Kathmandu, February 20

Amateur golfer Tenzing Tsering carded a six-under 66 to begin the Surya Nepal Central Open campaign with a bang here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

Tsering, national team member and son of former top amateur golfer Tashi Tsering, sank two eagles on his way to returning with the best card of the day. He played three-under 33 on either half to open up a four-shot lead over two pros.

Tsering sank an eagle on the third hole before dropping a shot on the next. But he recovered well for the second eagle of the day on the seventh hole. In the bogey-free back nine, Tsering carded birdies on the 11th, 12th and 15th holes.

On a day when only four players broke the par, home club pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti and Army Club’s Sanjay Lama shared the second position at two-under 70. Both of them played two-under 34 on the front nine and shot even-par 36 on the latter half.

Nagarkoti carded three birdies on the second, third and seventh holes and in between dropped a shot on the sixth before taking the turn. He then carded birdies on the 10th and 12th holes before dropping two shots on the 14th to wrap the back nine at even-par 36. Lama began the day with a birdie and added four more on the third, fifth, 11th and 13th holes, while he faced three bogeys on the fourth, 14th and 16th.

RNGC pro Rabi Khadka was fourth at 71, while Nepal No 1 pro Shiva Ram Shrestha — the winner of the first three events under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17 — shot one-over 73 to share the fifth position with Dharan pro Bal Bhadra Rai. Deepak Acharya (74) was seventh, followed by Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan, Jayaram Shrestha and Dhana Bahadur Thapa, who all fired a 75 to share the eighth place along with amateur Tanka Bahadur Karki.

A total of 48 players — 33 pros and 15 amateurs — are taking part in the event that carries a cash purse of Rs 600,000. Cut will be applied after the second round with top 21 pros and six amateurs making it to the final two rounds. Top three players will receive Rs 110,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 45,000 respectively. Others in the 21 places will also earn prize money.