Shiva Ram finishes 37th in Gurgaon

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Shiva Ram Shrestha finished joint 37th in the PGTI Players Championship at the Golden Greens Golf Club in Gurgaon today.

The Nepal No 1 professional golfer shot six-over 78 on the final day for a total of eight-over 296, that saw him finish tied with Indian pro Arshdeep Tiwana. The duo earned INR 16,000 each.

Shiva Ram, who qualified in the 2012 season of the Professional Golf Tour of India as the second best foreigner in December’s Qualifying-School at the same golf course, began the final round saving pars on the first five holes. He then dropped a shot on the par-4 sixth before adding another bogey on the eighth hole to finish the front nine at two-over 38.

Shiva Ram dropped four shots on three holes — bogeys on the 13th and 18th plus a double bogey on the 14th hole — to finish the back nine at four over. The Royal Nepal Golf Club pro, who carded 10 birdies on the first three rounds, failed to earn a single shot on the final day.

Shiva Ram, who started the campaign with an impressive two-under 70, added one-over 73 on the second day and three-over 75 on the third day. He had missed the cut in last week’s PGTI Players Championship in Chandigarh.

Another Nepali pro in the PGTI, Toran Bikram Shahi had made the cut in Chandigarh before finishing at the bottom. But this time around, he crashed out after the first two rounds.

Meanwhile, Kunal Bhasin of Australia carded one-under 71 to win the tournament with the total score of 11-under 277, while India’s Abhinav Lohan (73) came second at eight-under 280. Indian duo of Gaurav Pratap Singh (70) and overnight joint leader Manav Jaini (75) shared the third position at seven-under 281.