KATHMANDU, MAY 12

Top amateur golfer Subash Tamang won the titles of the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

The 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist, Tamang carded four-under 68 in the final round to post the winning total of 19-under 269. Tamang recorded an emphatic seven-stroke victory over two pros - Nepal No 1 Bhuwan Nagarkoti and Sukra Bahadur Rai - on his way to claiming second title of the season and third overall. Tamang, who became the first amateur golfer to win three major titles, had won Surya Nepal Challenge in 2019 and Surya Nepal Western Open in April.

Nagarkoti, who was two strokes behind Tamang going into the final round, had to card a superb birdie from around 20 feet on the final hole to earn the share of second position with Rai - top among the professional golfers. Nagarkoti faltered to one-over 73 on the final day, while Rai carded a superb five-under 67 for the 72-hole total of 12-under 278. Nagarkoti and Rai earned Rs 111,500 each.

Tamang sank an eagle on the third hole and carded birdies on the seventh and ninth holes extend the lead to six shots after carding four-under 32 on the front nine. At one stage, Tamang was playing at 21-under after he carded birdies on the 10th and 12th holes but he faced three straight bogeys from the 14th hole.

He finished the round and tournament in style with a birdie putt on the final hole.

With the 19-under total over 72 holes, Tamang broke his personal best score of 14-under he set on his way to winning gold medal in the 13th SA Games in 2019. '[NGA President] Tashi Ghale sir has asked me to break the SAG record and I am happy that I could do that,' said Tamang.

'I could not break the Gokarna Golf Course record of 22-under (set by Shivaram Shrestha) this time but I will try my best to achieve that in the next tournament,' he added.

Nepal No 1 pro Nagarkoti said the luck was not on his part. 'I realised that it was not my day when I lost control over the driver on fourth and ninth holes. And I know I cannot play well on a day when I am not able to get hold of the driver,' said Nagarkoti, who has also bagged two trophies this season. 'As Subash was out of reach, I focused on not letting Sukra catch me. But I fell one shot behind him at one stage and I had to make the birdie putt on final hole to level the scores,' he added.

Former No 1 pro Rabi Khadka finished third among pros and fourth overall with the score of six-under 282 after he carded even-par 72. He received Rs 65,000. Niraj Tamang carded four-under 68 to finish fifth overall at four-under 284 and he earned Rs 53,500, while Dhana Bahadur Thapa (69) was further one stroke behind at sixth. Thapa got Rs 45,000.

Young amateur Sadbhav Acharya finished seventh overall and second behind Tamang in amateur section.

Acharya, who carded 68 and 69 in the first two rounds, shot three-over 75 on the last two days to post the 72-hole total of one-under 287.

Wangchen Dhondup was third among amateurs at 288 after he carded three-under 69 on the final day.

Dinesh Prajapati (73) finished sixth among pros at 287 and he received Rs 40,000, while Jayaram Shrestha came seventh at 288 after he carded even-par 72 to earn Rs 36,000. Sanjay Lama (74) and Bal Bhadra Rai (68) shared the eighth place at three-over 291 and they got Rs 32,000 each. Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (78) and Rajendra Thapa Magar (71) were tied for 10th among pros at eight-over 296. They earned Rs 27,000 each.

A total of 32 pros and 12 amateur golfers took part in the seventh event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021-22 that carried a cash purse of Rs 775,000. Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Vice-president (Marketing) Dipra Lahiri, Nepal Golf Association President Tashi Ghale and NGA Vice-president Pavitra Kumar Karki gave away prizes to the winners.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 13, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.