural one. We will find a solution.”

Sergio Aguero is also an injury doubt for Saturday with the Argentine unlikely to be risked ahead of the trip to Tottenham on Tuesday.

Brighton are battling for their Premier League survival, but Seagulls boss Chris Hughton insists an upset is possible, even if he admitted it would be “foolish to go toe-to-toe” with Guardiola’s men.

“If we were defeatist from the moment we’re walking on the pitch then there’s only one outcome,” said Hughton.

“To give us any chance at all, we’ve got to be positive about the way we want to approach the game.”

Local youngster Palaphoom Kovapitukted drew first blood for the Kingdom in the Asia/Oceania Group II match, overcoming a second-set lapse to beat Filipino No 1 Jeson Pratombon 6-3 2-6 6-4. Thai No 1 Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul then made it 2-0 when he overpowered Alberto Lim 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

“I was playing well but I shouldn’t have lost my focus in the second set. I was so excited and under pressure because if I wanted to give Thailand to a good start. Then I tried to get back into the match,” said 19-year-old Palaphoom, who now has two wins and two losses form four Davis Cup matches.

“I have to thank captain Danai Udomchoke for his game plan.”

Big-hitting Wishaya employed his powerful serves and fierce forehands to keep Lim at bay most of the time. He became erratic and faced two set points at 5-6 in the second set but recovered to close out the match after 80 minutes.

“I lost my focus in the second set but luckily I fought back to win the tie-break. I’m happy to win the second point and help the team to be in a good position,” Wishaya added.

Thailand is expected to clinch the match-winning third point in Saturday’s morning double, when doubles experts Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana will be in action for the hosts.

The visitors originally nominated Francis Casey Alcantara and Jurence Zosimo Mendoza for the pivotal double rubber but with their backs to the wall, Patrombon may be summoned for extra duty.

“I was quite confident that we would end the first day 2-0. If there’s nothing wrong we should win the tie with the doubles rubber as we have the better doubles team,” said Thai skipper Danai.

“If we win 3-0, I intend to send the other player, Kasidit Samrej, to get some experience in one of the remaining [dead] rubbers.”