Sports
Shivaram cards 65 to open up 2-stroke lead
Nepal No 1 Shivaram Shrestha opened up a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Surya Nepal Premier Golf Championship at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Tuesday.The 10th and last event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2017-18 offers Rs 1.26 million in total prize money. The champion will receive Rs 230,000.Nepal No 1 Shivaram Shrestha opened up a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Surya Nepal Premier Golf Championship at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Tuesday.
The defending champion started the second round four strokes behind the first round co-leaders Bal Bhadra Rai, Dinesh Prajapati , Sanjay Lama and Bhuwan Nagarkoti but go into the third round two shots clear on top. The Royal Nepal Golf Club pro fired seven-under 65 for a total of seven-under 137. Lama dropped to second after shooting one-under 71 on Tuesday for a total score of five-under 139.
Toran Bikram Shahi and Nagarkoti were tied for third at three-under 141 with amateur golfer Tanka Bahadur Karki. Shahi shot three-under 69 and Nagarkoti one-over 73. Dhana Bahadur Thapa (71) was in fifth at one-under 143, while Chuda Bahadur Bhandari (72) and Rai (76) shared the sixth place at even-par 144. Krishna Man Rajbahak (74) and Dinesh Prajapati (77) were tied for eighth at one-over 145. Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (74) and Rabi Khadka (72) were in 10th place at 146.
The cut was applied at 10-over 154 and 24 pros and nine amateurs made it to the final two rounds. Bikash Adhikari, Pashupati Sharma, Rame Magar, Purna Prasad Sharma, Pradeep Kumar Lama, Surya Prasad Sharma, Jayaram Shrestha, Ram Krishna Shrestha, Deepak Acharya, Deepak Magar, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, Kamal Tamang and Shiva Kumar Majhi made the cut. Former India No 1 pro Feroz Ali Mollah missed the cut by one stroke. He played seven-over 79 on Tuesday to add to his overnight score of 76.
Karki carded three-under 69 to take four-stroke lead over Prithvi Malla in the amateur category. Malla shot one-over 73 for a total score of one-over 145. Sunil KC (72) was in third at 146, while Subash Tamang (75) and Sukra Bahadur Rai (69) were tied for fourth at four-over 148. Yubraj Bhujel, Sandip Tamang and Pramendra Singh were the other amateurs to make the cut.
The second round leader Shrestha shot a flawless five-under 31 on the front nine and two-under 34 on the back nine. The top-ranked pro sank birdies on the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth holes in his bogeyfree front nine. He added three more birdies on the 10th, 11th and 15th holes before dropping the only shot of the day on the 16th.
Lama carded even-par 36 on the front nine and one-under 35 on the back nine. The 10th and last event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2017-18 offers Rs 1.26 million in total prize money. The champion will receive Rs 230,000.