KATHMANDU, MAY 31
Indian golfer Sumit Kotwal bounced won the title of the ninth Nepal Amateur Open here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.
Kotwal carded one-under 71 in the third and final round to post the 54-hole total of 13-under 203 and he registered one-stroke victory over Nepal No 1 amateur Subash Tamang.
Tamang carded two-under 70 in the final round but that was not enough for him to catch Kotwal. Nepal national team member Sadbhav Acharya (69) finished third at 10-under 206.
Tamang - who was two strokes behind Kotwal going into the third and final round - was leading by one shot at one stage but he squandered the lead on his own. A poor tee shot on the 15th hole and a horrible approach shot on the 17th cost him the second gold medal of the tournament.
Tamang carded two-under 34 on the front nine to moveone shot ahead of Kotwal, who played one-over 37. Kotwal hit back with four straight birdies from the 12th and Tamang failed to match him. Instead Tamang faced a bogey on the 17th hole to fall three shots behind.
The Nepal No 1 amateur did card a birdie on the final hole, while Kotwal settled for a bogey after he hit the tee shot into the jungle.
Acharya produced the best card of the day, carding a three-under 69. He made a flying start with birdies on the first and third holes before facing a bogey on the fifth. Acharya sank an eagle on the seventh and missed a birdie putt on the ninth that would have put him in contention. After taking the turn, Acharya carded a birdie on the 15th and dropped a shot on the final hole.
India's Varun Muthappa (72) was fourth at two-under 214, while Bhutan's Ugen Dorji (77) and Nepal's Tashi Tsering (75) shared the fifth place at oneover 217. Nepal's Wangchen Dhondup (73) was seventh at two-over 218, Bangladesh'sMd Sumon (74) came eighth at 219 and India's Suraj Joshi (73), Bangladesh's Shofiqul Islan (74) and Pakistan's Umair Saleem (77) shared the ninth position at 10-over 226.
The Nepali team of Tamang and Acharya thumped India by 14 strokes to win team event gold medal on Tuesday with the 36-hole score of 17-under 271. India's Kotwaland Suraj Joshi came second at three-under 285, while Bhutanese team of Ugen Dorji and Karma Dorji Khorko finished third at five-over 293.
In the women's section, Kashmira Shah carded fourover 76 to win the title with the score of 18-over 234. Sushma Sigdel came second at 23-over 239 after she played six-over 78, while 13-year-old golfer Aaiesteena Tandan finished third at 272.
In all, 51 golfers - 44 men and seven women - took part in the tournament jointly organised by Nepal Golf Association and Nepal Tourism Board.
National Sports Council Member Secretary Tanka Lal Ghising, President of Mountain Sports Federation Govinda Bhattarai, NGA President Tashi Ghale and Vice-presidents Pavitra Kumar Karki and Phursang Lama handed over prizes to the winners.
The tournament was also supported by the NSC, Bagmati Province Sports Development Board, Gokarna Forest Golf Resort and Hotel Royal Singi.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 1, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
