SUNSARI, MARCH 27

The team of pro Sanjay Lama won the Pro-Am title of the Dharan Open Golf Tournament here at the par- 70 Dharan Golf Club today.

Pro Lama and his team of Nayan Rai, Bharat Tamang and Arshiya Banu accumulated 164 points to finish first. Lama earned 38 points, while Rai scored 43 points, Tamang added 42 and Banu scored 41.

Dharan Open winner Sukra Bahadur Rai and amateurs Sumitra Limbu , Hemant Thapa and Paruhang Sunuwar finished second with 156 points. Local pro Rai earned 37 points, while Limbu and Thapa scored 40 points each and Sunuwar added 39 points.

Another local pro, Niraj Tamang (36) and amateurs Kaji Thapmaden (39), Sumod Bastakoti (39) and SP Vim Dahal (38) came third with 152 points.

Suraj Shrestha won the closest-to-the-pin and Raj Kumar Rai bagged the longest drive awards. To decide the winning team, the top pro scorer was teamed with top three amateurs, while the second best pro got fourth, fifth and sixth placed amateur scorers. Likewise, the third best pro was teamed up with seventh, eighth and ninth placed amateurs for the second runner-up team.

A total of 62 players including 15 pros took part in the tournament which was played under stableford full handicap format. Province-1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai, Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Tilak Rai, Nepal Police AIG Hari Pal and Dharan Golf Club President Tika Limbu gave away prizes to the winners. Chief Minister Rai said the course was the property of the province and the government would support Dharan Golf Club in preserving the facility.

On Friday, Sukra Bahadur Rai won the main event for his third career victory and first since turning pro. Local pro Rai posted four-under 206 in the 54-hole event and finished seven strokes ahead of Nepal No 1 pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti, Krishna Man Rajbahak and fellow Dharan pro Bal Bhadra Rai. Nagarkoti, who won the season-opener Surya Nepal Central Open last week at Gokarna Golf Club, was on top of the leaderboard for the first two days but he faltered on the final day.

The second event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021, which was sponsored by Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City and supported by RC Cola, Himalayan Reserve and Magic Footwear, offered the cash purse of Rs 500,000.

With his third career title, Rai received Rs 90,000, while second-placed trio earned Rs 43,666 each.

The tour will now move to Pokhara for the Surya Nepal Western Open slated for April 7-10 at the Himalayan Golf Course. A version of this article appears in the print on March 28, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.