Kathmandu, September 18

Amateur golfer Tanka Bahadur Karki said the Bhutan Amateur Championship title was the outcome of the hard work he put in during training and practice.

Karki won the overall championship in individual section and also teamed up with Sukra Bahadur Rai to claim the team trophy in the championship held at the Thimpu Golf Course from September 14-17. The title was first by a Nepali golfer in 24 years and overall second. Deepak Thapa Magar had won the Bhutan Open in 1993, the year Karki was born.

“I am more than happy as I could win the trophy for the country,” said Karki. “I am satisfied with the way I performed in Bhutan and the win has given me confidence to do well in upcoming tournaments,” he added. “The Nepal Golf Association had sent us to Singapore for training with coach Kim Baldwin at the MST Academy and that helped us a lot,” he added. “I am also thankful to Gokarna Golf Club which has provided me a lot of facilities,” said Karki.

NGA President Tashi Ghale brought Karki to Nepal from Bhutan five years ago after he saw potential in the player. Karki carded a five-under 65 in the final round for the total score of three-under 277 at the par-70 course to register an eight-stroke victory over Bhutan’s Ziwang Gurung. Sukra Bahadur Rai finished third with the score of 10-over 290. Karki had opened the campaign with a round of four-over 74 before carding two-under 68 in the second round and an even-par 70 on the third day. “I played it safe on the first day to get the knowledge of the course. I used driver from the second round as I gained confidence over the course,” he added.

Nepali golfers clean swept the nett category awards. Karki and Rai, who played with two handicap allowances, finished first and second respectively, while five-handicapper Shiva Kumar Majhi was third.

NGA President Tashi Ghale, who had accompanied the golfers to Bhutan as team manager, lauded his players’ performance. “They played exceptionally well in the final round. Playing five-under is next to impossible at the Thimpu Golf Club where the pins were placed at tough positions,” said Ghale. “We had prepared a plan to tackle the pin position as players needed to play it safe in the green. I am also impressed with the ball hitting of these players,” added Ghale. “If these players continue to play like this, Nepal can win gold medal in the 13th South Asian Games,” he said.

Ghale said the NGA would felicitate the winners with rewards and also send them to foreign training. “As they need to improve their short game, we are planning to arrange two-week training for these golfers after Thai Amateur Championship in Bangkok. After the training they will go to New Zealand to participate in the Asia-Pacific Championship,” he added.