Golfer Rashid to use new driver at Bangladesh Open

Indian golfer Rashid Khan will use a new driver at the Bangladesh Open, which gets underway on Wednesday, to better his chances of earning his third Asian Tour title.

Rashid will be among the favourites for the crown at the $300,000 event to be played at the Kurmitola Golf Club here.

"I met my mental coach (Aparna Jain) before coming here and told her that there's nothing wrong with my mental game. I'm just not finding enough fairways. I'm comfortable with my game now because I changed my driver. The key here is to find fairways. It is not a long golf course," he explained.

"I changed my driver in Mauritius (two weeks ago). It wasn't working there, but I'm feeling comfortable now. It is more of a problem with my game. Once I'm comfortable with my tee shots, then I'll be good."

American Berry Henson, Thai Thaworn Wiratchant and Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka will also feature in the event, which is one of five new tournaments to join the Asian Tour schedule this year.

"This new event will help the local professional golfers. They need one good start through a tournament like this. It will help golf in Bangladesh. It can be the same thing for other players as well," said the Indian.

"The locals have a lot of advantage. There are a lot of players who do well here because of local knowledge. It is the same when I play in New Delhi."