Sports
Surya Nepal Eastern Open: Shrestha clinches tour title
Shiva Ram Shrestha clinched the Surya Nepal Eastern Open title here at the Nirvana Country Club Health & Golf Resort on Wednesday.Shiva Ram Shrestha clinched the Surya Nepal Eastern Open title here at the Nirvana Country Club Health & Golf Resort on Wednesday.
The Nepal No 1 golfer was an outright winner after carding two-under 68 in the third and final round at the par-70 course. The top-ranked pro’s total card of four-under 206 was seven strokes better than his nearest rival Rabi Khadka, who finished tied second at three-over 213 with amateur golfer Sukra Bahadur Rai.
While the Royal Nepal Golf Club pro Khadka shot second successive even-par 70, Rai also had a second straight one-under 69 to finish way up the ladder ahead of several professional golfers. Amazingly, Rai was one of the three amateur golfers to claim the top six positions. The other two amateurs included Shiva Kumar Majhi (217) and Tanka Bahadur Karki (218).
Sanjay Lama finished in third place after shooting six-over 216 and Bal Bhadra Rai ended up in fourth at eight-over 218. Dhana Bahadur Thapa and Bhuwan Nagarkoti were tied for fifth at 219, while Rame Magar and Deo Raj Pakhrin finished in a tie for seventh at 222. Deepak Thapa Magar (223) and Sabin Sapkota (226) completed the top 10 places.
Shiva Ram Shrestha carded two-under 33 in the first nine but had to settle for an even-par 35 in the second nine holes. The top-ranked golfer sank birdies on the second and sixth hole and was on course for a great card when he birdied three successive holes from 10th. But Shrestha’s card undone by bogeys on par-3 13th and 17th along with par-4 18th. But the score was still well enough to secure the trophy and a cheque for Rs 110,000.
Khadka parred all the holes except for the par-3 fifth where he dropped a shot to end the first nine holes at one-over 36. Khadka shot one-under 34 on the back nine. Although he finished tied for second with amateur golfer Rai, he alone collected the cash prize of Rs 70,000.
Rai was exceptional in his front hole carding four-under 31 but the amateur golfer missed out on finishing at second alone when he shot three-over 38 in his back nine. Rai’s front nine card included an eagle at par-5 sixth, birdies on the third, eighth and ninth hole against a bogey on the seventh. Rai bogeyed three holes against no birdies on his way back.
Professional golfer Sanjay Lama finished three strokes behind amateur player Rai at six-over 216 after carding a four-over 74 in the third and final round on Wednesday. Lama earned Rs 50,000. A total of 56 golfers were in fray for the title in the first event held under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. The Rs 600,000 tournament was organised by Nepal Professional Golfers Association. Pro-am event is scheduled for Thursday where 13 pros and 36 amateurs will fight for the honour.