KATHMANDU: Local hope Shiva Ram Shrestha showed signs of giving tough fight to some of the top professional golfers from the region when the Surya Nepal Masters tees off here at the Gokarna Golf Club on Wednesday.

Nepal No 1 player Shiva Ram warmed up for the only international golf tournament of the country with a round of six-under 66 to produce the best card of the Standard Chartered Pro-Am — the curtain raiser of the main event — today. Shiva Ram, who won five of the nine events held

under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2008-09, was confident of making a mark in the 16th edition of the Masters. “I hope to do well as I am having a good time for a couple of days here,” said Shiva Ram, who shot eight-under 64 in the practice round on Sunday.

“The field is strong and the visiting players have high standard then ours but still I believe I can do well in the home conditions,” he added. On Tuesday, Shiva Ram carded five under on the front nine that included four birdies and an eagle against a lone bogey.

He was on course of even better score after sinking birdies on the 11th and 12th holes before a disastrous 14th hole forced him to drop two shots. He went Out of Boundary to settle for a double bogey. He sank an eagle on the par-three 15th before droppping a shot on the last hole.

Apart from Shiva Ram, the 2007 Masters champion Deepak Thapa Magar and Deepak Acharya were also equally confident of faring well in the event. While Thapa Magar rated Shiva Ram as one of the favourites, Acharya conceded that the standard of Nepali golfers have improved a lot since the introduction of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour.

“Surya Nepal Masters in the festival of golf as it is the biggest event of the country,” said Acharya, who is also the Golf Director of the Gokarna Golf Club. “We are all excited and hope a Nepal pro win the event for the second time,” he added. Thapa Magar, who became the first Nepali player to win the Masters in 2007, said any one could win the tournament. Thapa Magar also conceded that all eyes were on Shiva Ram.