KATHMANDU, APRIL 22

Nepal No 1 pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti registered a four-stroke victory over Jayaram Shrestha to win the title of the Surya Nepal Challenge here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

Nagarkoti carded two-under 66 on the final day for the 72-hole total of 13-under 259 in the sixth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021-22.

Nagarkoti - who claimed the second title of the season to take the career major tally to 10 - received Rs 100,000.

Nagarkoti had a one-shot advantage over Sanjay Lama going into the final round and he became a runaway leader with four straight birdies from the first hole. He dropped a shot on the seventh and carded his fifth birdie of the day on the next to take the turn at four-under 30. With no one really pushing from behind, Nagarkoti had an easy outing on the back nine and dropped shots on the 14th and 15th holes could only narrow the winning margin.

Second-placed Shrestha, who was eight strokes off the pace, made a remarkable move in the leaderboard with a brilliant round of six-under 62 and he earned Rs 65,000. Winner of the season-opening Kathmandu Open, Shrestha carded four-under 30 on the front nine and added two-under 32 on the latter half. He carded a total of seven birdies first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh, 10th and 13th and faced a lone bogey on the fifth hole.

Sanjay Lama carded even-par 68 and remained at third on six-under 266 earning a cash prize of Rs 46,000.

He played even-par 34 on the front nine and shot a two-over 36 on the back nine. After dropping a shot on the second hole, he carded a birdie on the sixth. After taking the turn, Lama carded a lone birdie on the 13th and faced bogeys on the 12th, 15th and 18th holes.

Dinesh Prajapati and Rame Magar shared the fourth place with amateur Subash Tamang at 267. Magar carded five-under 63 to move up in the leaderboard, while Prajapati played twoover 70. They got Rs 36,000 each.

Dhana Bahadur Thapa came sixth at 268 after playing even-par 68, while three pros - Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (76), Deepak Magar (73) and Niraj Tamang (71) - were tied for seventh at two-under 270. They received Rs 24,333 each. First-round leader Rabi Khadka finished 10th at even-par 272 after carding one-under 67. He earned Rs 20,000.

In amateur section, the 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist Subash Tamang registered a 24-shot victory over Suresh Tamang. Subash played his worst round of the tournament shooting one-over 69. Suresh played five-over 73 to finish a distant second at 19-over 291, while Gajendra Gurung (72) was third at 292.

In all, 60 players - 38 pros and 22 amateurs - participated in the tournament organised by Professional Golfers Association Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.

Out of the total cash purse of Rs 545,000, top 21 pros earned their share of cash prizes.

Only Bhu Bahadur Gurung did not get cash prize despite making the cut after he finished at 22nd position.

Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Brand Manager Rajat Thapa, RNGC President Prachanda Bahadur Shrestha and PGA Nepal Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa gave away prizes to the winners.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 23, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.