KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 7

Bhuwan Nagarkoti carded one-under 67 to move to the top of the leader board after the second day of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

The Nepal No 1 pro Nagarkoti posted six-under 130 after 18 holes to open up one-stroke lead over Rabi Khadka after the home club pro carded 67 in the second round. Overnight co-leader Jayaram Shrestha slipped to joint third with amateur Subash Tamang at four-under 132.

Nagarkoti, who was joint second with Bhuwan Kumar Rokka on the first day, recovered with three birdies on the last five holes.

After saving pars on first eight holes, Nagarkoti faced a bogey on the ninth. Nagarkoti carded his first birdie of the day on 13th but he dropped a shot on the 15th hole. The reigning Nepal No 1 pro signed off with two straight birdies to go to the top.

Khadka began the round with a birdie and he saved pars on next eight holes to take the turn at one-under 33. He added two birdies on the 14th and 18th against bogeys on the 10th and 16th to finish the back nine at even-par 34.

Overnight leader Shrestha faltered on the back nine to slip down to third position. He made a good start with a birdie but he dropped shots on the second and fourth holes before carding another birdie on the ninth. After taking the turn at even-par 34, Shrestha faced two straight bogeys on the 12th and 13th holes.

Only five golfers could break the par on the second day with the 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist Tamang producing the best card of the round at four-under 64. He took the turn at three-under 31 with the help of an eagle and two birdies against a bogey. He went five-under for the day with birdies on the 10th and 17th holes but he faced a bogey on the final hole. Tamang opened up a 13-stroke lead over Maj Nishchaya Jung Rayamajhi (73) in amateur section, while Mithun Rai (71) was further one shot behind at 10-over 146.

Dinesh Pajapati (66), Sanjay Lama (67) and Kumar Kami (72) shared the fifth position at evenpar 136. Kami, who shared the lead with Shrestha at 62 on the first day, faltered on the front nine facing two double bogeys on his way to playing four-over 38.

He carded even-par 34 on the back nine.

Dhana Bahadur Thapa (69) was seventh at even-par 136, while Sukra Bahadur Rai failed to live up to his expectations and shot a 68 to remain one shot further back. Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (75) was ninth at 137, whereas Ramesh Adhikari and Krishna Man Rajbahak shared the 10th position at four-over 140.

Out of the 55 golfers, 21 pros and six amateurs survived the cut which was applied at 10-over 146. The first event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021-22 offers a cash purse of Rs 640,000 with top three pros receiving Rs 110,000, Rs 74,000 and Rs 60,000 respectively.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 8, 2021 of The Himalayan Times.