Dharan, November 22

The team of pro Bal Bhadra Rai won the title of the Surya Nepal Eastern Open Pro-Am here at the Nirvana Country Club Health and Golf Resort today.

Rai, who top scored among the pros with 37 points, was teamed up with top three amateurs Shekhar Limbu, BM Sunwar and Rohit Acharya for a total score of 153 points. Limbu accumulated 40 points, while Sunwar and Acharya earned 38 each.

The team of pro Dhana Bahadur Thapa, who scored 36 points, and amateurs Uttam Rai (37), Suresh Shrestha (37) and Dhruba Thapa (37) accumulated a total score of 147 points to finish second. Likewise, the winner of the Surya Nepal Eastern Open Shiva Ram Shrestha, who scored 36 points, and his team of amateurs Santosh Karki (36), Ritesh Tamang (36), and Rupendra Gurung (36) came third with the score of 144.

Meanwhile, Shekhar Limbu won the best individual score award with 37 points, while Shushila Rai bagged the women’s section trophy with 15 points. Dal Bahadur Lama won the closest-to-the-pin award and Tashi Ghale bagged the longest drive trophy.

A total of 60 golfers, including 15 pros, took part in the event played under stableford full handicap format.

Top pro scorer was teamed up with top three amateurs to declare the winning team, while second best pro and next three best amateurs formed the runners-up team. Likewise, third best pro and amateurs from seventh to ninth were in the second runner-up team.

Assistant Brand Manager of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Saurabh Bhattarai, General Secretary of Nepal Golf Association Tashi Ghale and Secretary of Sunsari District Golf Association Tilak Rai gave away the prizes to the winners.

On Wednesday, Nepal No 1 Shrestha claimed Surya Nepal Eastern Open title with the 54-hole score of four-under 206 to win his 31st career title. Rabi Khadka was second at 213, while Sanjay Lama was third with the total score of six-over 216. The top three pros received Rs 110,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.

A total of 56 players – 31 pros and 25 amateur golfers – took part in the season opening tournament of Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. The event, organised by Nepal Professional Golfers Association under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, carried a total cash purse of Rs 600,000.