Dharan, February 27:

Deepak Thapa Magar carded one-under 139 to win the Surya Nepal Eastern Open golf championship here at the 70-par Nirvana Country Club today.

The 2007 Surya Nepal Masters champion Thapa Magar finished the final day at one-over 71 that gave him the one-stroke victory over Sanjay Lama and amateur Suman Rai. Being an amateur, the Nirvana Club member carded 72 on the final day after the two-under 68 in the first round.

“The win is very important for me. I had not won any major title since the Surya Nepal Masters in 2007,” said Thapa Magar. “The course here is tricky and you got to know the ups and downs of the course,” he added. “

Local pro Mani Rai ended up third after the disastrous back nine of five-over 75 in the final round. Other two local pros Deo Raj Pakhrin and Sabin Sapkota along with Ramesh Nagarkoti and Krishna Hari Mizar were joint fourth at 144.

“The tournament was very competitive and the match was wide open till the end of the first nine on the final day,” said Mani Rai. “The double bogey on the 11th hole was the turning point for me,” he added.

Deepak Acharya, Shiva Ram Shrestha and Ram Thapa were tied for eighth at 145, while Rabi Khadka came in 11th with the scores of 147 each. Jaya Ram Shrestha and Surya Sharma finished joint 12th at 148 while Radhe Shyam Thapa and Pashupati Sharma completed the top 15 with the scores of 151.

Amateur Suman Rai, who had shared the lead after the first round, bagged the amateur section trophy. Jaya Kumar Rai (149) and Dhana Thapa (150) came second and third respectively.

Thapa Magar began the day with par putt and finished the front nine without dropping a single shot. On the back nine, he had a birdie and took one stroke lead over Mani Rai. The match turned Thapa Magar’s way after Mani Rai had a double bogey and Sanjay carded a bogey on the par-4 11th hole. The par putt on that hole put him firmly on the three-stroke lead.

Sanjay Lama bridged the margin to two strokes when Thapa Magar bogeyed

the 14th hole. Thapa Magar maintained the lead till the end of the 17th hole. The last hole saw Rai and Lama finding the bunker but after missing the target on tee off, Thapa Magar opted to play it safe and dropped one shot.

This was Thapa Magar’s consecutive victory in Dharan. He had also won the Surya Nepal Eastern Open — the last major event hosted by Nirvana Country Club in 2000. On the final day, Deepak Thapa Magar birdied the 10th and 13th holes against three bogeys.

Sanjay Lama, who was joint fourth after the first round, came into contention with a two-under 33 on the front nine that included three birdies and a bogey. On the back nine, Lama carded three birdies and four bogeys. Local hope Rai had an even par 35 on the front nine, but he dropped five shots on the return that included three bogeys and a double bogey.

Other local pros Deo Raj Pakhrin and Sabin Sapkota also came in the top five with three over 144. The fourth Dharan pro Suman Sapkota, younger brother of Sabin, finished 18th at 154. Shiva Ram Shrestha, who has won four of the six previous events under the tour, was not up to mark on the both the days. He carded 73 on the first day and 72 on the second to finish joint eighth.

The Pro-Am event is slated for Saturday. Thirty amateur golfers will rub their shoulders against 10 professional golfers.