Nepal no 1 pro Shiva Ram Shrestha took lead in the opening day of the Surya Nepal Central Open, the first event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2018-19, at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club in Kathmandu on Monday.

Shrestha carded four-under 68 to wrap up the first round on top of the leader board. He is two-stroke ahead of Dhana Thapa and amateur Prithvi Malla, as both of them carded two-under 70.

Krishna Man Rajbahak played even-par 72 to get hold of the fourth place. Two other amateurs — Sunil KC and Sandeep Tamang — are tied for the fifth along with Deepak Magar with one-over 73. Deepak Acharya, Bikash Adhikari, Pradeep Kumar Lama, Bhuwan Nagarkoti and amateurs Wangchen Dhondup and Surendra Phuyal jointly sit at the eighth spot at two-over 74. Leader Shrestha had a desired start to the opening round making three birdies in the first three holes before adding two more in the fifth and eighth holes. He played even par in the remaining holes of the front nine to earn five-under 31 to hold at least two-stroke advantage over other golfers.

On the back nine, Shrestha shot a double bogey on the par-five 12th before dropping a shot on the 18th hole. He shot birdies on the 13th and 15th holes to finish back nine with one-over 37.

Thapa, who played even-par 36 on the front nine, carded birdies on the second and seventh holes before misfiring on the par-three eighth hole for a double-bogey. On the latter half, he saved shots on the 12th and 17th holes for two-under 34. Amateur Malla scored birdies on the third fifth and eighth holes against bogey in the fifth for front nine score of two-under 34. Malla, who tops the amateur section, squandered a shot on the 12th hole before compensating it on the 14th for an even-par back nine score of 36. Fourth-placed Rajbahak fired straight birdies on the first three holes before suffering a bogey and double bogeys on the following two holes. He sank an eagle on the seventh and birdie on the ninth against a bogey in the eighth hole for front nine score of two-under 34. He carded two-over 38 on the back nine with a bogey each on 12th and 15th hole, both par-five holes.

In all, 30 professional golfers and 11 amateurs are competing in the tournament that carries a total purse of Rs 661,500. The winner will earn Rs 120,000 and the runner-up will get Rs 77,000. The third-place finisher will get Rs 55,000. The pros finishing on top 21 positions will have share of the cash prizes. The cut will be applied after the second round where top 21 professionals and ties will play the final 36 holes. They will also be joined by top six amateurs along with those making the professional cut.