Sports
Karki takes 2-shot lead over Acharya
Amateur golfer Tanka Bahadur Karki maintained a two-stroke lead over Deepak Acharya after the third round of the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Wednesday.Sports Bureau
Amateur golfer Tanka Bahadur Karki maintained a two-stroke lead over Deepak Acharya after the third round of the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Wednesday.
Karki carded one-over 73 for the three-round total of three-under 213 in the eighth event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2018-19. Acharya shot one-under 71 for a total of one-under 215. Dinesh Prajapati was in third after shooting even-par 72 for a total of even-par 216.
Bhuwan Nagarkoti was in fourth after carding two-over 74 for a total of one-over 217. Sanjay Lama (70), Rabi Khadka (73) and amateur Bipin Tamang (73) were tied for fifth at three-over 219. Krishna Man Rajbahak (73) and Surya Prasad Sharma (76) were tied for eighth with the score of five-over 221. Suman Rai (72), Jayaram Shrestha (73), amateur Sunil KC (73), Deepak Magar (75) and Rame Magar (75) were next at 10th with the total score of six-over 222.
Karki carded even-par 36 on the front nine with a birdie on seventh against a bogey on the fourth. On the back nine, Karki sank birdies on the 15th and 18th against drop shots on the 11th, 12th, and 17th holes. Acharya had an excellent run in over the first nine holes sinking five consecutive birdies from third against a bogey on the ninth to take the turn at four-under 32. On the back nine, the former Nepal No 1 sank a birdie on the 10th but dropped shots on the 11th and 12h along with a double-bogey on 15th for a three-over 39 card.
Prajapati shot even-par 36 on each half. On the front nine, Prajapati had a bogey on the sixth but bounced back with a birdie on the very next hole. On the back nine, he dropped a shot on the 11th but made amends by sinking a birdie on the 12th. Nagarkoti shot three-over 39 on the front nine with bogeys on the third, fourth and eighth holes. On the back nine, Nagarkoti made a sole birdie on the 15th hole for one-under 35 card.
Sanjay Lama returned with the best card of the day, two-under 70. Lama carded one-under 35 on each half. On the front nine, Lama sank a lone birdie on the seventh and on the back nine he carded birdies on the 11th, 12th and 18th against a double-bogey on 15th to upset his card.
In all, 21 professional and six amateur golfers made the cut for the final round. A total of 34 pros and eight amateurs participated in the first two rounds. The tournament offers Rs 661,500 in total prize money. The champion will get Rs 120,000, the first runner-up will earn Rs 77,000 and the second runner-up will get Rs 55,000. Other pros to make the cut are also assured of their share of cash rewards.