Amateur golfer and defending champion Sadbhav Acharya moved to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Surya Nepal Challenge, the fifth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2023-24, at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Tuesday.

Acharya carded 1-under 67 in the second round for 36-hole total of 3-under 133. He is one stroke ahead of pro Dhana Bahadur Thapa, who carded second straight 1-under 67 for total score of 2-under 134.

Rabi Khadka and Rame Magar share third position at 1-under 135. Khadka carded 2-under 66 and overnight leader Magar played 2-over 70.

Dinesh Prajapati is fifth at even-par 136 after he carded 2-under 66. Jayram Shrestha and Bhuvan Nagarkoti share the sixth position at 2-over 138. Shrestha carded 1-under 67 and Nagarkoti played 3-over 71.

Three pros, Sanjay Lama, Deepak Magar and Surya Prasad Sharma, are tied for eighth at 139. Lama produced the best card of the day with 3-under 65, Deepak played even-par 68 and Sharma played 1-over 69.

Cut was applied at 19-over 155 with 21 pros and three amateurs making it to the final two rounds.

Krishna Man Rajbahak, Ram Krishna Shrestha, Ramesh Adhikari, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, Pradip Kumar Lama, Tanka Bahadur Karki, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka, Basanta Raj Gurung, Pashupati Sharma, Dhruba KC, Kishan Kaliraj Sunar and Bikash Adhikari survived the cut.

Ram Krishna, who had a Hole-in-One on Hole number three, carded even-par 68.

Toran Bikram Shahi pulled out of the tournament before the start of the second round due to personal reasons.

In the amateur section, Tashi Tsering and Rahul BK joined Acharya for the final two rounds. Both Tsering and BK played 3-over 71 in the second round for 36-hole total of 6-over 142.They are nine strokes behind leader Acharya.

Acharya took the turn at 1-over 35 and carded 2-under 32 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the first and fourth holes before facing a double bogey on the fifth hole and a bogey on the seventh hole. He then sank an eagle on the par-5 10th hole and carded a birdie on the 11th before dropping a shot on the 14th hole.

Army Club pro Thapa, who is at the top among professional golfers, carded 1-under 33 on the front nine and played even-par 34 on the back nine. After dropping a shot on the second hole, Thapa carded birdies on the third and fifth holes. After taking the turn, Thapa faced a bogey on the 12th hole and carded a birdie on the 13th hole.

Former Nepal number one pro Khadka took the turn at 2-under 32 and played even-par 34 on the back nine. He carded three birdies on the second, fourth and 18th holes and faced a lone bogey on the 15th hole.

Overnight leader Magar carded even-par 34 on the front nine after he carded a birdie on the first hole and dropped a shot on the eighth. After taking the turn, he played 2-over 36. Rame suffered a triple bogey on the 13th hole and dropped a shot on the 18th hole against birdies on the 10th and 14th holes.

A total of 42 golfers—31 pros and 11 amateurs—are taking part in the 72-hole tournament. The event carries a total purse of Rs572,250. The winner will bag a cheque of Rs100,000, runner-up will take home Rs67,000 and third-place finisher will earn Rs48,000. The fourth-place finisher will get Rs40,000 and fifth-placed golfer Rs36,000. Other pros in the top 21 will also receive their share of cash prizes.