KATHMANDU, AUGUST 18

Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai missed the cut by three strokes after the second round of the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at the Coimbatore Golf Club in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Rai, who had played oneover 73 in the first round, faltered to six-over 78 for the 36-hole total of seven-over 151. The cut was applied at four-over 148 with 60 players making it to the money-making final two rounds.

This is the fourth time he missed the cut in seven events of his debut season at the Indian Tour.

Rai started the day's play from the 10th tee and played four-over 40 on the front nine before adding two-over 38 on the latter half. Rai suffered three bogeys on the 11th, 12th and 17th apart from a double bogey on the 13th hole against a lone birdie on the 15th before taking the turn. He then carded a birdie on the third but dropped a shot on the fifth and faced a double bogey on the eighth hole.

Rai said he struggled with tee and approach shots for the second straight round. 'I could not hit the ball properly from the tee and also struggled to make it to the greens from the fairway,' said Rai, who has joined the Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy for a month-long training.

'I will try my best to put up an improved show in the next event,' he added.

Rai will now travel to Chennai to participate in the Chennai Open Golf Championship slated for August 23-26 at the TNGF-Cosmo Golf Course.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 19, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.