Kathmandu, September 21

Arun Tamang opened the Faldo Series Nepal Championship with a round of two-under 70 here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

Shivaraj Majhi was five strokes off the pace after he shot three-over 75 in the boys’ 17-21 age category, while Prithivi Malla and Ashoke Lama shared the third position at 76, ahead of Raju Diwakar (78) and Anil Lama (79).

Tamang made a flying start as he sank an eagle on the third and carded a birdie on the next after saving pars on the first two holes. He faced a bogey on the fifth and saved pars on the next four holes to take the turn at two-under 34.

Tamang was at his best as he had second eagle of the day on the 12th hole and carded a birdie on the next to go five-under for the day. He then saved pars on the next two holes but he was undone by three straight bogeys from the 16th as he finished the last nine holes at even-par 36.

Majhi played one-under 35 on the front nine with the help of a birdie on the fifth hole, while his back nine of four-over 40 included four consecutive bogeys from the 14th hole. Likewise, Malla played one-over 37 on the front nine that included three bogeys against two birdies, whereas he faced one each bogey and double bogey on his way to finishing the back nine at three-over 39. Lama, meanwhile, carded a birdie and faced dour bogyes in his three-over 39 on the front nine and he suffered three bogeys against two birdies to finish the back nine at one-over 37.

In the boys’ 12-16 age category, Akash Rai played five-over 77 to remain one-stroke ahead of Aryaan Kumar and Tenzing Tsering. Sam Doublard was distant fourth at 11-over 83. Rai took the turn at three-over 39 before adding two-over 38 on the back nine, while defending champion Kumar shot two-over 38 on the front nine before playing four-over 40 on the latter half.

Likewise, Tsering recovered well on the back nine carding two-under 34 after playing eight-over 44 on the front nine. Doublard shot four-over 40 and seven-over 43 over the two halves.

Out of the 13 participants in the category, four players — Shreeyog Basnet (101), Subash Ghising (105), Mayank Dahal (109) and Prince Bhandari (114) — were out of the tournament after they shot more than 100 on the first day, while Rohit Lama did not submit his card.

In girls’ section, Pratima Sherpa took 18-stroke lead. Kashmira Shah was second at 111, while Smita Shrestha was next at 120.

According to the organisers, the 100-plus score rules do not apply in girls’ section. A total of 32 players are taking part in the 54-hole competition. The winners of all three categories will qualify for the Faldo Series Asia Finale to be held at the Mission Hills Golf Club in China in March next year.