KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 8
Former Nepal No 1 pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti took a comfortable nine-stroke lead after overnight leader Rabi Khadka faltered on the third day of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.
Nagarkoti carded one-under 67 for the 54-hole total of 10-under 194, while Khadka faltered to nine-over 77 and shared the second position at one-under 203 with top pro Sukra Bahadur Rai, who carded one-under 67 on the third day. Dhana Bahadur Thapa (65), Dinesh Prajapati (66) and Krishna Man Rajbahak (68) shared the fourth position at one-over 205.
Nagarkoti carded one-under 33 on the front nine before playing even-par 34 on the latter half. Nagarkoti dropped a shot on the second hole before bouncing back with birdies on the fourth and eighth. After taking the turn, he faced three bogeys on the 10th, 15th and 18th against as many birdies on the 12th, 13th and 17th holes. Khadka had a disastrous round as he took the turn at four-over 38 and added five-over 39 on the back nine. He dropped shots on the second, fourth, sixth and ninth holes. After taking the turn, Khadka suffered double bogeys on the 10th and 18th and dropped shots on the 11th and 16th holes. He carded a lone birdie of the day on the 13th hole.
Nepal No 1 pro Rai took the turn at two-under 32 with the help of birdies on the first and fourth holes but he faltered to one-over 35 on the latter half. He suffered a double bogey on the 10th and carded a birdie on the 13th hole.
Pradeep Kumar Lama slipped down to seventh at three-over 207 after he played three-over 71, while Ramesh Adhikari (74) and Surya Prasad Sharma (70) shared the eighth place at four-over 208. Rame Magar (70) was at the 10th position with the score of six-over 210.
In amateur section, Ajit BK opened up 18-stroke lead despite playing five-over 73 for 11-over 215. Prajwal Gurung (74) was a distant second at 29-over 233.
The season-opening event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23 carries a cash purse of Rs 670,000. Top three pros after 72 holes will earn Rs 116,000, Rs 74,000 and Rs 63,000 respectively, while others in top 21 will earn their share of cash prizes.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 9, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
