KATHMANDU, MARCH 15

Reigning Nepal No 1 pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti carded eight-under 64 in the first round of the Surya Nepal Central Open here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

The home club pro Nagarkoti carded eight birdies in the bogey-free round to take a fourstroke lead over Rame Magar and amateur golfer Vijay Shrestha Einhaus, who shot four-under 68 each. Nagarkoti took the turn at six-under 30 and shot two-under 34 on the back nine.

He made a flying start with four straight birdies before adding two more on the seventh and ninth holes. Nagarkoti then saved shots on the 11th and 14th holes to cap a perfect day.

Magar carded one-under 35 and three-under 33 on two halves, while amateur Einhaus, who won the Gokarna President's Cup on Saturday, shot four-under 32 on the latter half after taking the turn at even-par 36. Magar faced a lone bogey on the second hole against birdies on the first and third before taking the turn. He then carded three straight birdies from 11th hole on the bogey-free back nine. Amateur Shrestha carded three birdies on the seventh, 11th and 14th holes and sank an eagle on the 12th. He dropped a shot on the second hole.

Sukra Bahadur Rai and Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan shared the fourth position at three-under 69 along with amateur Subash Tamang, who shot Hole-in- One on the par-3 fifth hole. Rai carded two-under 34 on the front nine and added one-under 35 on the latter half. He made a horrible start dropping shots on the first two holes but he bounced back with birdies on the third, fifth, sixth and seventh.

On the back nine, the Dharan-based pro faced bogeys on the 10th and 18th holes against birdies on the 12th, 16th and 17th holes.

Pradhan took the turn at four-under 32 before playing one-over 37 on the back nine.

He carded birdies on the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth holes and faced a bogey on the third. On the latter half, Pradhan dropped shots on 13th and 16th holes against a birdie on 12th.

The South Asian Games double gold medallist, Tamang carded three-under 33 on the front nine with the help of a birdie on the third and Hole-in- One on the fifth hole. He had gone six-under for the day with three straight birdies from the 11th hole but he could not maintain the momentum and faced a double bogey on the 14th before dropping a shot on the next hole to finish the back nine at even-par 36.

Pradeep Kumar Lama and amateur Tashi Tshiring, who carded one-under 71 each to share the seventh position, were among the nine golfers who broke the par in the season-opening event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021. Jayram Shrestha, Sanjay Lama and Dhana Thapa were tied for ninth at one-over 73.

Meanwhile, amateur golfer Sadbhav Acharya became the youngest player to participate in the Surya Nepal Golf Tour but he had a forgettable debut with a round of nine-over 81. The 14-year-old Acharya replaced Subash Tamang, who had played the Tour event for the first time at the age of 15.

A total of 44 pros and 17 amateurs are taking part in the 72- hole tournament. Top 21 pros and at least six amateurs will make the cut after the second round. Out of the prize purse of Rs 735,000, top three pros will receive Rs 130,000, Rs 80,000 and Rs 60,000 respectively.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 16, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.