Kolkata: Living out of a suitcase can mess up with the ability to recall where you were 18 months ago, so Jamal Hossain had to pause and think. India, he said. Where was he on February 12 this year? This was easy. India, he said again.
So, during both the uprising and the election, events that have had a monumental impact on Bangladesh, Hossain was on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) circuit. Hossain was here with three other golfers from Bangladesh. “They have gone back, having missed the cut,” he said at the Tollygunge Club here on Friday, also the final day of DP World Players Championship.
With a score of 12-under 268, Hossain, 41, finished tied fifth and earned ₹5.62 lakh. This was his third successive top-10 finish in a season that is three tournaments old and took his earning to ₹15.89 lakh. He is sixth in the Tour’s Order of Merit list where Honey Baisoya leads with ₹33.95 lakh.
Jamal will now focus on 72 The League, PGTI’s foray into franchise competition, where he is the only player from Bangladesh. Bought at his base price of ₹10 lakh by Mumbai Aces, one of the six teams in the fray, Jamal said it will be a new experience “as I have never played in a league before.”
Tour CEO Amandeep Johl, the former golfer and coach, said prices could have gone up had the players’ salary cap not been at ₹1 crore per team. Each team will have 10 players in the single-leg league to be played over three courses in Delhi-NCR from Saturday. Each match in the league will comprise two singles, two fourballs and one foursome, said Johl.
Hossain said he has been coming to India since 2006, his first visit being with the Bangladesh national team, and speaks more than a smattering of Hindi. He turned professional in 2010. Hossain was ranked sixth after 2025 which he finished with three runner-up and five top-10 finishes and won ₹77.81 lakh.
Golf wasn’t affected by the political turmoil at home, said Hossain who is from Dhaka. “Bangladesh has 12 courses and we did not face any problem. Not being a mass sport could have something to do with it,” he said. Coming to India or getting back home too has not been a problem, he said. “I have never felt unsafe in India.”
But Hossain refused to comment on Bangladesh puling out of the World T20 after the International Cricket Council did not shift their matches to Colombo. “Please do not ask me anything on this,” he said.
The golfer said president Kapil Dev and Johl have improved PGTI . Which is why he would have liked for the Tour to resume tournaments in Bangladesh. There hasn’t been one since 2022. “We used to have events in Dhaka and Chattogram where there are 18-hole courses. I hope the Tour returns soon.”
