Pokhara, February 22

Former top pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti opened the Surya Nepal Western Open campaign with a two-under 67 here at the Himalayan Golf Course today.

Nagarkoti, the lone golfer to break the par at the par-69 course, took a three-stroke lead over pro Sanjay Lama and amateur Prajwal Gurung, who played one-over 70, in the fourth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23.

Nagarkoti carded one-under 33 on the front nine before playing one-under 34 on the latter half. He made a disastrous start with a bogey on the first hole but recovered well to card birdies on the fourth and sixth holes before taking the turn. On the back nine, Nagarkoti carded three birdies on the 10th, 13th and 17th but he dropped shots on the 12th and 16th holes.

Nagarkoti said he was satisfied with the overall score on the first day but he rued poor putting. 'This is a course where there is no room for errors. You have to hit every shot precisely as it is next to impossible to recover after hitting a bad shot,' said Nagarkoti. 'I hit the ball well but I was let down by the poor putting,' he added.

Joint second place holder, Lama dropped a shot on the second hole on his way to playing one-over 35 on the front nine, while he carded even-par 35 on the back nine. Lama, who saved a total of 16 pars in the round, carded a birdie on the 15th and dropped a shot on the next hole.

Amateur Gurung carded an impressive two-under 32 on the front nine before faltering to three-over 38 on the latter half. He carded birdies on the fourth, fifth and seventh before facing a bogey on the next hole. After taking the turn, Gurung dropped a shot on the 12th and he recovered with a birdie on the 14th hole. But he was undone by three bogeys on the last four holes, with a par coming on the penultimate hole.

National team member Sadbhav Acharya earned a share of fourth position with pros Dal Bahadur Magar and Rame Magar after they played two-over 71. All three players took the turn at even-par 34 before playing two-over 37 on the back nine.

Defending champion and top amateur Subash Tamang and pro Dhana Thapa shared the seventh place at three-over 72, while Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai, winner of the previous event Dinesh Prajapati and Kamal Tamang were tied for ninth with amateurs Mahendra Phagami and Suresh Tamang at four-over 73. Three amateur golfers - Bidur Tamang, Prakash Gurung and Jitendra Rai - were eliminated for playing 90 or more.

In all, 45 golfers - 31 pros and 14 amateurs - are taking part in the 23rd edition of the tournament organised by the Professional Golfers Association Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. Cut will be applied after 36 holes with top 21 pros and at least six amateurs making it to the final round. The event carries a cash purse of Rs 800,000.

Top three pros will receive Rs 140,000, Rs 90,000 and Rs 67,000 respectively, while others in top 21 will earn their share of cash prizes.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 23, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.