Shivaram Shrestha lived up to his billing as Nepal No 1 pro on Sunday after carding a spectacular nine-under 63 in the second round of the Surya Nepal Central Open at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club.

The score was an improvement for the first round leader, who had carded six-under 66 on Monday in the second event of Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2017-18. The Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC) pro was seven strokes ahead of his nearest rival Surya Prasad Sharma, who shot five-under 67 on Tuesday. Shrestha finished the second round at 15-under 129.

Jayaram Shrestha and Deepak Magar were tied for third at even-par 144. Jayaram shot two-under 70 and Magar one-over 73 on Tuesday. Bhuwan Nagarkoti was next at fifth with the total score of one-over 145. Nagarkoti carded one-under 71 in the second round. Rabi Khadka was at sixth with the total score of two-over 146 after shooting second successive one-over 73.

Sanjay Lama was in seventh place after carding three-under 69 for a total of four-over 148. Dhana Bahadur Thapa (72), Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (73), Bhu Bahadur Gurung (73) and Rame Magar (77) were tied for eighth at five-over 149. Pradeep Kumar Lama, Pashupati Sharma, Yelamber Singh Adhikari, Bal Bhadra Rai, Kishan Kaliraj Sunar, Deepak Acharya, Bikash Adhikari, Dipendra Rayamajhi, Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan and Kamal Tamang survived the cut at 10-over 154.

In the amateur category, Phuntsok Lama, who shot 76, and Sunil KC, who carded 79, were tied for the lead at nine-over 153. Subash Ghising was in third at 15-over 159 after carding four-over 76.

Shrestha opened the day with a birdie and parred the very next hole. The top-ranked pro then earned further shots on the third, fourth and sixth holes before sinking an eagle on the seventh and a birdie on the ninth for a sizzling

seven-under 29 front-nine score. On his way back, Shrestha sank birdies on 12th and 14th holes for a two-under 34 card.

Sharma shot three-under 33 on the first nine with birdies on third, fifth, sixth and seventh holes against a bogey on the ninth. In the second nine, Sharma made birdies on 10th, 11th and 17th holes against a bogey on the 14th for a two-under 34 card.

Jayaram carded three-under 33 on the front nine with birdies on the first, fourth and sixth holes. On the back nine, Jayaram had a bogeys on 10th and 17th holes against a birdie on the 18th for a one-over 37 score. Magar shot even-par 36 on the front nine with birdies on seventh and ninth against bogeys on first and fifth holes. On the back nine, Magar parred all the holes except for a bogey on the 16th for a one-over 37 score.

In all, 32 professional and 10 amateur golfers took part in the tournament. Only 21 pros and six amateurs made the cut for the next two rounds. The event offers a total

of Rs 630,000 in prize money with the champion assured of Rs 115,000. The first

runner-up will receive Rs 74,000 and the second runner-up will take home Rs 53,000. Other pros to make the cut are also assured for their share of cash prizes.