Kathmandu, November 26

Ramesh Adhikari opened up a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Surya Nepal Challenge here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

Adhikari carded third consecutive one-under 66 for a three-under 198 total after 54 holes. Going into the final round, Adhikari is two strokes ahead of Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram Shrestha, who shot his best round of the tournament so far carding three-under 64 for one-under 201.

After saving pars on the first five holes, Adhikari faced two straight bogeys on the sixth and seventh before carding a birdie on the next hole to take the turn at one-over 34. He then clobbered three birdies on the 10th, 11th and 13th against a lone bogey on the 16th hole to finish the back nine at two-under 32 at his home course.

Top ranked Shrestha carded a birdie on the fourth hole in his bogey-free one-under 32 on the front nine. Shrestha then shot birdies on the 10th, 12th and 13th holes before dropping a shot on the 16th hole to finish the back nine at two-under 32.

Veteran pro Deepak Thapa Magar, who shared the lead with Adhikari after second round, shot two-over 69 to fall down to third

with the total score of even-par 201. After a two-over 35 on the front nine, Thapa Magar carded even-par 34 on the latter half. He faced a double bogey on the first hole and dropped shots on three other holes against three birdies.

Bhuwan Nagarkoti (69) of Gokarna was fourth at 202, one stroke ahead of defending champion Rabi Khadka (68). Rame Magar produced the joint best card of the day at three-under 64 that helped him move to sixth at 204, while Jayaram Shrestha and Dhana Bahadur Thapa shared the seventh position at four-over 205.

Tanka Bahadur Karki, the lone amateur who made the cut after second day, played a round of five-over 72 for a nine-over 213 total.

A total of 36 players 29 pros and 7 amateurs are taking part in the second event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2015-16. The tournament carries a cash purse of Rs 383,250, with top three pros receiving Rs 70,000, Rs 44,000 and Rs 32,000 respectively.