The defending champion takes one-stroke lead over Nagarkoti
Pokhara, February 23
Top amateur golfer Subash Tamang produced an impressive card of four-under 65 in the second round to surge to the top of the Surya Nepal Western Open here at the Himalayan Golf Course today.
Defending champion Tamang posted 36-hole score of one-under 137 in the 54- hole competition, the fourth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23. Tamang, who was at the seventh position after he opened the campaign with a round of threeover 72, built the one-shot lead over Bhuvan Nagarkoti. Overnight leader, Nagarkoti shot two-over 71 in the second round to slip down with the score of even-par 138.
Tamang took the turn at one-under 33 and carded three-under 32 on the latter half. After saving pars on seven straight holes, Tamang carded his first birdie on the eighth. Tamang then carded four birdies on the 10th, 13th, 15th and 18th but faced a bogey on the 11th hole.
Nagarkoti, who struggled in putting in the first round despite taking the lead, faced bogeys on the third and fifth holes on his way to two-over 36 on the front nine. He then carded even-par 35 on the latter half. Nagarkoti dropped yet another shot on the 10th before carding the first birdie of the round on the 14th hole.
Further one shot behind at third were Rame Magar and Sanjay Lama. Magar improved three places in the leaderboard after he carded one-under 68, while Lama played even-par 69 to add to his overnight score of one-over 70.
Magar carded one-under 33 on the front nine before playing even-par 35 on the back nine. He carded three birdies on the second, sixth and eighth holes but dropped shots on the fourth and ninth holes. After taking the turn, Magar faced bogeys on the 12th and 16th holes against birdies on the 14th and 17th holes.
Lama carded even-par 34 on the front nine and played even-par 35 on the latter half. He made a flying start with a birdie but suffered a double bogey on the fifth hole. Lama recovered with a birdie on the next hole. After taking the turn, he faced bogeys on the 12th and 18th against birdies on the 10th and 17th holes.
Top pro Sukra Bahadur Rai (69) shared the fifth place with Dal Bahadur Lama (71) at four-over 142, while Jayaram Shrestha carded one-under 68 to move up to seventh at fiveover 143. Sadbhav Acharya played five-over 74 for the overall eighth and second place in amateur section at seven-over 145. Two pros Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (70) and Dhana Bahadur Thapa (74) were tied for ninth with amateur Prajwal Gurung (76) at 146. Deepak Acharya moved up to 12th at nine-over 147 after he carded one-over 70 in the second round.
Cut was applied at 16-over 154 with 21 pros and seven amateur golfers making it to the third and final round of the 23rd edition of the Surya Nepal Western Open. Surya Prasad Sharma, Dinesh Prajapati, Rabi Khadka, Shivaram Poudel, Niraj Tamang, Bhu Bahadur Gurung, Tanka Bahadur Karki, Krishna Man Rajbahak, Kamal Tamang, Pradip Kumar Lama, Sabin Sapkota and Bal Bhadra Rai were the other pros who survived the cut. Likewise, amateur golfers Mahendra Phagami, Ajit BK, Suresh Tamang and Yubraj Bhujel also made the cut for the final round. Ramesh Adhikari, Deepak Magar and Pashupati Sharma were the notable pros who missed the cut.
In all, 45 golfers - 31 pros and 14 amateurs - are taking part in the Rs 800,000 tournament organised by PGA Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. 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 24, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
