Amateur Tashi on top after first round

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Amateur golfer Tashi Tsering carded five-under 67 to take lead after the first day of the Surya Nepal Central Open here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

The former Nepal No 1 amateur sank two eagles and four birdies against three bogeys in his round to stay atop the leaderboard, one stroke ahead of pros Deepak Neupane — who carded seven birdies — and Ram Thapa. Both Deepak and Ram played the round of four-under 68.

Tashi took the turn at two-under 34 that included birdies on the third and fourth holes. On the eventful back nine, Tashi carded a birdie on the 11th before sinking an eagle on the 12th hole. He then dropped one shot each on the next two holes before having another eagle on the par-5 15th hole. Tashi suffered another bogey on the 17th and closed the day with a birdie to sign in the five-under 67 card.

Defending champion Shiva Ram Shrestha and Ramesh Adhikari were tied for fourth at at three-under 69, while another RNGC pro Rabi Khadka was sixth with the score of two-under 70. Ramesh Nagarkoti, Sanjay Lama, Surya Prasad Sharma and Ram Krishna Shrestha shared the seventh position at one-under 71 as 10 players produced the under-par card on the first day of the fourth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2012-13.

Deepak Neupane, who took the turn at one-under 35, played three-under 33 on the back nine. His front nine included birdies on the third and seventh holes against a lone bogey on the fourth hole. On the back nine, he had five birdies — on the 10th, 12th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes – but a double bogey on the 14th hole prevented him from going atop the leaderboard.

Joint second-place holder Ram Thapa was consistent with two-under 34 on both the halves. His front nine included birdies on the third and fourth hole. He carded three birdies on the 10th, 12th and 16th holes on the back nine that also included a double bogey on the 14th hole.

Nepal No 1 pro Shiva Ram carded two-under 34 on the front nine with the help of two birdies on the seventh and eighth holes. But he failed to produce satisfactory card despite having an eagle and two birdies on the back nine. He carded a birdie on the par-3 10th before suffering a double bogey on the par-5 11th hole. He amended his mistake with an eagle on the next hole but again dropped a shot on the next hole. He closed the day with a birdie on the last hole.

In amateur section, Dinesh Prajapati was a distant second, six strokes off the lead. He played a round of one-over 73. Bhuwan Gurung and Tashi Ghale are tied for third with the score of 74, while Dipendra Rayamajhi was fifth at three-over 75. In all, 56 players — 29 pros and 27 amateurs — took part in the Rs 467,500 tournament. Pro Samundra Giri was disqualified after he missed his tee off time.